The Bahraini Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MOICT) has agreed to delay implementation of the Ministerial Edict 130/2016 on fees for conducting business activities in Bahrain from 22 September 2017 to 22 March 2018. The announcement followed discussions with the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).

Under the new system for Commercial Registration (CR), fees are to be assessed per business activity, with annual fees ranging from BD25 (USD66) to BD1,000 per category. In many cases, this will involve significant increases for CR holders with multiple categories.

The postponement is intended to give CR holders an additional six-month period in which to review the business activities on their commercial registration in order to avoid paying additional activity fees.

In order to keep CR renewal costs to a minimum, Sovereign recommends:

• Companies with CRs expiring BEFORE August 2018 should renew CRs prior to March 2018. You will pay only the current renewal fee. To reduce next year’s CR renewal fee, you should review your business activities, as below;
• Companies with CRs expiring AFTER August 2018 should review your business activities immediately, such that similar activities can be merged under one category and activities that are no longer being used, or which you do not intend to use going forward, can be deleted.

In addition to helping your company with its CR renewal and the deletion of any unwanted business activities, Sovereign can also provide assistance with:

• Company Registration & Renewals
• Intellectual Property Registration & Renewals
• Visa Processing, Document Clearing & Related Services
• Accounting Services (Bookkeeping/Auditing/Payroll)
• Corporate Secretarial Assistance
• Corporate Sponsorship
• Virtual Office Packages
• Meeting Rooms

5th Floor, GBCORP Tower,
Bahrain Financial Harbour,
P.O. Box 60202,
Kingdom of Bahrain