Qatar Chamber Urges Inactive Companies to Strike Off Their Commercial Registrations

Qatar Chamber

Qatar Chamber (QC) called on all Qatari companies to abide by the General Tax Authority's circular which calls for the tax return for the taxable year 2020 before the end of the extension period on December 31 to avoid financial penalties in accordance with the Income Tax Law and its executive regulations. The circular stipulated that companies and establishments owned by Qatari citizens and citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries that are exempt from income tax, whose share capital is less than QR 1 million and their annual revenue are less than QR 5 million, should submit the tax return before that deadline.

Companies that fail to abide by such procedures alongside with the submission of financial statements will be prone to pay financial penalties of QR 500 for each day delay (maximum QR 180.000) according to the 24 Article of the Income Tax Law. In a statement issued on Monday, Qatar Chamber called on businessmen who own "permanently inactive companies" to cancel the commercial registration of these companies.

The Chamber also pointed to the requirements of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) regarding the cancellation of commercial registration for 100 percent Qatari companies, indicating that cancellation in this case is made through the MoCI directly without referring to the General Tax Authority.

Similarly, as for Qatari companies with a foreign partner but do not operate and do not have a commercial license, the cancellation shall be made through the MoCI directly without referring to the General Authority for Taxes.

Also, for companies that have a foreign partner, and the commercial registration has not been renewed for more than 10 years, the cancellation shall be made through the MoCI directly without referring to the General Tax Authority.

As for Qatari companies operating with a foreign partner and have a commercial license, they must submit the tax returns for the last fiscal year, pay all tax obligations, if any, and submit a tax clearance request through the electronic tax portal. The statement also said that the cancellation shall be made in the presence of a commercial registration and the absence of a commercial license, but in the case of an expired commercial register and an expired commercial license, the cancellation shall take place after bringing a sealed statement from the Ministry of Labor that there is no employment in the company.

As for the expired commercial registration for a Qatari company with a GCC partner, the cancellation shall be made through the MoCI.

SOURCE: QNA