Qatari Company Formation Process: Obtaining Commercial Registration

Jacob’s digital agency was ready to set up in Qatar and expand out of Singapore. He was especially positive because he had taken on the professional help he needed from Bethel Business and Management Services (BBMS) to assist him to take on the company formation process.

The last 3 weeks have been quite tense for Jacob, but he has had nothing but confidence with the team. It all began with an inquiry email he had sent across. A representative from BBMS immediately responded and called Jacob.. Since Jacob was in a different country and could not come down for face to face conversations, BBMS was able to explain the whole process to him over phone. This put Jacob at complete ease.

After multiple calls and questions where the company’s plans and requirements were discussed, a path was laid out in front of Jacob on how to take this forward. Once all the paperwork needed to start the process was sorted out, Jacob was requested to give preferred names that needed to be approved. The initial conversation also shed light on the commercial activities that the company was undertaking.. In Jacob’s case, this was a digital agency and would need to undertake digital marketing, branding, and advertising design work.

BBMS was swift to prepare all the legal documentation needed for the incorporation process. The most vital being the Article of Association which would need to be signed by Jacob to agree to the terms and conditions for setting up a company in the State of Qatar. The team immediately sought out his feedback from the document shared as his review was vital. Many clarifications were dealt with in this process. Jacob in the meantime had to ensure that all his documentation from Singapore were in place too. The team was very supportive in explaining this to him.

Once all the documentation was vetted and the Articles of Association signed by Jacob, BBMS assisted in helping to obtain the Commercial Registration or CR as it is commonly known.. Along with the Commercial Registration, BBMS got Jacob’s preliminary Tax Card as well from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Formerly known as the Ministry of Economy and Commerce).

Once the Commercial Registration was issued by the Government, BBMS assisted Jacob to start a bank account and bring in the required money to kick start his company’s journey in Qatar. The seed fund from his company in Singapore became the initial Share Capital deposit that was required to be made.

Having now completed the Commercial Registration process, Jacob needed to ensure that he got himself registered with the Ministry of Finance by having his Tax Card issued for him using his authorised auditors. BBMS had already requested Jacob to identify an Audit firm that would be handling his needs and suggested that he seek help from his Singapore Audit firm. They had referred him to their counterparts in Qatar to undertake this process.

While Jacob was getting his tasks completed, BBMS started the process of registering the newly incorporated company in the SAK system web portals for ease of processing Governmental paperwork. This new system assists entities in processing paperwork and Governmental tasks which was otherwise far more difficult to complete.

Jacob now set his eyes on the next process that needed to be complete. This was getting a “Fit for purpose” Office space in the name of the entity that he has now registered so as to ensure he can apply for his next license. Please read here on how Jacob completed his company formation process.

If you are looking to set up a company in Qatar without getting entangled in the day to day issues the process may create, please reach out to us at BBMS via email or phone and we would be happy to assist you. Email us at info@bbms.qa or call us at +974 40 120 333.