MPs approve urgent fee relief plan for war-hit small and medium-sized businesses

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

War-hit businesses could be spared water, electricity and municipal charges after Parliament backed an urgent proposal yesterday aimed at easing the strain on firms hit by the regional conflict.

MPs approved the measure during the Council’s weekly sitting after its sponsors said small and medium-sized businesses had taken a direct hit from attacks reaching Bahrain and from the market strain that followed.

The proposal was put forward by Mohammed Janahi, Ahmed Qarata, Ahmed Al Salloom, Mamdouh Al Saleh and Hassan Bukhammas. Janahi said firms across Bahrain had been hurt by broken supply routes and dearer day-to-day costs.

“Many small and medium-sized enterprises in the Kingdom of Bahrain have been harmed as a result of supply chain disruption and higher operating costs,” he said.

Cash

He said the case for relief was plain: businesses were running short of ready cash at a time when traders still had to keep goods moving and shops stocked.

“In war conditions, companies suffer from a lack of liquidity,” Janahi said, adding that easing payment burdens would leave traders with “immediate cash sums” to help them carry on trading and keep goods in the market.

He also linked the move to food and medicine supplies, saying lower upfront charges at entry points would help speed key goods through and cut hold-ups linked to financial clearance.

“Reducing advance financial burdens at customs points speeds up the flow of strategic goods and prevents their accumulation or delay,” he said.

Price

Janahi said the move would also help check price rises.

He said instant tax payment at the border created “a financing cost” that traders often passed on to shoppers in the final selling price.

Delaying that payment, he said, would help keep prices steady for Bahrainis.

He based the proposal on the exception set out in paragraph (b) of Article 51 of the Value Added Tax Law No. 48 of 2018.