A new Electronic Transactions Law was issued last week, repealing the Electronic Transactions Law of 2008 and carefully refining the scope to which electronic transactions can be relied upon in Oman.
Oman had its first Electronic Transactions Law in 2008, which was based on model laws developed by the UNCITRAL for e-signature and e-commerce. As a result, the Omani Electronic Transactions Law of 2008 gave electronic transactions the same power as paper transactions, and created the legal framework for electronic signatures, authentication, intermediary liability, and even data protection in connection with electronic transactions.
The new Electronic Transactions Law of 2025 does not make any groundbreaking changes to the existing comprehensive framework set by the Electronic Transactions Law of 2008. Instead, it carefully adjusts its scope, modernises the technical concepts used by the law, and imposes higher punishments for violating the law.
In terms of scope, the new law explicitly states that it does not prejudice regulations set by the CBO in all matters relating to the regulation of banks and financial institutions, which suggests that CBO now has the power to override certain provisions of this law. The previous law also excluded personal status matters, court procedures, and transactions that require attestation by the Public Notary from its scope. All these exclusions have been removed from the new law.
The new law also replaces the concept of “certification services” with the much wider concept of “trust services”, which is defined in article 24 of the law to cover issuance of electronic authentication certificates, qualified electronic signatures, electronic seals, verification of electronic identity, and electronic delivery services.
Furthermore, the law now makes a distinction between simple electronic signatures, advanced electronic signatures, and qualified electronic signatures; sets new rules for recognising such signatures as reliable evidence; and specifies which of these types are considered trust services.
Finally, the law increases the punishments that may be imposed for violating the law from a maximum of 20,000 Rial Omani under the old law to 50,000 Rial Omani under the new law.
The new Electronic Transactions Law has already entered into force. You can read it in full in English on the link below: