Oman’s Capital Market Authority has announced the new Companies Law. Oman Sultani Decree No. 18/2019 will be enforced from 1 April 2019 and Oman Law No. 4/1974 will be repealed. The Authority also announced they will be responsible for enforcing all its provisions, except the registration of listed companies. The new Law was issued through Oman Sultani Decree No. 18/2019. Under the Law, a holding company will take the form of a joint stock company unlike previously where a holding company could be a limited liability or joint stock company. A new Article on establishing professional firms has also been introduced and special rules for how they are regulated will be issued in due course as will the Implementing Regulations to the Law.

Elsewhere, Oman’s Sultan has issued a Decree approving the Selective Tax Law which will come into force 90 days after the issuing of the Sultani Decree. It will see tobacco product, alcohol, energy drink and pork product prices increase 100% and carbonated drink prices by 50%. Oman Sultani Decree No. 23/2019 will come into force in June 2019 and the Sultanate is the fifth GCC country to introduce it. Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have already introduced the tax.