Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

 

  1. What are the requirements of obtaining a commercial register?

 

In order for you to get a commercial register, you have to go to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MCI) and accompany with you the following documents:

Ø         Family ID copy or the national ID along with its origin for the trader, authorized agent and the firm’s owner accompanied with occupation prove from the Civil Status Department.

Ø         Firm’s ownership deed or the firm’s store lease contract.

Ø         License from the firm’s related activity governmental agencies that the activity’s practice requires.

           

After obtaining the commercial register, a membership to the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce (RCCI) is required through the RCCI’s branch at the MCI.

 

Notes:

 

ú         Applicants should be at least 18 years old.

ú         Legitimate authorization is a must in case of the mandate of the other.

 

  1. How to obtain a sub commercial register or modify an activity data of a commercial register?

 

You need to go to the MCI and have the following documents with you:

 

o       Commercial Register’s origin to be renewed or modified.

o       Family ID or the national ID copy and origin, along with the proof of the occupation from the Civil Status Department.

o       Ownership’s contract or the firm’s lease deed if the title of the firm is to be changed.

o       RCCI’s effective subscription’s copy for the main commercial register and a letter of bookkeeping from the RCCI’s branch at the MCI for the sub commercial register.

o       License from related governmental agencies if modification requires.

 

  1. Is it a must for every firm to subscribe to the RCCI? If so, how much is the annual subscription?

 

Yes. All firms having a commercial register are required subscription at the RCCI to be able to complete recruitment procedures and visit the governmental departments. Subscription’s fees are according to rules and RCCI’s categorizations of firms, as follows:

 

}        Excellent Class: 10,000 SR.

}        First Class: 5,000 SR.

}        Second Class: 2,000 SR.

}        Third Class: 800 SR.

}        Fourth Class: 300 SR.

 

4.     What are the requirements and conditions of RCCI’s subscriptions?

 

To subscribe to the RCCI, you need the following documents:

a.      Effective commercial register or license.

b.      IDs of the firm’s Owner, Chairman of the board, Managing Director, or the legitimate authorized agent along with the copies origins.

c.       Foundation contract’s origin of the company and an identical copy (for newers only).

d.      Effective engineering committee’s certificate of origin along with a copy for conformation for engineering offices only.

e.      A formal copy of the firm’s letter print.

 

5.     What are the procedures of adding and approving signatures to the RCCI’s membership?

 

To add or approve a signature to the firm’s membership, you need to do the following:

 

}        Responsible official attendance (Firm’s owner, managing director, legitimate authorized agent, signature authorized personnel.)

}        Origin of national ID with a copy of which.

}        Legitimate authorization certificate if the personnel in charge is the general manager of the firm.

}        Filling out the application form (Adding signature procedures form) in front of the description if the personnel of the firm has no prior signature at the RCCI.

}        If the authorized personnel to sign is a non Saudi, he should be under the firm’s or owner’s sponsorship.

 

6.     What are the procedures of signature change?

 

            The procedures are, as follows:

1.      Signature holder wishing to change the signature should come personally.

2.      Bringing the ID along with a copy of it.

3.      Filling out the application form.

 

7.     How much is it to certify documents at the RCCI?

 

The price of certifying documents at the RCCI for all firms is only 25 SR.

 

8.     Is it possible for a subscriber in any of the Kingdom’s Chamber of Commerce & Industry to have his/her documents certified at the RCCI?

 

Yes. A subscriber at any other chamber of commerce may have his/her documents certified after assuring that the firm is a member of that chamber through the Fax Unit at the RCCI.

 

9.     How to inquire about a commercial agency?

 

The inquirer has to write a formal letter forwarded to the Information Center Director at the RCCI incorporating the name of foreign agency, its country of origin and the product type the agency produces and the payment of 20 SR.

