Author: Riyadh Al-Balushi

A new amendment to the Law of the Official Gazette was published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette that makes changes to the law to reflect the current practices of the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.

The amendment makes it clear that the Official Gazette is to be published electronically, and that the MJLA can, if it wishes, publish it in a paper format as well. The amendment also stipulates that the MJLA may published certain items from the Official Gazette before the full publication of the issue. These two practices are already adopted by the MJLA and these amendments merely add a legal basis for the practices of the ministry.

Another change that is not based on current practices is the removal of the mention of the Directorate General of the Official Gazette from the law and its replacement with a generic term for the “competent division”. This suggests that the MJLA might be in the process of a restructuring that would move the mandates relating to the Official Gazette into another administrative division within the ministry.

You can read the full text of the new amendments to the Law of the Official Gazette on the link below:

You can also read the consolidated version of the Law of the Official Gazette on this link:

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:

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs published the executive regulation of the new Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette. This new regulation introduces further controls on the practice of the legal profession in Oman and provides implementation details for the Advocacy and Legal Consultancy Law.

Last week, a new Law of Special Economic Zones and Free Zones was issued replacing the 20+ years old Law of Free Zones. The new law covers traditional free zones, such as the Sohar Free Zone, as well as the more comprehensive special economic zones, such as the Special Economic Zone at Duqm.

The new Omani Nationality Law was published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette which repeals the Omani Nationality Law of 2014 and lowers the requirements for obtaining Omani nationality.