Doing Business In... 2023 Comparisons

The legal system in Qatar is based on civil law and principles of Islamic Shariah law.

The Constitution of the State of Qatar came into effect on 9 April 2004 and is the supreme law of the State.  According to the Constitution, legislative authority is vested in the Advisory Council (the Shoura Council). The Shoura Council approves the general policy of the government and the budget, and exercises control over the executive authority.

Pursuant to the Constitution, judicial authority in Qatar operates independently from the government and is vested in the courts. The courts are organised into the following three categories:

• Court of First Instance;
• Court of Appeal; and
• Court of Cassation.

The Court of First Instance has jurisdiction to hear lawsuits involving civil and commercial disputes, administrative disputes and other disputes as provided under applicable law. The Court of Appeal decides on appeals filed against first instance judgments. The Court of Cassation is the highest court in Qatar’s judicial system and decides on appeals filed against judgments issued by the Court of Appeal.

It is important to note that a separate legal framework applies to companies registered or incorporated in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). The QFC is an onshore business and financial centre in Qatar and operates independently from the State of Qatar. The QFC has its own legal framework and court system. For the purpose of this questionnaire, discussion is limited to the laws of the State of Qatar.

Foreign direct investment is regulated by Law No 1 of 2019 on the Investment of Non-Qatari Capital in Economic Activity (the “Foreign Investment Law”) and its Executive Regulations No 44 of 2020 (the “FIL Executive Regulations”).

The Foreign Investment Law permits up to 100% foreign ownership. However, if a foreign investor seeks to increase its shares in a company to more than 49% of the company’s capital, the foreign investor must apply for approval from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) prior to investing.

Foreign investors are permitted to invest in companies across all economic sectors excluding banking and insurance companies (unless authorised by a decision of the Council of Ministers), commercial agencies and any other fields for which a decision from the Council of Ministers is issued, provided that the relevant applicant meets certain requirements.

To obtain approval to own more than 49% of a company’s capital, a foreign investor must file an application and the required supporting documentation, including the business and financial plans pertaining to the company, with the MoCI and pay applicable fees at the time of filing.

To be approved, the foreign investor must satisfy certain eligibility criteria. For instance, natural persons must not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude or dishonesty, unless rehabilitated. For legal persons, the relevant entity must be duly incorporated in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is headquartered and the business activities to be pursued in Qatar should be the same as such company’s existing business activities. In addition, the FIL Executive Regulations specify that the company’s activities should fall within the list of activities issued by the Council of Ministers.

The competent department of the MoCI (currently the Investments Promotion Department) shall notify the applicant of its decision concerning the incorporation within 15 days from the date of the documents’ submission. If no decision is notified within this period, the submission is deemed to be rejected.

It is illegal to conduct any business in Qatar without establishing a legal presence or appointing a local agent, distributor or franchisee. Any person who practises or is involved in any economic activity in breach of the Foreign Investment Law may be subject to a fine of up to QAR500,000.

As part of the application, a foreign investor must confirm in writing that it will be responsible for all liabilities in connection with the company, and that the company will commence operations within the timeframe specified by the MoCI. The approval granted will be deemed withdrawn in the absence of such confirmation.

A rejected applicant may appeal the decision within 15 days from the date of notification of the rejection or from the date of expiry of the period specified for a decision on the application without a response. A minister shall decide on the appeal within 30 days from the date of submission. If no decision is notified within this timeframe, the decision on appeal shall be deemed rejected and the resolution of the minister on the appeal shall be final.

The Commercial Companies Law No 11 of 2015 (the “Commercial Companies Law”) permits the establishment of seven corporate vehicles for purposes of establishing a legal entity in Qatar. The most commonly used corporate vehicles are:

• limited liability companies (LLCs); and
• shareholding companies.

Other corporate vehicles include:

• general partnerships;
• holding companies;
• limited partnerships;
• partnerships limited by shares; and
• unincorporated joint ventures.

Limited Liability Companies

LLCs have the following key features:

• no minimum paid-up capital requirement;
• minimum of one shareholder but no more than 50;
• 51% Qatari equity ownership versus 49% foreign participation unless otherwise exempted; and
• liability of the shareholders is limited to the amount of their respective contributions to the LLC’s share capital.

LLCs are permitted in almost all sectors of the economy excluding banking, insurance and fund investment activities. Existing shareholders benefit from pre-emptive rights to purchase any shares offered for sale, unless the right is expressly waived.

Qatari Shareholding Companies

A Qatari shareholding company (QSC) is established by ministerial resolution issued by the Minister of Commerce and Industry. A QSC is required to have at least five shareholders. The capital of a QSC is divided into transferable shares of equal value. The shareholders of a QSC are not liable for the company’s obligations except for the amount of nominal value of the shares for which they subscribe.

A QSC can be public or private. Shares held in a public QSC are listed and can be traded on the Qatar Stock Exchange with a minimum capital requirement of QAR10 million. A private QSC must have no less than five shareholders and a minimum share capital of QAR2 million. A private QSC can convert to a public QSC provided that certain conditions are met.

Limited Liability Company

To incorporate an LLC, a memorandum of association setting out the terms for governance and related matters should be prepared in Arabic, with or without an English translation, approved by the MoCI and legalised before the Ministry of Justice.

Once the memorandum of association is signed and legalised, the LLC must register with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and obtain:

• a commercial registration from the MoCI;
• a municipal licence (also known as a trade licence) from the Ministry of Municipality; and
• an immigration card (also known as a company ID) from the Ministry of Interior.

Depending on the nature of the proposed activities, pre-approvals may be required from the relevant authorities in Qatar in certain circumstances.

Other requirements include submitting a declaration of beneficial ownership and payment of applicable service fees.

Incorporation of an LLC generally takes approximately four to six weeks.

Qatari Shareholding Company

To incorporate a Qatari shareholding company, a memorandum of association must be prepared and submitted to the MoCI, along with personal identification for each Qatari and resident founder and a copy of a valid commercial registry for each legal person. A bank certificate attesting to the deposit of the value of the shares to which the founders have subscribed, in their capacity as founding shareholders, must also be provided. The memorandum of association must be certified by the competent department at the MoCI and authenticated by the relevant authority. A minister’s decision shall be issued authorising the incorporation of the company.

The founders must also seek approval to reserve the company’s trade name. If the company is to be a public shareholding company, approval from the Qatar Financial Markets Authority is also required. Where one of the founders is a foreign legal person, a power of attorney or an authorisation for incorporation must be submitted, provided it includes the name, nationality and address of the legal person and is authenticated by the Embassy of the State of Qatar in the country where the headquarters of the company overseas is located (if any). A translation must be provided if the document is in a language other than Arabic.

To become a public shareholding company, the company must offer its shares for public subscription within 60 days from the date of its incorporation. If the company fails to offer its shares within this period, the company will automatically terminate by law unless the founders, within 30 days from the end of the period when the shares should have been offered to the public, amend the memorandum of association and articles to be converted to any other form of company stipulated under the law.

Incorporation of a Qatari shareholding company generally takes approximately four to six weeks or a longer period if the company decides to offer its shares for public subscription.

In each financial year, the board of directors of a private company is required to prepare a balance sheet of the company, its profit and loss account, cash flow statements and appropriate clarifications. A comparison with the previous financial year must also be included, and the company’s auditor must approve these financial documents. In addition, a report on the activity of the company, its financial position during the previous financial year and future plans for the following year will also be required.

Applicants for registration in the Commercial Register or for renewal or amendment of commercial registration certificates must submit a beneficial ownership form identifying the “ultimate beneficial owner” for such entity. This form must be filed with the MoCI.

Limited Liability Company

An LLC may have one or more managers, who will have full authority over management, unless the articles of association provide otherwise. If there are multiple managers, the articles of association of the company may provide for a board of managers and set out the corporate governance and voting thresholds of the board.

Qatari Shareholding Company

A Qatari shareholding company is managed by an elected board of directors. The company’s articles of association determine the manner of its election, its composition and the applicable terms of office.

Under the Commercial Companies Law, the board of directors is jointly liable for compensating the company, its shareholders and third parties for damages resulting from:

• acts of fraud;
• misuse of authority;
• breaches of the provisions of the law or the company’s articles of association; and
• gross mistakes in performing their duties.

The foregoing liability applies to all members of the board of directors if such damage results from a resolution passed by them unanimously. However, in relation to resolutions passed by a majority, objecting members will not be liable provided they state their objection in writing in the minutes of a meeting. Absence from the meeting at which the resolution is passed will not be deemed an excuse for exemption from liability, unless it is proven that the absent member was not aware of the resolution or was unable to object to it after becoming aware of it.

The Commercial Companies Law states that the liability of a manager is akin to that of the members of the board of directors of shareholding companies, and that they will be jointly liable if they fail to add the expression “limited liability company” to the name of the LLC as required under the Commercial Companies Law.

The concept of “piercing the corporate veil” arises under Article 295 of the Commercial Companies Law. Pursuant to Article 295, the board of directors must call for the convening of an extraordinary general assembly if the shareholding company incurs losses that reach half the capital amount, in order to discuss the continuity or dissolution of the company. Where the board does not invite the extraordinary general assembly or where it was not possible to take a decision regarding the matter, any stakeholder may request the competent court to dissolve the company. The foregoing is distinguishable from common law jurisdictions where courts disregard the company’s separate legal identity in instances of fraud, wrongdoing or injustice to third parties.

Employment in Qatar is generally governed by Qatar Labour Law No 14 of 2004, as amended (the “Labour Law”). The Labour Law imposes certain minimum standards regarding:

• employees’ rights;
• safety standards;
• workers’ collective committees; and
• termination of employment.

The following employees are excluded from the application of the Labour Law:

• those employed by ministries, and by other public institutions and bodies; and
• those who are subject to special employment regulations.

Expatriate employees are also subject to the provisions of Law No 21 of 2015 (the “Sponsorship Law”), which governs the sponsorship, residence and exit of expatriate employees.

Expatriate employees are required to sign a short-form government employment e-contract for purposes of obtaining a work permit and a residence permit. The e-contract is filed with the Ministry of Labour.  In practice, expatriate employees enter into more detailed contracts with their employers setting out additional terms of employment relating to annual leave, discretionary bonus, probationary periods and allowances.

Article 73 of the Labour Law sets the maximum limit of regular working hours at 48 hours per week and eight hours per day during all months of the year, except during the Holy month of Ramadan, where the maximum working hours are set at 36 hours per week and six hours per day. Working hours do not include time spent commuting between the workplace and accommodation.

Article 74 of the Labour Law governs overtime hours. If required, a worker may be employed for extended hours beyond the maximum hours referred to above. However, the daily working hours cannot exceed ten hours, with the exception of work that is necessary to prevent a gross loss or dangerous incident, or to repair or mitigate the effects of such loss or incident. An employer is required to pay for overtime in an amount that is not less than the applicable basic wage plus a bonus of not less than 25% of the basic wage (ie, 125% of the basic wage). The employer is also required to pay employees working between 9pm and 6am the basic wage plus a payment of not less than 50% of the basic wage (ie, 150% of the basic wage). The foregoing does not apply to workers working on shift schedules.

Termination With Notice

An employee may be terminated without cause under an employment contract, in which case the terminating employer must notify the employee in writing of their intention to terminate the employment contract, and must comply with the following statutory notice periods as prescribed under the Labour Law:

• during the first two years of employment, the notice period is one month; and
• after the first two years of employment, the notice period is two months.

Termination Without Notice

An employee may be terminated without notice for any of the instances set out in Article 61 of the Labour Law.

Redundancies

The Labour Law permits collective redundancies on the basis of “economic, structural or other reasons that are not related to the employment contract” and provides for financial penalties for those who breach the Labour Law.