 

After that an employee at the Information Center searches for the agency at the Agency System linked to the MCI. Inquiry is usually made by searching by company name. In case the search result has proven that an agent is found for the required agency, the complete contact information is submitted to the inquirer and a seal is made on the letter of the inquirer saying an agent is found in the meantime. But in case of the search result proved that an agent for such products is not found

 

10.    How to inquire about a commercial goodwill for an international company?

 

The commercial goodwill, credit reports, for local and international firms is a service rendered by the Information Center through contracting with a specialized international credit reports company. After requesting a credit report about a given company around the world, a detailed report is submitted to the Information Center. The report gives a businessman the power to make better business decisions. To inquire about this service, a letter should be addressed to the Information Center Director at the RCCI, which must include the name of the requested company and its complete address. It is worth mentioning that this service contains three categories according to country of the company and the speed of the reports to be submitted. Each category has its own pricing.

 

11. What are the requirements for obtaining a permit to travel to Thailand?

 

To obtain a permit for travelling to Thailand, you should bring the following:

ú     Attaching a proof of previous dealings with a Thai firm.

ú     Applicants should be effectively subscribed at the RCCI.

ú     Applicants should have an authorized signature at the RCCI.

ú     Applicants should be a businessman or trader from his ID data.

ú     Attaching a copy of the applicant’s national ID.

ú     Attaching a copy of the applicant’s passport.

 

12.What are the requirements of making commercial discounts?

 

            An applicant should request permission for commercial discounts from the

Licenses Department at the RCCI prior to commencement date of the discounts in at least one month after fulfilling the following conditions:

·        Items to be discounted should be among the registered activities of the firm at the RCCI.

·        The general number of the discounted items should not be less than 15% of the total products.

·        The owner of the firm should put noticeable cards on the discounted items showing the price before and post the discount.

·        The items’ percentage to be shown for a discount should not be less than 50% of the total items of the store.

 

13.What are the procedures of conducting a commercial competition?

 

An applicant should request permission for commercial competitions from the Licenses Department at the RCCI after fulfilling the following steps:

 

]     Filling out the application form of conducting a commercial competition.

]     Filling out the application form of gifts presented statement.

]     Presenting a proof of owning the gifts.

]     Presenting a proposed competition voucher before printing that contains:

§         Competition’s questions, the name and the address of the competitor.

§         Number of answers that the correct answer is among them.

§         A serial number at the top of the voucher.

§         Dating the competition.

]     Submitting the proposed advertisement of the competition in the media prior to final approval.

 

14.What are conditions of the commercial competitions?

 

            The conditions of commercial competitions are as follows:

Ø      Referring to the number and date of the competition permit on the competition advertisement.

Ø      Providing the RCCI with a proof that gifts have been submitted to the winners (Winner confirmation of gift reception and its type and the ID copy or the other part of the voucher) in a maximum of a month time from the date of winners’ announcement.

Ø      In case the prize is travel tickets, the journey should be within the Kingdom.

Ø      The product or service price should not be increased from the prevailing price and that be valid for at least three months.

Ø      Advising the RCCI of the date and location of prize classification in no less than two days.

Ø      Competitions’ questions should not include Islamic principles, traditions or customs flaw or that their answer relies on guess.

 

15.    Is it possible to have a list of RCCI’s members in Riyadh city? And if so how?

 

Yes. You may have such list from the RCCI’s website at the members’ database. The database could be reached at http://www.riyadhchamber.com/members.php.

 

16.    How could I have a list of companies operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a given activity?

 

You may have such list through contacting the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry at 01-218 2222 or 01-218 2273.

 

17.    How could I have a list of foreign companies working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a certain activity?

 

Yom could have such list from the commercial attaché of the related company.

 

18.    How could I have a certificate of origin and what are the requirements?

 

You could have the certificate through the electronic website of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Certificate of Origin Department. The website is http://www.commerce.gov.sa/cs.

 

19.    How could I have the accounting records (bookkeeping)?

 

To get the accounting records, visit the RCCI’s branch at the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.