Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has started the implementation of regulations regarding the registration of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the issuance of Entrepreneurship cards. The regulation grants the MSMEs owners 90 days from the implementation date in an effort to reconcile their situation.
The Entrepreneurship Card is a document that enables its holder to obtain a package of facilities in various sectors from relevant authorities. The most important objective of the card is to support small and medium enterprises through the provision of a set of privileges and incentives by government and private agencies in coordination with the SMEDA. The card is granted to the enterprise according to conditions set by the regulations.
Ahmed al Asmi, Director of the Customer Services Department at SMEDA, said: “The regulation came to keep pace with the rapid changes in the world of entrepreneurship and provides wider opportunities for small and medium enterprises to enable them to sustain their growth, as it will increase the pace of packages of facilities, incentives and exemptions from government and private institutions.” Entrepreneurship will raise the contribution of these institutions to the gross domestic product and their role in employment.
The conditions for registering the enterprises include the status of the enterprise as small or medium, according to the classification stipulated in this regulation. It depends on the number of enterprise workers and the revenue volume in Omani riyal.
A major firm or its branch should not own the institution, and the headquarters of the institution should be within the geographical borders of the Sultanate of Oman. The application for registration of the institution should be submitted on the form prepared for this purpose.
The regulations also specified the aspects of selling, waiving, or disposing of the enterprise that obtained the Entrepreneurship Card in any way by settling all obligations related to aspects of support and incentives, provided that the new owner of the enterprise obtains a new Entrepreneurship Card within thirty days from the date of sale, assignment, or disposal. In addition, the entrepreneurship card is considered cancelled if a new card is not issued within the period referred to, and all aspects of support and incentives obtained by the organisation are cancelled.
The regulations also stated that the entrepreneurship card might be cancelled at the request of the owner of the enterprise, provided that all obligations related to support and incentives are settled.
When the entrepreneurship card is cancelled for any reason, the support and incentives associated with it will be cancelled, and it is not permissible to apply for a new card for any establishment belonging to the previous owners or one of them or an establishment in which they are partners, except after the lapse of at least one year from the date of cancellation.
It is worth noting that SMEDA followed the regulation by a decision specifying the categories eligible for the entrepreneurship card, and the regulation witnessed an expansion in the categories to include five categories in line with the changes and in an effort to maximise the impact of the sector on the national economy and raise its contribution to the gross domestic product and to meet the rapid changes in the business world and economic changes.
Obtaining the card requires that the owner of the enterprise be insured in one of the retirement or social insurance systems of the competent authorities, with the exception of retirees or those over the age of sixty years. The entrepreneurship card is issued for a period of one year, renewable for similar periods, provided that an application is submitted for renewal before sixty days from its expiry date, and the card is considered cancelled in the event of non-renewal within the aforementioned period, provided that he has no obligations that impede the cancellation of the card.
The new regulations for registering MSMEs and issuing the Entrepreneurship Card aim to provide wider opportunities for small and medium enterprises.
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