Law No. 18 of 2018 and the commercial register

Law firm Salah Alghanim is pleased to publish this briefing on Law No. 18 of 2018, which amended certain provisions of the Commercial Registration Law originally created by Decree No. 1 of 1959.

Law No. 18 of 2018 essentially contains 23 provisions which regulate the process for the registration of companies, branches and establishments at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry allowing them to carry out commercial activities in Kuwait. Law No. 18 of 2018 also helped to align Kuwait’s approach in this area to that of the international community.

The key features of Law No. 18 of 2018 are set out below.

• The Law provides that electronic commercial register shall be issued by a resolution from the Minster of Commerce and Industry.

• Registration in the commercial register is subject to renewal. Failure to renew will result in the registration being cancelled from the commercial register.

• Applications to the register must be decided by the Competent Authority within 30 days from the date of submission. Any application which is rejected must be reasoned. An applicant should receive notification of any rejection decision within 15 days from the date the decision is issued.

• A person has the right to appeal a decision to reject an application before the court within 60 days from either (i) the date of notification or (ii) after the expiry of the deadline to review the application.

• The applicant is responsible for the accuracy of the information submitted and registered in the commercial register .

For any legal advice, please contact via email : info@alghanim.law