Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Economy Profile
Qatar
Page 1
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Economy Profile of Qatar
Doing Business 2019 Indicators
(in order of appearance in the document)
Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company
Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality
control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system
Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the
electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs
Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration
system
Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems
Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance
Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as
well as post-filing processes
Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts
Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes
Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the
legal framework for insolvency
Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
About Doing Business
The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected
cities at the subnational and regional level.
The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying
to them through their life cycle.
Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative
indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit,
protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also
measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market
regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does
present the data for these indicators.
By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time,
Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves
as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy.
In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and
regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve
performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region
and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked.
The first Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets
and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that
have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the
Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these
11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from
governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving
the regulatory environment for business around the world.
More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB)
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Ease of Doing Business in DB 2019 Rank
Region Middle East & North Africa
190 1
Qatar
Income Category High income 83
DB 2019 Ease of doing business score
Population 2,639,211
0 100
City Covered Doha 65.89
DB 2019 Ease of Doing Business Score
0 100
69.85: Bahrain (Rank: 62)
67.19: Oman (Rank: 78)
65.89: Qatar (Rank: 83)
62.20: Kuwait (Rank: 97)
58.56: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 120)
58.30: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
Note: The ease of doing business score captures the gap of each economy from the best regulatory performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies
in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s ease of doing business score is reflected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest and 100
represents the best performance. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190.
Rankings on Doing Business topics - Qatar
2
1
20 20
28
55
69
84
82
Rank
97
109 120
124 122
136
163
178
190
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
Ease of Doing Business Score on Doing Business topics - Qatar
99.44
100
87.67
83.27
79.16 78.59
80
71.51
Score
60
52.79
40.00 38.12
40
28.33
20
0
Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving
a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency
Business Construction Investors Borders
Permits
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Starting a Business
This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited
liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city.
To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has
start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10
and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two
types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the
other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a
business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally start and formally operate To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
a company (number) business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is
readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes.
• Preregistration (for example, name verification or
reservation, notarization)
The business:
• Registration in the economy’s largest business - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type
city
of limited liability company in the economy, the most common among domestic firms
• Postregistration (for example, social security is chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation
registration, company seal) lawyers or the statistical office.
- Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
• Obtaining approval from spouse to start a
business or to leave the home to register the also collected for the second largest business city.
company - The entire office space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet).
- Is 100% domestically owned and has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity;
• Obtaining any gender specific document for has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a turnover of at least
company registration and operation or national 100 times income per capita.
identification card
- Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale
of goods or services to the public. The business does not perform foreign trade
Time required to complete each procedure
activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example,
(calendar days)
liquor or tobacco. It does not use heavily polluting production processes.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate and the
information amount of the annual lease for the office space is equivalent to the income per
capita.
• Each procedure starts on a separate day (2
procedures cannot start on the same day) - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits.
- Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of
• Procedures fully completed online are recorded operations, all of whom are domestic nationals.
as ½ day - Has a company deed that is 10 pages long.
• Procedure is considered completed once final
document is received The owners:
• No prior contact with officials - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are
assumed to be 30 years old.
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record.
income per capita) - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities.
- Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or
• Official costs only, no bribes man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the
• No professional fees unless services required by answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population.