In advance of effecting any redundancy dismissals, the employer must inform the Ministry of Labour at least 15 days prior to the dismissal, and must provide the Ministry of Labour with a written statement setting out:

• the reasons for the termination;
• the number and categories of workers likely to be affected; and
• the period over which the termination(s) is likely to be carried out.

This reporting obligation is in addition to the employer’s duty to serve the employee with contractual notice of termination.

Retirement

There is no statutory retirement age (except for Qatari nationals employed in the public sector in Qatar generally).

End-of-Service Gratuity

For employees who have completed a minimum of one year of continuous service with the employer, the terminating employer must pay end-of-service benefits where applicable, except in the case of an Article 61 termination.

There are no mandatory requirements for employees to be represented, informed or consulted by management under the Labour Law.

Trade unions are permissible provided certain conditions are met. Employees may go on strike subject to compliance with the Labour Law requirements.

The Income Tax Law No 24 of 2018, as amended (the “Tax Law”) regulates taxation in Qatar. Individuals employed in Qatar pay no tax on income arising from their employment. However, foreign businesses in Qatar are subject to corporate income tax as described below.

Generally, a Qatari LLC or a registered branch pays tax on its taxable profits at a flat rate of 10%. Exceptions to the 10% rate apply to petroleum companies engaged in oil and gas operations which are taxed at the rate specified in their development agreements, provided that such rate is at least 35%.

To the extent that it is permissible to do any business in Qatar through a non-resident entity without a legal presence, payments made to the non-resident entity related to activities performed wholly or partially in Qatar are subject to withholding tax of 5% on royalties. This includes royalties for the use of intellectual property, the use of industrial, commercial or scientific equipment or information, and for services performed in Qatar without a legal presence.

As of the date of this publication, value added tax is not applicable in Qatar.

Foreign Tax Credits

Foreign tax credits are not available under the Tax Law. However, foreign tax paid on foreign income earned outside Qatar may be deducted from taxable income, provided that such income is taxable in Qatar and taking into account the following:

• that the foreign tax is a tax on income imposed by a foreign state or by one of its political subdivisions or local authorities;
• that the foreign tax is an effectively paid tax; and
• that the foreign tax is reduced by any amounts recovered from the foreign state.

Tax Exemptions

The Tax Law sets out a number of tax exemptions applicable to both individuals and institutions. Income that is exempt from tax under the Tax Law includes but is not limited to:

• income derived from charitable institutions;
• certain capital gains;
• gross income generated from various activities; and
• shares of non-Qatari investors in profits from trading securities.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, an exempt entity is still required to file a tax return.

In addition to the above, Qatar has two special regimes that provide tax exemptions to entities that fulfil certain criteria: Qatar Science and Technology Park and Qatar Free Zones. Benefits of setting up in one of the Free Zones include 100% foreign ownership and a 20-year tax holiday (ie, zero corporate tax, zero customs duties, and no personal income tax).

Consolidated returns are not permitted under the Tax Law. Each company must file a separate tax return.

Thin capitalisation rules under the Tax Law provide that any loan between related parties should be at arm’s length, and interest expense should not exceed three times the equity of the entity. Interest payments made by a permanent establishment to its head office or to related parties are not deductible for tax purposes.

Previously, the General Tax Authority (GTA) had a right to counteract any artificial arrangements carried out with an intention to avoid the payment of tax due through the application of one or more of three measures (ie, applying the arm’s length principle, recharacterising arrangements where the form was not in line with the substance, or adjusting the amount of tax due). Recent amendments to the Tax Law have removed the arm’s length measure while retaining the other two, which may result in potential discretionary adjustments by the GTA.

Article 56 of the Executive Regulations of the Income Tax Law and Articles 2 and 3 of the Decision of the President of the GTA No 4 of 2020 set forth provisions on transfer pricing in Qatar. In accordance with these provisions, entities resident in Qatar must submit a declaration on transfer pricing when the following conditions are met:

• the annual tax-free turnover of these entities or the gross assets appearing on their balance sheet is greater than or equal to QAR10 million; and
• these entities are associated with other entities established in Qatar or abroad.

