Decree Blog
The Financial Services Authority issued a new Regulation Governing the Rising Companies Market in today’s issue of the Official Gazette. The Rising Companies Market was established earlier this year by royal decree as a market dedicated for supporting the growth of small and medium companies and startups.
Lex AI, Decree’s artificial intelligence legal research assistance, receives a major update today by upgrading to GPT-5, the new cutting-edge artificial intelligence model from OpenAI.
Lex AI generates its answers exclusively from Decree’s database of translated Omani legislation and case summaries while providing full citations and references for all answers generated. Using GPT-5, Lex AI now runs at a faster speed and provides significantly improved analysis of Decree’s content to answer user questions, summarise the law, and create compliance checklists.
Decree members with access to Lex AI can try the new and improved Lex AI on the link below:
Data protection is the legal framework that protects personal data from unauthorised access and uphold individual privacy. The two main instruments governing this area of law in Oman are the Personal Data Protection Law (and its executive regulation) and the Personal Data Protection Policy of the Units of the Administrative Apparatus of the State. While there are similarities between the two, this article will highlight four major differences most people don’t know.
The Ministry of Labour published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette Decision 317/2025 Determining the Minimum Periodic Allowance and Governing Its Disbursement to Omanis Working in the Private Sector. This new decision sets new mandatory rules for determining the minimum annual pay increment that employees subject to the Labour Law are entitled to.
Prior to this new decision, employees subject to the Labour Law were entitled to a 3% annual increment on their basic wage as long as the performance of the employee is not deemed “poor”.
Under the new decision, the percentage of the annual increment can range between 5% and 2% depending on the performance of the employee, and can be withheld completely if the performance of the employee is deemed “poor”.
This obligation is imposed in relation to Omani employees only. Employers found in violation of this decision are to be fined 50 Rial Omani for each employee against whom a violation is committed.
The decision also provides some grounds for suspending the implementation of the annual increment in general as we all rules for withholding the increment for individual employees.
This new decision enters into force tomorrow. You can read it in full in English on the link below:
Companies in Oman are governed by the Commercial Companies Law and its regulations, such as the Commercial Companies Regulation. These legal instruments set the foundation for how to establish, operate, and manage companies in the Sultanate of Oman. Among the various legal forms of companies are Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) and Single Person Companies (SPCs), also known as One-Person Companies, which are the most commonly used forms due to the simplicity of the formalities for establishing them and the fact that they both offer their shareholders limited liability. This article will highlight four key distinctions between LLCs and SPCs.
The Omani Labour Law lays out a comprehensive framework that regulates the rights and obligations of employers and employees. Under this law employees are entitled in certain circumstances to different types of leave that are usually given with full pay. In this article, we will highlight 7 of the most commonly used types of leaves under the Labour Law.
His Majesty issued today Royal Decree 60/2025 amending Royal Decree 52/2023 to delay the implementation of certain branches of the Social Protection Law.
Under the original royal decree the branch of insurance against work injuries and occupational diseases for non-Omani workers was supposed to enter into force in July 2026, today’s royal decree pushed this date to July 2028. Similarly, the branch of insurance of sick leave and extraordinary sick leave was supposed to enter into force in July 2025, it has now been pushed to July 2026. Finally, the savings system was supposed to enter into force in July 2026, and now it will enter into force in July 2027.
You can read Royal Decree 60/2025 in English in full on the link below:
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette Decision 245/2025 Amending Some Provisions of the Commercial Companies Regulation.
The amendment created a new requirement for authorised signatories to fall under specific categories of individuals who can take this role, such as partners in the company, members of the board of directors, and administrative and finance staff. Notably it appears that it is now not possible to appoint an employee of another company who does not fall under any of the categories specified as authorised signatory.
This amendment of the Commercial Companies Regulation enters into force tomorrow. You can read the full text of this amendment in English on the link below:
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP), in cooperation with the Consumer Protection Authority (CPA), has issued a new circular that requires all shopping malls and retail outlets to provide single-use bags free of charge to their customers. The circular also makes it an obligation for those establishments to provide consumers with additional bag options for a fee.
The circular does not have a specific entry date, so it is assumed that it is immediately enforceable.
It is worth noting that in the year 2020, Oman issued a decision banning single-use plastic bags, but in 2024 another decision was issued limiting the ban only to single-use plastic bags that have a thickness of less than 50 micrometers. This new circular by MOCIIP appears to further erode the ban of single-use plastic bags by making it mandatory for retail outlets to provide consumers with single-use bags, plastic or otherwise, free of charge. This goes against the international trend towards sustainability and encouraging people to reuse and recycle their bags as part of global environmental efforts.
You can read MOCIIP new decision on single-use bags on the link below:
The new Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law has recently entered into force bringing into effect major changes to the way the legal profession in Oman is regulated, including new examination requirements for Omani lawyers wishing to practise as advocates who plead before the courts. The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs has issued new regulations and guidelines to provide more details on what these exams would entail. This blog post will highlight some details that are found in the new Arabic language guide that the MJLA issued concerning the transitional requirements for advocates who have registered before the entry into force of the new law and who would complete their two-year training requirements before 3 October 2025.