Decree Blog – Page 23

Decree Monthly Digest – January 2023

Post author By Riyadh Al-Balushi
Post date January 31, 2023

Decree Monthly Digest is a summary of the most significant legislation issued in the previous month.

January was a relatively slow month for royal decrees as only seven royal decrees were issued and none of them related to the promulgation or amendment of laws. The first royal decree of the year was the usual royal decree ratifying the General Budget of the State for the year 2023, this was followed by two royal decrees declaring public benefit status to construct dams in Wadi Adnoub and Wadi Annar in Dhofar, and four royal decrees ratifying the following treaties:

Law Updates

Ministry of Interior Issues New Elections Tender System

Post author By Riyadh Al-Balushi
Post date January 24, 2023

The Ministry of Interior published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette Ministerial Decision 16/2023 Issuing the Financial System for the Expenses, Disbursements, and Tenders of the Elections of the Members of Majlis Al-Shura and the Municipal Councils. This new system provides an alternative procurement process to that stipulated by the Tender Law and gives the Ministry of Interior new powers including the power to directly award contracts relating to works, services, and supplies for the elections up to the value of 245,000 Rial Omani without going through a tender.

Law Updates

MOCIIP’s New Regulation: Who’s in Charge?

Post author By Yousuf Al-Busaidi
Post date January 21, 2023

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) recently issued a regulation to determine the “beneficial owner” of companies operating in Oman. This regulation is applicable to all types of companies except for public joint stock companies, which are instead regulated by the Capital Market Authority. The companies in question have until the end of this month to satisfy the provisions of this regulation. So what does this regulation mean for your business?

Guest Post

The Seven Principles of Energy Regulation

Post author By Guest
Post date January 16, 2023

This guest blog post is contributed by Dr Saud Al-Farsi – Director of Legal Opinions and Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.

The energy sector is one of the most critical industries in any country and is considered by many as the bloodline of new economies. This sector is not concerned only with the introduction of energy, but covers a variety of issues such as the exploration and extraction of fossil fuel, the transport, storage, and distribution of energy to both industrial and household consumers through pipelines or LNG ships, transport through transmission and distribution networks, and access by power generators and end-users. As the Sultanate of Oman, through the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and other stakeholders, plan for the energy transition and the future of the energy sector, it is important to reflect on what energy law means and the guiding principles that Oman should recognise when developing its energy policies and laws.

Announcements

Hello Twenty Twenty Decree: We Have Turned One!

Post author By Yousuf Al-Busaidi
Post date January 15, 2023

Just over a year ago, we launched the beta version of Decree to create a definitive English language resource for Omani royal decrees, laws, ministerial decisions, regulations, and treaties. This month, Decree has turned one, and to celebrate this occasion, I thought it would be appropriate to share a progress report that showcases the considerable amount of content we have made available during the course of 2022, as well as mentioning our ambitions for 2023.

Commentary

Oman Issues New AML/CFT Regulation for Lawyers

Post author By Mohamed Al-Tai
Post date January 3, 2023

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs recently published last month in the Official Gazette a brand new Regulation on the Supervision of Lawyers, Law Offices, and Civil Law Firms regarding Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorist Financing. This regulation is part of a suite of regulations that the Omani government issued last month to comply with the latest recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This particular regulation updates the regulation from 2021 covering the same topic. Failure to comply with the new regulation exposes lawyers, law offices, and civil law firms to penalties including fines up to 100,000 Rial Omani and the suspension of their licences.

Guest Post

Strategic Development: Concession Agreements in the Mining Sector

Post author By Guest
Post date January 2, 2023

This guest blog post is contributed by Amira Taqi – Group Legal Counsel at Minerals Development Oman.

The mining industry in the Sultanate of Oman is diversifying and developing at an appreciable pace. The Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM) has deployed a new strategy to expand the mining sector by recently granting Minerals Development Oman (MDO), a strategic government-owned investor, concessionary exploration-to-mining rights over areas covering 21,500²km. This blog post aims to explain to readers the importance of the said concession agreements, their purpose, comparative advantage to the conventional licensing mechanism, and strategic importance to investors and to Oman.

Special Feature

2022: The Year in Review

Post author By Riyadh Al-Balushi
Post date January 1, 2023

Instead of doing our usual monthly digest, we are starting the year 2023 with a reflection on the most significant royal decrees that were issued in the year 2022:

Commentary

Mjomba Regulated: New MOCIIP Decision Requires Social Media Influencers to be Licensed

Post author By Riyadh Al-Balushi
Post date December 28, 2022

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) published in this week’s issue of the Official Gazette a regulation governing the activities of marketing and promotion on internet websites and social media that requires social media influencers to register with the government and requires all companies using their service to verify the existence of a licence before dealing with them. The new regulation enters into force in 90 days and imposes fines of up to 1,000 Rial Omani.

Announcements

Decree Subscription Prices

Post author By Riyadh Al-Balushi
Post date December 5, 2022

As previously announced, starting January 2023, Decree will graduate out of its beta phase and will become available as a paid subscription service.