The proposal of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) to postpone the implementation of Ministerial Edict 130/2016 , which would have taken effect in September, 2017, for another six months, ending in March, 2018, has been approved following a series of meetings between the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and BCCI on the Commercial Registration (CR) fee hike.
The move is based on directives from His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa to hold meetings with BCCI to reach an agreement on CR fees, and those of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, to ensure that any steps to be taken should support the government’s plans to achieve economic growth, and contribute to generating job opportunities for Bahrainis.

BCCI said that the fee hike postponement would enable it to study the situation of small merchants and raise their awareness on the importance of merging commercial activities and its expected benefits.

Following the endorsement of the proposal, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and BCCI extended deepest appreciation to HRH the Prime Minister and HRH the Crown Prince for their constant keenness on supporting the commercial sector, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises in order to push economic growth forward and safeguard the sector.

Based on the agreement, the Ministry and BCCI called on owners of enterprises and companies to review their business activities and remove ineffective ones to reduce commitments associated with the Commercial Register.

The Ministry said that it is fully prepared to provide the necessary advice to merge activities for CR holders.

It is worth noting that Edict 130/2016 on CR fees was part of the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry’s integrated plans since 2014 to develop the business sector