law or commonly used in practice
Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per
capita)
• Funds deposited in a bank or with third party
before registration or up to 3 months after
incorporation
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Starting a Business - Qatar
Standardized Company
Legal form Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Paid-in minimum capital requirement QAR 0
City Covered Doha
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Procedure – Men (number) 7 7.2 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Men (days) 7.5 20.5 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 7.1 22.6 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Procedure – Women (number) 8 7.9 4.9 1 (New Zealand)
Time – Women (days) 8.5 21.2 9.3 0.5 (New Zealand)
Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 7.1 22.6 3.1 0.0 (Slovenia)
Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 8.1 8.6 0.0 (117 Economies)
Figure – Starting a Business in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Starting a Business Score
0 100
92.89: Oman (Rank: 37)
89.57: Bahrain (Rank: 66)
87.67: Qatar (Rank: 84)
84.11: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 109)
82.00: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
81.40: Kuwait (Rank: 133)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores
are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Figure – Starting a Business in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
5
8
Cost (% of income per capita)
7
4
6
Time (days)
5 3
4
2
3
2
1
1
0 0
1 2 3 4 *5 *6 7 8
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Starting a Business in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 APPLIES TO WOMEN ONLY: Obtain husband's permission to leave the 1 day no charge
house to register a company
Agency : Domicile
According to the Family Law, No. 22 of 2006, Art. 69(2) and (5) married women shall be
dis-entitled to marital support if she leaves the matrimonial home without the permission
of the husband, or if she works outside the home without the permission of her husband.
2 Reserve a unique company name at the Ministry of Economy and Less than one day QAR 1,000
Commerce (online procedure)
Agency : Ministry of Economy and Commerce
The applicant submits to the officer in charge at the Commercial Registry at the MEC the
suggested name and activities of the company. In case the name is available at the
Commercial Registry and at the Trademark Department, the name will be reserved in
favor of the applicant and the officer in charge at the Commercial Registry at the MEC
will provide the applicant with a certificate. This certificate will state that the name is
reserved for the respective period and includes the activities that will be under taken by
the company. In this respect, the applicant can pay an amount of QAR 1,000 to reserve
the name for a period of six months.
3 Obtain the approval of the Commercial Companies Control Department on 1 day QAR 1,500
the articles of association
Agency : Ministry of Economy and Commerce
Once the name is approved, the Article of Association (AoA) should be printed out on the
letterhead of the Authentication Department at the Ministry of Justice in Arabic or in
Arabic and English languages. The unsigned AoA should be then submitted to the officer
in charge at the Companies Department at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce who
will provide his approval and stamp the AoA with the Companies Department stamp in
the event he does not have any comment on the provisions of the AoA.
4 Authenticate the Articles of Association at the Ministry of Justice (one- 1 day QAR 10 for the
stop-shop counter at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce) document and QAR 9
Agency : Authentication Department of the Ministry of Justice for each additional
The company's articles of association must be prepared in Arabic in the standard format shareholder
of the Ministry of Justice. The Commercial Companies Control Department stamps this
official form before the parties can proceed to sign it at the Authentication Department.
All authorized signatories must be present before the notary of the Ministry of Justice at
the designated one-stop-shop counter for the authentication process.
The articles of association must include the following information:
• Company name, annexed with "with limited liability"
• Company location/head office address
• Objectives of the company
• The fixed term of duration
• The startup capital and the manner in which it has been subscribed
• The restrictions on the transfer of shares
• Names of all shareholders
• The manner in which profits or losses will be distributed between the shareholders
• Names of persons entrusted with the company's management
• The capital structure
If any shareholder is an entity rather than a natural person, the entity will need to provide
the following documents to the Ministry of Justice before signing the Articles of
Association:
• Duly legalized and authenticated Board/Shareholders Resolution approving the
incorporation of the company and appointing a representative to sign the Articles of
Association
• Duly legalized and authenticated Certificate of Incorporation or equivalent document
• Duly legalized and authenticated Articles of Association of the entity
• A passport copy of the representative authorized to sign the Articles of Association on
behalf of the company
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
5 Register with the Commercial Registry and the Chamber of Commerce and 1 day (simultaneous QAR 2,200 (Chamber
Industry at the one-stop-shop of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce with previous of Commerce) + QAR
Agency : Ministry of Economy and Commerce procedure) 500-5,000
The entrepreneur proceeds to a now single counter at the one-stop-shop of the Ministry of (Commercial
Economy and Commerce in order to register with the Commercial Registry and the
Registration)
Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Prior to May 2011, the entrepreneur had to go to 2
different counters to register with each of the Commercial Registry and the Chamber of
Commerce.
