Newsletter Archives - Page 186 of 244 - LexisNexis Middle East

Bahrain: Some Labour Market Regulatory Authority Fees Reduced

11/07/202010/07/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Bahrain’s Cabinet has approved a decision reducing some Labour Market Regulatory Authority fees. Fees for the issuing and renewing of all work permits issued for one year and all monthly fees related to them have been reduced by 50%. The reduced fees will remain in force for three months from July 2020. In addition, employers who engage in business activities most affected by Coronavirus are exempt from paying these fees for three months from 1 July. They will only be exempt if approved by the Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the Ministerial Committee for Financial, Economic and Financial Balance Affairs.

Saudi Arabia: Enforcement Courts Will Start Allocating Judicial Liquidations to Infath

10/07/202010/07/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Saudi Arabia’s Enforcement Courts will start allocating judicial liquidations exclusively to the Entrustment and Liquidation Centre. It follows the signing of an agreement between the Justice Ministry and infath. It identifies the scope of activities to be covered and provides the necessary governance and accountability measures for fulfilling rights in a timely way. infath will be able to commission qualified and licensed private sector companies to participate competitively in the Liquidation Activities under the Centre’s supervision. Interested parties in in local and international licensed companies in chartered accounting, law and legal services, evaluation, engineering advisory, judicial custody, property management, treasury, marketing and sales companies can register at infath.sa. Infath will then evaluate and assign each case to suitable service providers based on their experience and the nature of the asset.

Kuwait: Draft Residency Law Amendments Approved

10/07/202010/07/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

According to local newspaper reports, Kuwait’s Interior Minister has approved draft residency law amendments. The aim is to reduce the numbers of non-Kuwaitis employed in the country. The focus will be on skilled migrants rather than manual workers. There will also be limits on the number of foreign nationals recruited by companies each year and regulations based on their skills will be included. The legislation will be ready by October. It is part of efforts to reduce the numbers of expatriates in the country from 70 to 30%.

Oman: Classification of SMEs Amended

28/06/202026/06/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Oman’s Commerce and Industry Minister has issued a Ministerial Decision amending the classification of SMEs in the Sultanate. The aim is to take account of the classification of these establishments in other GCC states. It means these entities will be classified according to their workforce and revenue. Under the new classification, a micro establishment will have one to ten employees and its annual revenues will be less than 150,000 Rials. A small establishment will have 11 to 50 employees and an annual revenue of between 150,000 and 1,250,000 Rials. A medium establishment will have 51-150 employees and an annual revenue of between 1,250,000 and five million Rials.

Kuwait: Drive to Replace Expatriate Employees With Kuwaiti Nationals Being Prepared

27/06/202026/06/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Sources have confirmed Kuwait’s General Authority for Manpower is working on a number of decisions and reviewing old decisions related to regulating the labour market to increase the employment of nationals in the private sector. The sources said this will be achieved by replacing expatriate employees with national employees in many roles. The Authority is also working on setting a workflow for recruitment of foreign employees by increasing the restrictions. The Decisions have been sent to the board to review and approve.

Bahrain: Sports Dispute Resolution Law Amendments Being Considered

27/06/202026/06/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

Bahrain’s Cabinet has discussed amendments to the Kingdom’s Sports Dispute Resolution laws. The aim is to enable disputes related to athletes and technical and administrative staff at clubs as well as sports entities to ensure they are consistent with the Olympic Charter and FIFA laws. A memorandum on this subject was submitted by the Youth and Sports Affairs Minister and has been referred to the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs.

Weekly Spotlight: Economic Substance Regulation Notification in the UAE Must be Submitted by 30 June

27/06/202026/06/2020
by Benjamin Filaferro

The UAE’s Finance Ministry has announced all companies in the UAE who engaged in relevant activities up to and including 31 December 2019 must submit a notification of Economic Substance Regulations to its Regulatory Authority by 30 June 2020 to avoid administrative activities. Banking, insurance, investment fund management, financial leasing, headquarters and shipping operations, holding and intellectual property companies, distribution and service centres are all considered relevant activities. The definition of each of these activities can be found in the relevant activities guide on the Ministry’s website. The implications of Coronavirus on Relevant Activities which were directly affected by Government restrictions including travel bans, self-isolation measures, social distancing etc will be taken into account when assessing whether a UAE-licensed company has met the Economic Substance Regulations test for the relevant period.