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 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 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:

Withholding Tax

The Omani Personal Income Tax Law adopts a withholding tax approach for salaries and wages, pensions, end-of-service gratuities, and board membership bonuses. Under this approach, the employer has a legal obligation to deduct the income tax directly from the amount to be paid to the employee, pensioner, or board member and periodically transfer them to the Tax Authority. This is somewhat similar to the situation of Social Protection Law contributions, which are partially paid by the employee and the employer is required to withhold the contribution amount from the salary of the employee and transfer it to the Social Protection Fund directly.

In addition to the standard withholding tax obligations, article 44 of the Personal Income Tax Law imposes additional obligations on public and private sector entities to withhold tax in regard to payments made for matters other than wages, salaries, pensions, end-of-service gratuities, and board membership bonuses, if these payments exceed 20,000 Rial Omani. If this provision is triggered, the law makes a distinction between the percentage of the tax to be withheld based on the tax residency status of the person receiving the payment.

Failure to comply with these withholding tax provisions can result in a fine of 1% per month of the amount of the withhold tax. There are also criminal punishments for deliberately failing to withhold tax.

Tax Returns Filing

The Personal Income Tax Law also imposes an obligation on employers to file tax returns on behalf of their employees if certain conditions are met and the employee in question requests that the employer files these tax returns on their behalf.

Retention and Supply of Documents

Employers are required to retain all records, documents, data, information, invoices, and others documents relating to the for a period of 5 years from the date of filing any tax return, and must provide the Tax Authority with any evidence it requests.

Sufficient Time to Comply

The Personal Income Tax Law was published at the beginning of this week, but it enters into force on 1 January 2028. This should give employers sufficient time to comply with this new law. The executive regulation of this law—which is vital to comply with the law—is expected to be released within the next 12 months.

You can read the new Personal Income Tax Law in English in full on Decree. You can also view our downloadable compliance Toolkit on the link below:

The Public Debt Law provides a general governance framework of how the government plans to make decisions regarding the management of public debt and introduces controls on government debt. This new regulation provides a more specific set of rules for implementing this law.

The Executive Regulation of the Public Debt Law provides comprehensive details on the procedures and controls for contracting public debt, the role of the MOF in approving and managing debt operations, and other requirements that apply to government debt and government guarantees. Most importantly, the executive regulation sets restrictions on the ability of OIA subsidiaries to borrow money, and requires the OIA to obtain the approval of the MOF in regards to certain transactions. The regulation also imposes other obligations on the OIA such as reporting requirements.

The Executive Regulation of the Public Debt Law has already entered into force. You can read it in full in English on the link below: 

You can read the circular in full in English below:

This regulatory framework is issued pursuant to article 9 of the Banking Law, was issued by a circular, and not a decision that was published in the Official Gazette. This regulatory framework entered into force at the beginning of this week.

You can read the Regulatory Framework for Digital Banks in English in full on the link below:

The regulation covers matters such as the objectives of welfare homes, the conditions for admitting an elderly person to an elderly home, the conditions for volunteering at a welfare home, and the actions to be taken when an elderly person dies in a welfare home.

It is worth noting that the MOSD issued late last year a Governance Regulation of Temporary Welfare Institutions that aims to provide services for women, children and victims of human trafficking.

The new Governance Regulation of Social Welfare Institutions enters into force tomorrow. You can read in full in English on the link below:

We previously wrote a blog about this policy in August of last year, when it was still at the public consultation stage. Now that the AI governance framework has officially been issued, it’s worth noting that, as expected, the MTCIT has chosen to release it as a non-legally binding policy. While this means that it does not impose fines or include enforcement mechanisms, this approach has its advantages as it allows for flexibility and encourages voluntary compliance without imposing serious restrictions on the adoption and experimentation of this cutting edge technology.

Furthermore, as predicted in our blog on the implications of the EU AI Act for Oman, the EU’s regulatory approach had an influence on Oman’s approach in governing AI. While the MTCIT’s AI governance framework is non-legally binding (unlike the legally binding EU AI Act), it borrows several concepts from the EU AI Act, particularly in regard to the distinction between the obligations of AI system providers and AI system deployers.

The policy sets a general framework of technical controls and ethical principles that both public and private sector entities need to take into account to when developing or deploying AI systems. Those ethical principles include considering humanity and societal well-being, inclusivity, fairness, and responsibility when developing or deploying AI systems. This policy also includes provisions on periodic evaluation of AI systems for accuracy, bias, and harmful content; implementing human oversight for crucial AI decisions and their societal impact; ensuring deployed AI systems provide tangible benefits; adhering to data protection laws, restricting data use with robust security and cybersecurity best practices, and documenting AI processes for transparency.

The policy has already entered into force on 9 April 2025. You can read it in full in English on the link below:

The system sets the overall framework for the training programme and specifies that the MJLA might conduct this training programme online or offline. The training programme must be completed within a period that does not exceed six months, and the overall score is based on attendance (10%), active participation in the sessions (20%), and exam results (70%). Trainees are required to achieve an overall score of 70% to pass the programme.

The actual specifics of the content of the programme or the nature of the exams are not mentioned in the system.

It is also worth noting that this system only relates to the training of trainee advocates and government officers doing litigation work and does not cover the continuous education requirements for advocates in the upper rolls.

This training system has already entered into force. You can read it in full in English on the link below: