The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion issued a new decision in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette on the combatting of concealed trading.
The decision defines the term “concealed trading” as enabling a person to engage in an activity that the laws of the Sultanate of Oman do not allow him to engage in, whether for his own account or in association with others. Accordingly, the decision identifies the parties involved in concealed trading: The concealer who is the person that enables concealment, and the concealed trader who is the person that benefits from the concealment.
The decision explicitly prohibits the practice of concealed trading and places an obligation on the ministry to encourage citizens and residents to contribute to limiting cases of concealed trading and to report them. Article 6 of the decision provides certain cases that constitute concealed trading. An example of these cases is the transfer of the revenue generated by the company to a personal account and not to the account of the company. The decision also states that a person who becomes aware of concealed trading must report such incidents to the ministry.
The decision also clarifies the administrative penalties that MOCIIP may impose when the provisions of the decision are violated, with the most severe penalty being a fine of 15,000 Rial Omani if the violation is committed for a third time along with the cancellation of the activity from the commercial registration, and if this penalty is imposed, it will not be permitted to re-register the activity except after one year passes from the date of its cancellation.
You can read the full text of the new decision in English on the link below: