Ministerial Resolution No. 565 of 2017 Issuing the Executive Regulations of Law No. 13 of 2016 Regulating Commercial Agencies

Ministerial Resolution No. 565 of 2017
Issuing the Executive Regulations of Law No. 13 of 2016 Regulating Commercial Agencies

Article One

The provisions of the Executive Regulations of Law No. (13) of 2016 Regulating Commercial Agencies, the texts of which are attached to this Resolution, shall be applied.

Article Two

The Executive Regulations of Law No. (36) of 1964 referred to above are hereby repealed, as are any resolutions that contradict or conflict with the provisions of these Regulations.

Article Three

This Resolution shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall come into force from the date of its publication.

Executive Regulations of the Commercial Agencies Law

Article 1

In applying the provisions of these Regulations, the following words and expressions shall have the meaning assigned to each of them, unless the context of the text requires otherwise:
State: the State of Kuwait.
Ministry: the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Minister: the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
Law: Law No. (13) of 2016 referred to above.
Competent Department: the Commercial Agencies Section at the Ministry.
Register: the Register of Commercial Agents at the Competent Department.
Principal: the producer, the manufacturer, the distributor accredited by either of them, or the exporter providing the commercial service, the centre of any of whom is outside the State and who appoints a commercial agent therein.
Agent: the natural person who is a citizen of the State, or the company in which the share of the Kuwaiti partner or partners is not less than 51% of its capital, who has the right, under the commercial agency contract, to represent the principal for the distribution, sale, promotion, distribution, display or provision of a good or service within the State in return for a commission or profit.
Commercial Agency: a contract between the principal and the agent under which the agent undertakes to import, distribute, sell or display the principal’s products, or to provide commercial services, within the State in return for a commission or profit.

Article 2

All commercial agencies that fulfil the conditions and provisions of the Law and these Regulations shall be registered in the Register. The application for registration shall be submitted by the agent or the distributor, or by whoever legally represents them under an official power of attorney, to the Competent Department on the form prepared for that purpose, in two original copies, accompanied by the following documents:
– The original agency contract, authenticated by the competent official authorities in the principal’s country, by the State’s embassy there and by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with a true copy thereof, provided that the original is returned to the agent after it is matched against the submitted copy.
– A compact disc containing the agency contract and the documents relating to it.
– A certified Arabic translation of the agency contract and of any other documents drawn up in a foreign language.
– A certificate evidencing registration in the Commercial Register.
– Proof that the natural person or group of persons hold Kuwaiti nationality, or that the share of the Kuwaiti partner or partners in the company is not less than 51% of its capital.
– A copy of the valid commercial licence issued to the agent or the distributor to carry on the activity covered by the agency.
– A certificate from the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
– The approval of the concerned authorities whenever the goods or products that are the subject of the agency so require.

Article 3

The registration or annotation particulars shall be written in clear handwriting, without abbreviation, alteration, interlineation or erasure; the applicant for registration shall sign every addition or correction in the margin of the application; and the number of words added or cancelled shall be counted, and the Competent Department shall annotate them to indicate that the review has been completed.

Article 4

Applications for registration in the Register shall be numbered with the numbers of the receipts or payment vouchers for the prescribed fees, and the numbering shall start on the first of April of each year. Applications that are accepted shall be registered in the Register in the order of payment of the fees prescribed for them, and the agent or distributor whose application is accepted shall be granted a certificate evidencing the registration of his agency in the Register, in accordance with the form prepared for that purpose.

Article 5

The Ministry shall give whoever has had his agency registered a letter addressed to the Ministry of Information so that he may announce in the Official Gazette the registration of the agency and all the material particulars relating to it. If the product, good or service has another agent registered in the Register of Commercial Agencies, the new agent shall, in addition, announce the registration of the agency in two daily newspapers published in Arabic in accordance with the prescribed wording, within two weeks from the date of registration of the agency. If the announcement is not made as referred to above, the registration shall be suspended until the announcement is completed, and the agent shall be notified thereof.

Article 6

The announcement referred to in the preceding Article shall include the following particulars:
– The names of the agent and the principal and the nationality of each of them.
– The date and number of registration of the agency.
– The products, goods and services covered by the agency and their trade name.
– The agent’s territory.
– The term of the agency.
– The place of business of the principal and of the agent.
– The trademark of the product, good or service, if any.

Article 7

Regular indexes shall be established at the Competent Department for each of the following:
– The names of agents or distributors.
– The names of principals.
– The type of product, good or service.
– The trade name of the product, good or service.
– The trademark, if any.

Article 8

Non-documented expenses shall be determined as follows:
– Internal transport expenses.
– Buffet expenses for the internal hospitality of the establishment’s customers.
– Cleaning expenses.
– Ordinary maintenance expenses.
– Expenses for newspapers and magazines required by the nature of the activity.

Article 9

The registration of a commercial agency shall be struck off the Register upon an application submitted by the agent or the distributor, by whoever represents him under an official power of attorney, by his heirs, or by the legal representative of the agent or distributor company, within three months from the date on which the agency ends for any reason whatsoever, or on the agent or distributor ceasing to fulfil any of the conditions stipulated in Article (2) of the Law, provided that three original copies of the form prepared for that purpose are submitted, accompanied by the following documents:
– The original certificate of registration of the agency.
If the certificate is lost, a letter signed and stamped by the agent or the distributor stating so shall be attached.
– A copy of the attestation of the local agent’s signature issued by the competent authority.

Article 10

If it is established to the Ministry that one of the grounds for striking off the commercial agency under the provisions of the Law and these Regulations exists, or that the registration was made on the basis of incorrect particulars or documents, the Ministry may notify the persons concerned by registered letter to attend in order to discuss with them the ground requiring the striking off. If they fail to attend or do not submit reasons acceptable to the Ministry, the Ministry may strike off the registration and notify them thereof.

Article 11

The registration shall be struck off the Register by drawing two intersecting lines in red ink over the recorded particulars required to be deleted, and the date and reason of the deletion shall be indicated in the margin of the Register.
In the case of annotating particulars that would change or amend the particulars registered in the Register, those particulars shall be struck through in red ink, the new particulars shall be recorded in the same place, and the date of the relevant annotation, the documents supporting the amendment or change and their date shall be indicated in the margin of the Register.

Article 12

The application for renewal of the registration of a commercial agency, amendment of its particulars or issuance of a replacement for a lost certificate of registration shall be submitted to the Competent Department on the form prepared for that purpose, accompanied by the following documents:
– The letter of renewal or amendment, authenticated by the competent official authorities in the principal’s country, by the State’s embassy there and by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
– A certified Arabic translation of the letter of renewal or amendment and of any other documents drawn up in a foreign language.
– A certificate from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
– The original certificate of registration, in the cases of renewal of the registration or amendment of its particulars.
– A copy of the agent’s valid commercial licence.
– The receipt for payment of the prescribed fees.

Article 13

If a fixed-term agency contract includes a provision for its automatic renewal unless either party notifies the other of its wish not to renew, the registration of the agency shall be renewed on the basis of a letter from the agent stating that the agency contract continues.

Article 14

The judicial police officers, appointed by a resolution of the Minister, shall carry out their work in accordance with the following rules and procedures:
– Carrying a valid identity card bearing the name, capacity and photograph, which shall be produced when detecting and recording the violation.
– Inspecting the identity of the violator, recording its particulars in the violation report and returning it to him, and recording the violation against the agent holding the licence or the manager appointed for the agency, if any.
– Completing all the particulars of the violation reports in accordance with the form prepared for that purpose, and sending the reports to the competent Public Prosecution while keeping a copy of them together with the date and number of their dispatch, and following up on what is done regarding them.
– Seeking the assistance of the police and requesting that the procedures be completed at the police station when necessary.
– Adhering to daily itineraries setting out the tasks approved by the direct superior or in accordance with the current assignment, and recording this in a daily log.
– A report shall be drawn up recording the attendance or non-attendance of the violator; in the latter case, he shall be handed a notice of the violation report specifying the place and time of his attendance to meet the competent judicial police officer. In all cases, the violator may establish his attendance by an application submitted to the director or the assistant undersecretary, stating the reasons for his non-attendance and his wish to complete the procedures.
– Sealing the seized items when necessary, completing the procedures and submitting the violation report, with all the procedures completed, to his superiors within two weeks at most.

Article 15

The judicial police officers referred to in the preceding Article are prohibited from performing any of the following acts:
– Recording any violation except on a legal basis in accordance with the violations stipulated in the Law.
– Entering dwellings except after obtaining permission or authorisation from the competent authorities.
– Closing the shop or establishment wholly or partially except in execution of a court judgment.
– Using force or threatening a measure that is not within their competence, or interfering with any of the visitors to the shop or establishment or dealing with them in an improper manner.
– Disclosing matters that come to their knowledge by virtue of their functions if they are [confidential] by their nature.
* Completed from the context.

Issued on 5 October 2017 and published in the Official Gazette Kuwait Al-Youm on 15 October 2017.