Business In Kuwait

Rules For Business In Kuwait:-The rules of commerce are in general similar to West European practice.
Any Kuwaiti or GCC national over 21 years of age may carry on commerce in Kuwait provided he or she is not affected by a personal legal restriction. But a foreigner (non-GCC national) may not carry on a trade unless he or she more Kuwaiti partners and the capital owned by the Kuwaiti partners(s) in the joint business is not less than 51 % of the total capital (60 % in the case of banks, investments houses and insurance companies). A foreign firm (including a partnership) may not set up a branch and may not perform any commercial activities in the country except through a Kuwait agent. Foreign individuals and firms may not acquire commercial licences in there own name nor may they own real estate locally.
The main laws regulating business in Kuwait, which have been amended several times since they were issued, are (a) The civil code (Law 67 of 1980), (b) The commercial code (Law 68 of 1980), and (c) The commercial companies law (Law 15 of 1960).
Is Business License Necessary ?

To do business, silences is necessary. General trading, contracting, importing and industrial license are issued by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MCI). For particular commercial activities, specific licences are requierd and these are often issued by the ministry that controls that activity, eg publishing licenses are granted by the Ministry of Information.
Business licenses are only issued to Kuwaiti nationals and Kuwait companies and. In some cases, to GCC nationals and companies. Costs are usually KD100 per licenses, All licenses require period renewal, normally even two years.
The right to import goods into Kuwait on a commercial basis is restricted to Kuwait individuals and firms who are member of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) and who have import licenses issued by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MCI).

Import License Is Required:
General import licenses, which must be renewed annually, allow any amount of a variety of products from any country to be imported any number of times. But special licenses are needed to bring in regulated products such as arms, ammunition and explosive, ethyl alcohol, drugs, pesticides, jewellery and precious stone, weights and weighing machines, vintage cars, etc; these too must be renewed annually. Special licences are also needed to import industrial equipment and spare parts; these are issued to industrial firms upon the recommendation of the public Authority for industry and are valid for a single use only.
To protect local morals, alcoholic beverages and materials used in making them, pigs, pork, pork and pigskin products (such as handbags, wallets and shoes), narcotics and associated plants and seeds, pornographic and subversive materials, are, among other items, prohibited. To protect local industry, items such as vehicles over 5 years old and goods manufactured locally are prohibited. Items injurious to health, such as air-guns, asbestos and cyclamates, are banned import from Israel and Iraq are banned absolutely.
All imports, as well as locally made items, must comply with Kuwaiti standard specifications (GCC), a set of common standards being devised under the GCC’s Unified Economic Agreement, apply, and if there is no suitable GCC, the product must adhere to international standards.