There are no anti-evasion rules in Qatar.

Mergers and acquisitions are subject to Law No 19 of 2006 Concerning the Protection of Competition and the Prevention of Monopoly Practices (the “Competition Law”) and Ministry Resolution No 61 of 2008, which implements the Executive Regulations of the Competition Law.

The parties to the transaction must notify the Competition Protection and Anti-Monopoly Committee (the “Committee”) established under the Competition Law and its Executive Regulations of all transactions that fall within the scope of the Competition Law and its Executive Regulations. The Competition Law applies to the following transactions:

• persons intending to possess assets, ownership rights or usufructs;
• persons intending to buy stocks; and
• persons intending to create consortiums or mergers, or to combine the management of two or more corporate persons in a way that leads to domination in the market.

The Competition Law does not apply to the State’s sovereign acts, or to the acts of the institutions, bodies, companies and entities subject to the State’s guidance and supervision. In addition, pursuant to the Competition Law, a minister may, based on the request of the concerned parties, issue a decision to exempt any bids, agreements and contracts which restrain competition, whenever this is in the consumer’s interest.

The parties directly involved in the merger must notify the Committee of the proposed transaction and obtain the Committee’s approval before proceeding. Implementing a transaction without obtaining this approval would result in a violation of the Competition Law and the Executive Regulations. Where a transaction is subject to the Competition Law, the parties should notify the Committee as soon as possible to receive clearance and avoid delays in the transaction.

The parties are not required to enter into a binding agreement prior to notification. There is no deadline for the notification to be made and there are no filing fees associated with making such notification.

The Competition Law prohibits entering into agreements, concluding contracts or engaging in practices that violate the rules of competition. Anti-competitive conduct includes the following:

• tampering with product prices by raising, reducing or maintaining them, or by any other manner;
• limiting the free flow of products entering or exiting the market either partially or completely, by hiding or refraining from handling them despite their presence with their holder, or by storing them without any justification;
• causing a sudden abundance of products leading to their circulation at a price affecting the economies of other competitors;
• preventing or obstructing any person from exercising their economic or commercial activity on the market;
• hiding the products available on the market, either partially or completely, from a specific person without any justification;
• limiting production, manufacturing, distribution or marketing operations, or restricting the distribution of services, their type or size, or imposing conditions or constraints on their availability;
• dividing or allocating product markets based on geographical areas, distribution centres or types of clients, or on seasons, time intervals or products;
• co-ordinating or agreeing with competitors on submitting or refraining from submitting bids in tenders, practices, biddings and procurement tenders – this does not include joint tenders where the parties announce the foregoing from the start, provided they do not aim to prevent competition in any way whatsoever; and
• knowingly publishing erroneous information about the products or their prices.

Under the Competition Law, institutions that have a dominant position in the market are prohibited from abusing this position and shall not be permitted to do the following: 

• refrain from trading products through selling or buying, or limit or obstruct such trade leading to the imposition of artificial prices;
• reduce or increase the available quantities of the product, thus inducing an artificial state of insufficiency or abundance;
• refrain without any legal justification from entering into agreements with any person for selling or buying a product, sell their product, subject of the trade, for less than their actual cost, or cease any dealings with such person in a manner that limits their freedom to enter or exit the market at any time;
• impose the obligation to suspend the manufacturing, production or distribution of a product for specific periods of time;
• impose the obligation to restrict distribution or sale of specific goods or services, without others, based on geographical areas, distribution centres, clients, seasons or periods of time among persons with a vertical relationship;
• link the signature of an agreement or a contract to sell or buy a product with the condition of accepting obligations or products that are not, either by their nature or by their commercial use, in connection with the original trade subject or agreement;
• neglect the principle of equal opportunity among the competitors by discrimination in the conditions of selling or buying transactions, without any legal justification;
• refrain from making a scarce product available, whenever its availability is economically feasible;
• force a supplier not to deal with a competitor;
• sell products at a price that is less than their marginal cost or their average variable cost; and
• force the persons they deal with not to allow a competitor to use their facilities or services, even if this is economically feasible.

