Formation of a Limited Liability Company in Qatar (WLL)

Formation of a Limited Liability Company in Qatar (WLL)

Qatar, possesses a business stimulating environment that instigates the investors to invest in different business entities. Setting up a business in Qatar is not restricted to any specific kind of business. The region has expanded itself to encourage different company incorporations in Qatar. 

Our today’s segment focuses on the establishment process of an LLC in Qatar, and all the necessary details that you need to know before making a concrete investment decision. But before we proceed ahead, let’s have a look at the standard guidelines to be followed while forming an LLC in Qatar.?

Limited Liability Company Formation in Qatar

A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is the most common business entity option that an investor opts for in Qatar. The minimum participants required to set up an LLC in Qatar are two and can get stretched to 50 with at least one Qatari shareholder. This business entity in Qatar is formed under 51%-49% relationship where the foreign partners have the flexibility to own 49% of the entire shareholding whereas the remaining 51% needs to be held by the Qatari shareholder(s). 

Now The essential documents required to start a company in Qatar are:

Q  How does one register a limited liability (LLC or WLL) company in Qatar

There are three basic documents one has to obtain for registering a limited liability company in Qatar. Namely:
1. Commercial Registration  (more commonly known as CR).
2. Trade License
3. Computer Card

Q How can we get around to obtaining these documents?

Let’s begin with Commercial Registration:

This is the first piece of document that needs to be obtained from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce. The CR basically states that this is a legal entity with name (X) and owned by the shareholders mentioned therein. To obtain the CR, one needs to go through the following steps:

Step 1- Trade Name

Get the Trade Name of your business- It is to be kept in mind that it should be a unique name. Also note that, if your desired name does not have any meaning in Arabic, you will have to pay extra QAR 1,000.

Step 2- Articles of Association 

The next step is to get your AoA typed, mentioning all the details of the shareholders and the company. Ministry of Justice in Qatar is your go-to place for this step.

Step 3

Now that you have your trade name and Articles of Association ready, you can submit them for your business to receive the CR. At this point you will be asked about the type of activity your business is conducting and depending on the same a price will be fixed. The price to obtain ranges between QR 1,500-7,000 per year.  One can also have more than one business activity associated with the company but each activity will be charged separately. 

Some business activities may require pre-approval from another ministry eg Opening a pharmacy or a medical clinic will need approval from the Ministry of Health. Or in case of opening a school or an educational institution, prior approval is needed from the Supreme Council of Education,
However, if the nature of business belongs to the standard category like opening a trading company, or a marketing agency, then no prior approval is needed from other ministries for those kind of enterprises.
The final step is to pay the respective fee for each business and processing fee.
Once all these info is submitted to the MEC the CR will be issued. Please note that all the shareholders have to be present in person to verify their identity.

What is the validity of the CR and its usefulness?

The CR validity is usually for only one year, renewable every year. The renewal process is fairly easy and can be done online.

Here are a few things that you can do with your CR:

*Open a corporate bank account.
*Invoice and accept payments from the customers.
* qbuy and own assets under the company’s name.

How can obtain a Trade License?

After receiving the CR, the next step is to obtain a Trade License. Before obtaining a Trade License, it is a mandate to have an office premise booked. This is necessary to rent an office space that has to be approved by the MEC for conducting the mentioned business activity.

The first step here is to fill out the requisite application form available at the MEC website, and submit it, along with the following documents:

• ID card of the authorized person in the business
• Copy of the CR
• Copy of AOA
• Photo of the office building that highlights the office address
• Building completion certificate and ID of the building owner
• Rental acknowledgement, ownership instrument and Civil Defense approval.
• Authorization letter in real estate rents (in case of subcontracts)

How long does it take to obtain a Trade License?

After successfully submitting the documents, one will receive an SMS confirming that the application has been received, and that a MEC representative will be coming for office inspection. 

Once the inspection has been successfully conducted, MEC will send another SMS, within 24 hours, stating that the trade license is ready for collection.

One has to visit the MEC, pay the necessary fees for the trade license (which is usually QAR500 with an additional QAR10 as inspection fees), and a print out the Trade License will be handed over.

How does one get the Computer Card?

The Computer Card is issued by Ministry of Interior’s Immigration Department and is basically a document that signifies who is the signing authority on behalf of the company.
To apply for your Computer Card, one needs an official company stamp to be used on all official paperwork while applying for the card.
The application for the Computer Card has to submitted with the Immigration and Passport Control Office.

The following documents are required:
*The requisite application form duly filled with all the required details.
* CR copy
* Trade License copy.
* ID copies of all shareholders in the company.
* ID copies of individuals who need to be on the computer card.

While the Qatari partner in your enterprise needs to be listed on the Computer Card, the non-Qatari member is not required to do so, but can be included all the same.

After paying the necessary fees, a Computer Card will be issued enabling the company to hire employees and issue residence/work permits and exit permits. 

How much time does it take to register a LLC company?

The entire set-up process can take anywhere between a week to 15 days, depending on how quick one is able to assemble all of the paperwork and how busy the concerned ministries are during that period.

1. Submit a request for Company Registration of a new company online at MOI
2. Obtain the authenticated MOA by the Ministry of Justice
3. Open a bank account and Make a deposit of QR 20,000 at the bank
4. Obtain a permission to commence a commercial activity from the authority

All the above-mentioned procedures are essential and need to be taken care of to initiate the procedure and complete it in a hassle-free way. 

We can say that Qatar is one of the fastest-growing investment and business platforms. If you are planning to invest in Qatar, the best recommendation would be to invest in an LLC. Qatar not only provides you with a wide platform for multiple businesses but can also help your company to grow at a rapid speed and leverage its potential.

Disclaimer: This article is NOT meant to be taken as legal advice, but just a layman’s information of how to start a LLC company in Qatar.