Earlier this year, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) issued a resolution amending the Companies Law thereby compelling Kuwait Shareholding Companies (KSC) to include in their budgets a clause that supports Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) with 1 percent of their annual net profits.
On 17 August 2023, MOCI issued the following instructions to KSCs:
1) The articles of association of a KSC should be amended to include an article providing for the mandatory deduction of 1% of the net profit of the KSC to be contributed towards KFAS. Failure to do so can result in MOCI rejecting any approval requests by a KSC to hold an extraordinary general assembly.
2) KSCs must submit an annual clearance certificate issued by KFAS, confirming the payment of the annual KFAS amount due.
This is one of several measures which continue to push KSCs to comply with their KFAS obligations.
For more information, please contact Michel G. Ghanem and Mohamed Abdulwahed.
On 19 January 2025, a Decree Law was published in official gazette Kuwaiti AlYoum amending Article 441 of the Civil Law No 67/1980. Previously, article 441 provided that “1- In the event of denial, a claim for taxes and fees due to the state shall not be heard after the… Read more
This note provides an overview of the key points concerning the applicability and implementation of the recently issued Tax Decree Law No. 157 of 2024 (the law) on Multinational Entities (MNEs) Group Tax. The law aims to align Kuwait’s tax system with international standards under the OECD’s Pillar Two framework… Read more
On August 6, 2024, the Saudi Arabian government introduced amendments to the Labor Law issued by Royal Decree No. (M/51) dated 23/8/1426 AH, as amended. These changes aim to improve working conditions, clarify employer obligations, and enhance worker rights. The revisions include amendments to thirty-eight articles, deletion of seven articles,… Read more
The prevalence of restrictive clauses in contracts with a Kuwaiti nexus, introduced by both service providers and product suppliers, has become a notable feature in the business landscape. These clauses often seek to limit client autonomy by restricting the resale of purchased goods or engagement with competing service providers. However,… Read more
After much anticipation, Egypt’s Prime Minister issued Decree No. 1120 of 2024 (Decree) revealing the long-awaited amendments to the Competition Act’ executive regulations (Regulations). By way of background, in December 2022, the Egyptian Competition Act underwent a major overhaul with the introduction of a pre-merger control regime that grants the… Read more
The business and economic landscape of Kuwait just changed. With the ratification of the first law of 2024: Law Regarding the Amendment of Article 24 of the Commercial Law and Article 31 of the Public Tenders Law (1/2024) (the “Foreign Company Amendments Law”) on 21 January 2024, foreign companies now… Read more