For the avoidance of doubt, institutions are allowed to have a dominant position but are not entitled to abuse this position.

In Qatar, applicants may benefit from the following types of patent protection:

• national patents under Law No 30 of 2006 (the “Patent Law”);
• patents under the Paris Convention Treaty;
• international (PCT) patent; and
• regional (GCC) patent for protection in six-member states.

Under the Patent Law, a patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention.

Patents benefit from protection under the Patent Law for a period of up to 20 years. All patent rights are subject to payment of annual renewal fees, commencing one year after the patent application is filed. Residents and businesses based in Qatar can apply directly to the MoCI for patent protection.        

Registration under the Patent Law requires the filing of an application. Within 90 days of filing and payment of applicable fees, the applicant must also submit a power of attorney and deed of assignment.

Individuals and businesses may submit a request to the Intellectual Property Protection Department at the MoCI to issue a temporary patent protection certificate. This request is used to protect a patent before a patent registration request is submitted to the applicable MoCI department, so that the inventor does not lose the novelty term when submitting the original request to the MoCI department within a period not exceeding six months from the date of showcasing the invention at exhibitions.

Under Qatar Law No 9 of 2002 on Trade Marks (the “Trade Marks Law”), the categories eligible for protection as a trade mark are as follows:

“… names, signatures, words, letters, numerals, designs, pictures, symbols, stamps, seals, vignettes, reliefs, and any other sign or combination of colours, a single non-functional colour, a sound, a smell or a combination of signs, if used or intended to be used to distinguish the products of an industrial, occupational or agricultural enterprise, forest exploitation or mining enterprise or goods sold or services offered in the course of trade.”

Trade mark protection is valid for ten years from the date of filing the application, and the owner has the right to renew the protection. A mark that has not been renewed cannot be registered by a third party until at least three years have passed.

The Industrial Property Administration System (IPAS) is used to examine marks and issue a final decision. The Industrial Property Office (the “Office”) looks at the application at hand and checks for any violations with the provisions of the law.

If the Office finds that the applicant is not in compliance with the law, it can refuse the application or impose any restrictions and amendments it may consider necessary to define and clarify the mark for it to be registered more accurately. The Office will notify the applicant of its justified decision by means of a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, within 30 days from the date of submitting the application. If the applicant fails to comply with the requirements within a period of six months, the application will be deemed null.

The applicant may within 60 days appeal against the decision of the Office, and the appeal will be decided by a committee within the Ministry. The applicant may appeal against the decision of the committee to the relevant civil court within 60 days from the date they are notified of the decision.

Where the mark is accepted, or the resolution or decision mentioned previously is in favour of the applicant, the Office will publicise the mark in the Gazette, a monthly book produced by the ministry containing all trade marks registered within the previous month.

Any person concerned may submit a notice in writing of their opposition to the registration of a mark, stating their reasoning, within a period of four months after the mark is publicised. If no issues arise, the mark will be registered and recorded in the registry.

Law No 10 of 2020 on the Protection of Industrial Designs stipulates that an application for the registration of an industrial design can be submitted by the rights owner at the Industrial Property Office (IPO). Applications will be examined within 30 days from the filing date, and oppositions may be filed within 60 days by interested third parties.

None of the following may be registered as industrial designs in Qatar:

• designs or models serving the technical and functional features of a product;
• designs or models comprising religious symbols and logos, or seals, emblems, symbols or flags relating to any country or international organisation or contrary to public order; or
• designs or models identical or similar to a registered or famous trade mark.

Protection for industrial designs is granted for a term of five years and is renewable for two similar periods upon payment of the renewal fees. The law allows for late renewal which is contingent upon the submission of proof of an excusable reason and the payment of a surcharge.

Qatar Law No 7 of 2002 on the Protection of Author’s Rights and Related Rights (the “Copyrights Law”) defines a copyright (or author’s right) as a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works.

