The Cabinet on Wednesday issued a draft law regulating the import and sale of goods by commercial agents and traders in Qatar.
The draft law amends some provisions of Law No 8 of 2002 on the Organisation of Business of Commercial Agents, according to a report by the official Qatar News Agency (QNA).
The Cabinet was earlier briefed on the recommendations of the Advisory Council on the draft law.
According to the amendments, a commercial agent is one who commits himself, under a distribution contract, to promote and distribute goods, products and services for industrial or commercial purposes, provided that he is the sole distributor.
The Cabinet may, upon a proposal from HE the Minister concerned, exempt some goods, products and services from the scope of the law.
Traders included in the commercial register may import goods covered by the agency even if these products have a local agent. HE the Minister may place controls and conditions related to the principle of reciprocity.
“The agent can return to the 'principal' to get commission in accordance with the agreement between them if the goods are imported by third parties for trading purposes,” the report said. The agent, however, does not deserve any commission on goods imported for personal use or re-export.
Further, the report noted that the competent directorate might license the establishment of non-agent workshops for some of the goods covered by the agency contract. The rules regulating these will be set by HE the Minister.
After the regular Cabinet weekly meeting chaired by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani at Emiri Diwan on Wednesday, HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud said it was also decided to approve a Cabinet draft decision to amend some provisions of Decision No 36 of 2014 establishing the national committee for the Customs clearance system (single window).
The committee, set up at the General Authority of Customs (GAC) under its deputy president and with the membership of representatives of the bodies concerned, is in charge of a number of specialisations.
These include facilitating the process of trade exchange between Qatar and other countries by simplifying procedures and non-Customs restrictions at outlets, and limiting all import and export operations to a single window to enable all parties concerned to complete their procedures through the Customs system.
Al Nadeeb, the single-window electronic clearance system, has helped reduce clearing time and its launch “has made Qatar number one in the Arab world and 10th globally in the ease of Customs procedures and regulations”, according to an official quoted in a recent Gulf Times article.
The Cabinet also reviewed a proposal by the Ministry of Interior on collecting fingerprints and biometric data and conducting medical check-ups on expatriates through service centres of specialised companies abroad.
It also approved a Cabinet draft decision amending some provisions of Decision No 17 of 2011 on nominating the chairman and members of the tax appeal committee, organisation of its work and determining its rewards.
Further, the meeting endorsed memorandums of understanding in the fields of health and radio/TV between the governments of Qatar and Pakistan.
The Cabinet also reviewed the annual report of the Communications Regulatory Authority for 2014/2015 and took the appropriate decision.