CR fee hike: MP to raise the issue in Parliament
Manama : As businesses in the Kingdom brace for the newly introduced Commercial Registration (CR) fee hike, a Bahraini MP yesterday warned that the concerned minister will be held responsible for “harming the national economy”.
Al Ayam daily quoting Ahmed Qarata, the House of Representatives’ Economic and Financial Committee member, said that the parliamentarian would question Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister, in the upcoming legislative session over the issue.
The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) also raised the issue recently in an official letter sent to His Royal Highness, Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister. The Chamber requested the Premier to revoke the CR fee hike, which would enter into force on 22 September 2017, citing its negative impact on the businesses here.
The Chamber claimed that the businesses here “might go bankrupt or exit the market as a result”.
Challenging the fee hike, Qarata, in his comments to the daily, said: “The new CR fees are unstudied and will harm the national economy”.
“The ministry had introduced 270 new fees in the past two years targeting traders,” Qarata said adding: “These actions would only push the economy into recession”.
He also warned that the fees hike might generate some additional revenues in the short-term, but would fail in the long run.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism invited commercial establishments, individuals, companies and other institutions to verify the fees for their activities by visiting the portal: www.sijilat.com. This, according to the Ministry, is necessary to continue their commercial activities.
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