The author of the owner of the copyright shall have the exclusive right to carry out or to authorise any of the following acts:

• reproduction of the work;
• translation of the work;
• making excerpts, musical arrangements or other transformation of the work;
• distribution to the public of the work through sale;
• rental to the public of audio-visual works or computer programs – however, the right to rental does not apply to the rental of computer programs where the program itself is not the essential object of the rental;
• public performance of the work; and
• transmission of the work to the public.

The author of a work shall have the following moral rights:

• to have their name or pseudonym indicated on their work or not to have their name indicated on their work;
• to object to any distortion, deformation or modification of their work; and
• to prohibit any other use of their work which would be prejudicial to their honour and reputation.

These moral rights are imprescriptible and perpetual.

Registration of the above rights requires the submission of an application along with a copy of the work, a copy of ID and payment of fees.

Applicable Fees

Fees for registration are QAR800 per work (comprising QAR300 for registration and QAR500 for certificate issuance).

Term of Copyright

Protection for financial rights and works of individuals and joint authorship begins once created and lasts for 50 years after the death of the last author.

Protection for collective works and audio-visual works begins once published and lasts for 50 years.

Protection for moral rights is perpetual and transferable by inheritance after the author’s death.

The Copyrights Law covers related rights, which are defined under the law as the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organisations and apply to the following:

• performance of Qatari performers;
• sound recordings of Qatari producers or recordings that have been recorded or published in Qatar; and
• broadcasting organisations’ programs where such organisations are seated in Qatar or where their programs were broadcasted through a transmitter in Qatar.

Performers

Performers are granted certain moral rights and financial rights, which are protected until the end of the 50th year starting the year that follows the year of fixation of the performance in a sound recording or, in the absence of such fixation, from the end of the year in which the performance took place.

Producers of Sound Recordings

Producers of sound recordings are granted the exclusive right to carry out or authorise any of the following acts:

• direct or indirect reproduction of a sound recording in any manner or form;
• rental to the public of a copy of the sound recording; and
• making the sound recording available to the public through sale.

The rights of publication to the sound recording are protected until the end of the 50th year following the year of publication of the sound recording or, if the sound recording has not been published yet, starting the year that follows the year of fixation of the sound recording.

Broadcasting Organisations

Broadcasting organisations have the exclusive right to carry out or authorise any of the following acts:

• re-broadcasting of their broadcasts;
• transmission of their broadcasts to the public;
• fixation of their broadcasts; and
• reproduction of a fixation of their broadcast.

The rights of the publication of the sound recording are protected for 20 years from the year following the year in which the broadcast took place.

The principal legislation governing data protection in Qatar is Law No 13 of 2016 Concerning Personal Data Protection, as amended in 2021 (PDPPL), and related regulatory guidelines issued by the National Cyber Governance and Assurance Affairs (NCGAA) in November 2020.

Article 15 of the PDPPL prohibits data controllers from taking any measures to prohibit cross-border data flows, which refers to accessing, watching, retrieving, using or storing personal data without restriction of the State’s border. However, controllers are permitted to take measures against cross-border data flows if such processing is in violation of the PDPPL or might result in serious harm to the personal data or the individual.

The NCGAA, a division of the National Cyber Security Agency, is the authority responsible for ensuring compliance with the PDPPL. The NCGAA is empowered with proposing and publishing relevant guidelines and with following up on their application.

Tax Amendments

On 2 February 2023, the State of Qatar published Law No 11 of 2022 amending several provisions of the Tax Law. One of the key amendments was the introduction of a global minimum effective tax rate of 15% for in-scope entities. On 16 May 2023, amendments to the Executive Regulations of the Tax Law were published, introducing, among other things:

• changes to the definition of “permanent establishment” in the Tax Law;
• a revised determination of taxable income for a permanent establishment; and
• new economic substance rules.

The amended Executive Regulations do not address the implementation of the global minimum tax; however, further guidance on the implementation of a global minimum tax is expected.