Saudi Arabia has launched a new anti-corruption office to monitor state spending as part of its ongoing anti-corruption fight. The Financial Reporting Office will be part of the state General Auditing Bureau. It follows the end of an anti-corruption drive which raised more than $100 billion and saw tens of people arrested.
This week the spotlight is on tax developments in Qatar, where the country’s Finance Ministry has recently announced the issuing of a new Income Tax Law, Qatar Law No. 24/2018, which replaces the current Income Tax Law, Qatar Law No. 21/2009. Under the new law, the corporate income tax rate remains unchanged at 10%.
The key changes include income connected with agreements relating to petrochemical industries will be subject to corporate income tax at 35% and the penalties for late registration, filing tax returns and paying taxes have been increased significantly. In addition, the 7% withholding tax rate has been removed and a single withholding tax rate of 5% now applies to payments made by Qatari residents to non-residents with no permanent establishment in Qatar in respect of royalties, interest, commissions and services performed in Qatar by non-residents.
According to local newspaper reports, Saudi Arabia has promulgated a new law to tackle terrorism and terrorist funding. The new law which is now in effect aims to protect the Kingdom from terrorist attacks and maintain national security. It also clamps down on the use of charities and non-profit institutions as facades to cover the funding of terrorist activities. Under the Law, prosecutors will be able to request records or documents from suspicious institutions and compel charities to implement provisions of the law.
The UAE’s Federal National Council is considering a draft space objects law. The aim is regulate this sector more closely. Those who violate the law will be jailed for up to two years and fined 10 million AED. Objects will not be able to launch objects higher than 100km over sea level without the approval of the UAE’s Space Agency. No one will be able to own space objects like satellites or rockets. It will also help the Space Agency organise its activities and issuing permits including with regard to finding meteorites and any kind of space object which falls into the country. In addition, it seeks to impose a ban on selling, buying and mining meteorites anywhere in the country.
Bahrain’s Central Bank has launched a consultation on draft Digital Financial Advice directives. The consultation ends on 20 February 2019. The draft directives state the rights and responsibilities of licensees who want to use digital financial advice tools. They also stipulate the prudential and conduct requirements associated with this digital advice to safeguard client interests. In addition, the draft directives will allow FinTech firms who focus solely on robo-advice to get a license from the Bank. If approved, they will enable licensees to use technology to offer financial advice to their clients.
Saudi Arabia’s Labour and Social Development Minister has issued a Decision approving the establishment of a coordination committee for labour committee. It will be called the national committee for labour committees in Saudi Arabia. The chairmen of labour committees will be members of this committee which will be responsible for representing the Kingdom internationally as well as conducting the necessary studies to activate its role, introduce itself to the private sector and draft the regulatory charter for its elections and meetings systems.
This week the spotlight is on legal and regulatory developments in the UAE, where the authorities will start officially accepting long-term visa applications from 3 February this year. The launch date is specified in a new Decision which also states two committees will be established to evaluate visa candidates. One will evaluate investor visa applicants and the other entrepreneur, scientist and those with specialist talent visa applicants. The applications will be assessed in line with the criteria previously laid out in legislation.
As part of this significant legislative development, Lexis Middle East has added the Arabic and full text English versions of UAE Federal Cabinet Decision No. 56/2018 to the legislation part of our service. We have also added a key analysis piece from Fragomen Middle East on this development as part of our Middle East News Analysis coverage.
Judicial sources in Saudi Arabia have confirmed the labour courts which were established a couple of months ago have issued a number of rulings in absentia against companies who don’t turn up to court hearings. The sources said these companies failed to turn up to hearings even though they have been property notified electronically. Most of the rulings issued in absentia cannot be appealed because they are related to small cases worth less than 20,000 Riyals. The source added these cases would previously have been postponed if the company didn’t attend the hearing. Cases which are subject to this procedure include requests for certificates of services, requests for documents and records related to labourers and held by an employer. They also include objections against decisions issued by residential service committees and complaints against employers and employees against decisions issued by social security institutions.
This week the spotlight is on legal and regulatory developments in Dubai, where the Healthcare City Authority has announced it is introducing a new license for visiting doctors which will be valid for two years. It will allow international physicians, dentists and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioners to enter the UAE and work in up to three clinical facilities in the City.
The license is aimed at attracting international medical talent to Dubai and is being introduced ahead of Arab Health, the largest exhibition for healthcare and trade professionals in the Middle East. Visiting doctors can currently only practice temporarily in the free zone through a license from the clinical facilities, which is valid for a three-month-period and can be extended for three months. With the new license, physicians will be able to work for two years, after they have obtained a Letter of Acceptance which is a document confirming their eligibility to work as physicians and enter into a contract with a clinical facility. They will also be able to sponsor their families during the license’s validity period. They can apply for a license from 20 January and a special DArab Health license fee rate will be offered from then until the last day of the exhibition on 31 January.
The Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee of Bahrain’s Parliament has recommended implementing a draft law limiting the property ownership rights of foreigners. If approved, it will only allow foreigners to own properties in tourism and investment areas. It will replace Article 1 of Bahrain Decree-Law No. 2/2001 on the ownership of land by non-Bahrainis. It is intended to limit the rise in real estate prices in some areas by concentrating non-Bahraini ownership in others. The Government had requested the Committee review the draft law, which will also require adjustments to other Government policies.
