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Commercial Information in Qatar
Establishing a business
In most instances, you will need a Qatari sponsor
holding a 51% interest in order to
open a business
in the State of Qatar. There are provisions for 100%
foreign investment in certain
sectors, subject to
approval by the Ministry of Economy and Trade.
Customs Regulations
Points of entry :
General cargo entering Qatar normally transits
either the overland terminal, Doha International
Airport or Doha Port terminal.
Customs duty charges
-
 General Cargo 5%
-
Steel 20%
-
Urea &
ammonia 30%
-
Cigarettes, tobacco
and its derivatives 100% or QR1,000 per 10,000
cigarettes,
whichever is higher
-
The GCC
countries apply a
unified customs tariff of 5% on
general cargo, payable on initial importation to
the GCC.
Temporary Import
Temporary importation requires prior permission
from the Director General of Customs for each
individual shipment. In addition, a cheque or bank
guarantee must be placed with the Customs Department
covering the dutiable
amount on a deposit basis for the duration of
the
utilisation of the material in Qatar. This deposit will
be returned after proof of export
from Qatar has been provided.
The normal duration for temporary import is six
months, with a normal option to extend for a further six
months.
GCC Importation
On cargo of which at least 50% is manufactured
within the GCC States, no customs duty is
applied. If less than 50%, duty relief is applied
only on the percentage of the cargo which is
GCC manufactured.
To
qualify for duty exemption, goods should be
accompanied by a GCC Certificate of
Manufacture as approved by the Chamber of Commerce, Riyadh, KSA.
Documentation Requirements
All documentation should be original copies and
goods should be accompanied by commercial invoice,
packing list and certificate of origin.
Depending on the terms of the shipment,
legalisation can be attended to in Doha and the
documents need only be notarised by the origin
Chamber of Commerce.
All
invoices should have a non-Israeli clause
clearly mentioned.
Normal Customs Clearance
By air
- one to two days. By sea -
two to four days. There are no container size restrictions
at
Doha Port.
TAX
There is no income tax in Qatar. The government levies a
tax on profits of foreign-owned
stakes in
Qatari companies.
This is applied on a sliding scale, peaking at 35 per
cent on
profits of more than QR5 million. However, tax is levied
inconsistently. Exemptions are available for companies
operating in
'strategic infrastructure' sectors and each project is judged on a
case-by-case
basis.
Business Hours
Government offices are
open from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm daily from Sunday to
Thursday. Banks are open from 7:30 am to 1:30 pm Sunday
to Thursday. Commercial offices normally open from 8:00
am to 1:00 pm and from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm.
Public Holidays
Friday is the Muslim day of rest and all offices are
generally closed. The major holidays observed in
Qatar are as follows:
-
Eid Al Fitr
4 days holiday
-
Eid Al Adha
5 days holiday
-
National Day
December 18th
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