Procedures of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment for the Establishment of Institutions and Companies
| No: 381000053455 | Date(g): 13/2/2017 | Date(h): 17/5/1438 |
Effective from 2017-02-13 - Feb 12 2017
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SAMA received a letter from the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, No. (21879) and dated 26/04/1438H, which includes the current procedures followed by the ministry for establishing all types of institutions and companies, and the requirements and conditions for obtaining a commercial registration and articles of incorporation, with the aim of disseminating this information to the banks and financial institutions operating in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has developed procedures for the establishment of institutions and companies to increase the attractiveness of the local investment environment and facilitate the commencement of business activities, aiming to elevate the competitiveness of the investment environment in the Kingdom to the ranks of the best countries in the world based on global competitiveness standards and indicators.
The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has developed the procedures for establishing institutions and companies to be electronic for all types of institutions and companies (except for joint-stock companies, branches of Gulf companies, and branches of foreign companies). These procedures have been developed as follows:
1- Creating an electronic founding contract through the Ministry of Commerce and Investment website.
2- Contract notarization by the notary public or authorized legal notaries.
3- Issuing an electronic payment invoice that includes the financial fee for issuing the commercial registration certificate, the cost of electronic publication, and the subscription fees for the Chamber of Commerce.
4- Issuing the electronic record in PDF format, which can be printed from the personal account in the electronic services of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment."
Accordingly, SAMA emphasizes to the banks and financial institutions operating in the Kingdom the necessity to adhere to the following:
| First | The cessation of issuing a certificate of capital deposit for limited liability companies is due to the Ministry of Commerce and Investment canceling this requirement for this type of company before issuing the commercial registration. |
| Second | Compliance with the attached schedule prepared by the Ministry of Commerce and Investment, which explains the method of establishing institutions and companies according to the type of legal entity and nationality, regarding the requirement for the prior deposit of capital and the deposit certificate for issuing the commercial register. |
| Third | Adherence to the rules for opening bank accounts and the general rules for their operation in commercial banks in the Kingdom with respect to opening bank accounts for legal entities. |
For your information, and to act accordingly from its date, noting that commercial records can be verified electronically through the (Wathq) service.
An illustrative table for the method of establishing companies and institutions based on the type of legal entity and nationality.
| Type of legal entity | Establishment Service | Does the issuance of the commercial registration require the prior deposit of capital and the issuance of a deposit certificate | The initial procedure for setting up a company bank account. | Electronic verification service for deposit status (electronic linkage service between banks and the Ministry of Commerce and Investment) | The Project of Automating the Establishment Service |
| Individual enterprises | Electronic | No | Completed (activated) account | Available | The project has been completed |
The companies with limited liability (Local, External, Foreign, Mixed) "The companies that are established within Saudi Arabia" | Electronic | No. | Completed account (activated) | Available | The project has been completed |
| Partnership firms and professional companies | Electronic | No | Complete (active) account | Available | The project has been completed |
| Limited partnership companies | Electronic | No. | account Under establishment | Available | The project has been completed |
| Joint-stock companies | Handmade | Yes | Account under establishment | Not available | Within the strategic plan |
| Gulf company branches "For all types of legal entities, the system of the home country should be good." | Manual | Yes | Account under establishment | Not available | Within the strategic plan |
| Foreign companies Branches (For all types of legal entities according to the regulations of the home country | Manual | Yes | Account under establishment | Not available | within the strategic plan |
Notice: The new Companies Law, which came into effect on May 2, 2016G, permits the establishment of companies owned by a single natural or legal person, applicable only to limited liability companies or joint-stock companies.