Category: Law Updates

The Ministry of Social Development published in this week’s Official Gazette Decision 217/2024 issuing the Governance Regulation for the Work of Social Development Committees and Volunteer Teams, repealing the Governance Regulation for the Work of Social Development Committees of 2016.

The new regulation introduces the legal framework for establishing volunteer teams in the community. Each wilayat is permitted to have one volunteer team, with an additional one if the public interest requires it.

The regulation sets the rules for establishing, managing and financing volunteer teams.

The new regulation enters into force tomorrow. You can read it in full in English on the link below:

In this week’s Official Gazette, the Ministry of Social Development issued a brand new Governance Regulation for the Care of the Elderly in Foster Families.

This regulation provides the legal framework for families to submit an application to the MOSD to foster an elderly person who meets the requirements stipulated in the regulation such as being an Omani national who does not enjoy adequate family care, and is free from communicable diseases. Only families who have at least one Omani member can submit an application to foster an elderly person, and this family must prove that it has appropriate housing and is financially capable of supporting the elderly person, among other requirements stipulated in the regulation.

The Governance Regulation for the Care of the Elderly in Foster Families enters into force tomorrow. You can read it in full in English on the link below:

The FSA published in this week’s Official Gazette a Decision Amending Some Provisions of the Regulation Governing Clearing and Settlement which included a minor change to article 14 of the regulation.

Article 14 of the regulation outlines that upon executing a sale or purchase transaction, the securities are recorded in the electronic system under the status of “Deemed Sold Awaiting Settlement” or “Deemed Bought Awaiting Settlement, Sale Permitted,” respectively. Ownership is registered to the buyer on the day of settlement, and this settlement is considered final.

The amendment makes a small specific change to the wording of the original article 14 by stipulating that the settlement cannot be “conditional or deferred”.

This amendment enters into force tomorrow. You can read the text of the decision in full on the link below:

In this week’s issue of the Official Gazette, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources published Ministerial Decision 137/2024 Amending Some Provisions of the Executive Regulation of the Agricultural Quarantine Law.

The amendment introduces a brand new article 9bis that imposes new potential requirements prior to issuing an agricultural licence by giving the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources the power to verify, before issuing the licence and at the cost of the importer, the agricultural practices, phytosanitary management systems, and risk analysis applied in farms, nurseries, or production sites, and evaluate them in the country of export or the country of origin.

The new amendment enters into force tomorrow. You can read it in full in English on the link below:

In accordance with article 127 of the Social Protection Law, the branch of maternity leave insurance applies compulsorily to all Omanis working in Oman, but this article left determining the extent to which it applies to non-Omanis to a decision by the Board of Directors of the Social Protection Fund. Beneficiaries of this insurance branch are entitled to 98 days of paid maternity leave.

This week’s issue of the Official Gazette included a decision by SPF on this matter, and it stipulates that the maternity leave insurance branch applies compulsorily to non-Omanis working in the government as well as those working in private sector establishments to whom the Labour Law applies.

You can read the text in full in English at the link below: 

ROP published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette Decision 88/2024 Issuing the Controls for Providing Vehicle Technical Inspection Service which creates a framework for outsourcing Traffic Law related inspection to private sector establishments.

By virtue of this new decision, a private sector establishment wishing to apply for a licence to offer vehicle inspection services must be wholly owned by Omanis, must equip its garages with approved tools, must maintain an electronic database linked to the Directorate General of Traffic, and must employ qualified technicians who adhere to safety standards during inspections.

The controls impose a number of obligations on establishments licensed to offer this service, such as the prohibition against inspection of vehicles involved in accidents or the sale or installation of spare parts to bypass inspection.

Penalties for violating the new controls include warnings, fines of up to 100 Rial Omani (double upon repetition), as well as licence suspension or cancellation.

You can read the text in full in English at the link below:

This week’s issue of the Official Gazette included the full text of Royal Decree 28/2024 Establishing the Omani Waqf Establishment and Promulgating Its System, which is a brand new government entity responsible for managing and investing waqf as well as the treasury, known as Bait Al-Mal, of the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.

Articles 22 and 23 of the Social Protection Law provide for the creation of a medical committee and a number of medical grievance committees. The medical committee is responsible for licensing health establishments to issue reports for disability assessment, while the grievance committees are responsible for reviewing challenges made to the reports issued by these health establishments.

The Ministry of Interior issued in today’s Official Gazette a brand new Regulation Governing Cemeteries. This is Oman’s first ever legal instrument that governs the cemeteries and it outlines the management, establishment, and operational standards for cemeteries along with the requirements for burial practices, cemetery maintenance, and public health compliance.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) issued in today’s Official Gazette a new Decision E/25/2024 Issuing the Governance Regulation for the Account for the Treatment of Visitors in Emergencies. Under this new regulation, visitors to Oman will be able to request a subsidy of up to 5,000 Rial Omani from the government to cover their medical emergencies if they exhaust the limit of their existing health insurance, have an expired health insurance policy, or do not have any health insurance at all.