The following documents must be submitted for registration with the Chamber of
Commerce & Industry:
• Duly completed application form signed by the appointed managers and company
representatives
• The Chamber of Commerce authorized signatories form
• The original authenticated articles of association, along with the approved draft
• Copies of authorized signatories’ ID cards
The following documents must be submitted for registration with the Commercial
Registry:
• Duly completed application form
• Copy of the memorandum and articles of association
• Copy of the receipt confirming the payment of the administrative fees due for the
review of the memorandum and articles of association
• Copy of the certificate of deposit of the startup capital at an approved bank in Qatar
• Copies of the partners' ID cards
The fee for registering the company at the Commercial Registry depends on the
company's scope of activity. The fee to register with the Chamber of Commerce &
Industry depends on the capital of the company.
It is to be noted that there are no certificates to be issued from the Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, however it will be mentioned on the Commercial Registry certificate itself
of the company that the latter was also registered at the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry.
6 Obtain the trade and signage licenses from the Municipality of Doha (one- 1 day (simultaneous QAR 10,020
stop-shop counter at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce) with previous
Agency : Ministry of Economy and Commerce procedure)
The following documents should be submitted to Department of Registration and
Commercial Licenses at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce:
- The original signed lease agreement of the offices where the company's head office will
be located. The said agreement should be in Arabic or dual language English/Arabic.
- An indoor and outdoor photo of the building where the offices will be located.
- A copy of the certificate of ownership of the leased property.
- A copy of the certificate of building completion.
- A copy of the Commercial Registry of the company.
- The ID copy of the person who will sign the application forms.
- A copy of the civil defense certificate: there should be one certificate for the property
and another one for the leased office.
- In case the owner of the leased offices is a company, the following documents are
required:
o A copy of the Commercial Registry certificate of the owner of the leased offices; and
o ID copy of the authorized signatory on behalf of the owner of the leased offices.
- The Trade License application forms
The following documents should be submitted to issue the signage license:
- The sketch for the signboard where the name of the company should be written in
Arabic and English; and
- The signage application form
The fee for obtaining a new trade license is QAR 10,020. The municipality usually sends
inspectors to the contemplated premises of the company prior to granting the Trade
License.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
7 Register for taxes and obtain a Tax Identification Number (TIN) 1 day no charge
Agency : Public Revenues and Tax department at the Minsitry of Finance
To register for taxes at the Tax Department of the Ministry of Finance, the following
documents must be submitted:
1. Articles of Association
2. Copies of the ID cards of the company founders and partners
3. The Commercial Registration of the company (CR)
4. Trade License
5. Certificate of the company premises' registration (and registration number) at the
Water and Electricity Authority (Kahramaa)
6. Certificate of appointment of the company auditors
According to the tax law, every company must register for taxes at the Tax Department;
otherwise, it will be subject to a fine. This step must be completed within a month of
incorporation; the company can start business operations upon obtaining the trade license.
8 Make a company seal 2 days QAR 150
Agency : Seal maker
In practice, every company makes a company seal. This is mainly because certain
documents must be stamped by the company seal before submission to governmental
agencies.
The stamp will be needed mainly to stamp the documents that must be stamped by the
company seal before submission to the competent authorities. In order to make a stamp,
the following documents will be in principle submitted to the respective shop:
1- A letter signed by any authorized signatory on behalf of the company requesting from
the shop to make a stamp for the company;
2- The ID/passport copy of the authorized signatory who signed the letter mentioned
under item 1 above; and
3- A copy of the Commercial Registry of the company.
Applies to women only.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Dealing with Construction Permits
This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all
required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with
Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of
quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of
data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The construction company (BuildCo):
all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and
certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s
largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second
• Submitting all required notifications and receiving largest business city.
all necessary inspections
- Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a
• Obtaining utility connections for water and legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with
sewerage the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any
other employees who are technical or licensed experts, such as geological or
• Registering and selling the warehouse after its
completion topographical experts.
- Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse
Time required to complete each procedure upon its completion.
(calendar days)
The warehouse:
• Does not include time spent gathering
information - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery.
- Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of
• Each procedure starts on a separate day— approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3
though procedures that can be fully completed
meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of approximately
online are an exception to this rule
929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the
• Procedure is considered completed once final warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita.
document is received - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed
architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further
• No prior contact with officials
documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of as procedures.
income per capita) - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and
regulatory requirements).
• Official costs only, no bribes
The water and sewerage connections:
Building quality control index (0-15)
- Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there
• Quality of building regulations (0-2) is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is
• Quality control before construction (0-1) no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be
installed or built.
• Quality control during construction (0-3) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average
• Quality control after construction (0-3) wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of
1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300
• Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) gallons) a day.
• Professional certifications (0-4) - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the
year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for
the sewerage connection.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Dealing with Construction Permits - Qatar
Standardized Warehouse
Estimated value of warehouse QAR 11,528,672.40
City Covered Doha
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 16 16.6 12.7 None in 2017/18
Time (days) 58 137.4 153.1 None in 2017/18
Cost (% of warehouse value) 2.0 4.7 1.5 None in 2017/18
Building quality control index (0-15) 12.0 12.1 11.5 15.0 (3 Economies)
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Dealing with Construction Permits Score
0 100
79.16: Qatar (Rank: 20)
73.40: Bahrain (Rank: 57)
72.05: Oman (Rank: 66)
71.77: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 68)
62.35: Kuwait (Rank: 131)
59.17: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with
construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value)
2.5
50
Cost (% of warehouse value)
2
40
Time (days)
1.5
30
1
20
0.5
10
0 0
1 2 3 *4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 * 15 * 16
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Qatar and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
15 14.0
13.0
12.0 12.0 12.1
11.0
Index score
10
5
0
Qatar Bahrain Egypt, Arab Rep. Kuwait Oman Middle East & North Africa
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Hire a certified consultant to undertake pre-approvals and supervise 1 day QAR 230,573
construction
Agency : Private Firm
2 Obtain planning permission 3 days QAR 100
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
Architects apply to obtain planning permission on any working day but can receive the
planning permission only on Sundays, Tuesday, and Thursdays. The cost of obtaining a
planning certificate (QAR 100) has not changed since 1998.
The application to obtain planning permission must include the documents below. These
documents are usually available within the company, causing no need for further
procedures to be recorded:
• Ownership Certificate: The government owns all lands in Doha and leases them to
private citizens. A rent payment is paid on an annual basis to the MIA. The architect
should only bring the receipt of last year's payment. This receipt is a proof that all
previous payments have been made. No stamp is needed.
• Land plan showing the location, area, and neighboring plots of land.
• Copy of the applicants ID card
• Copy of company's registration certificate
• Form of the Supervising engineer
Planning permission includes a location clearance from the Municipality of Industrial
Area, set of design guidelines for construction work from the Municipality of Industrial
Area, and a land plan with site map.
3 Obtain fire safety clearance from the Civil Defense Department 14 days no charge
Agency : Civil Defense Department
The law requires the Fire Department to issue permission to build a warehouse within 15
days. Usually the fire department does not take more than 15 days to issue such
permissions if all documentation is correct. To obtain clearance, BuildCo must submit
fire drawings showing the fire exit strategy, location of fire alarms, etc.
4 Submit documents and obtain preliminary approval (Design Control 1) from 10 days QAR 100
the Municipality
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
The documents required to open a file and obtain the preliminary approval (Design
Control I) are:
- Copy of the owner's ID card
- Owner's letter authorizing the architect
- Certified copy of the land ownership document
- Planning permission
- Architectural drawings on the building plans, elevation and section
The municipality reviews the documents and issues the Design Control 1 (DCI) approval.
5 Obtain clearance from the Road Projects Department, Ashghal (Public 7 days no charge
Works Authority)
Agency : Road Projects Department, Ashghal (Public Works Authority)
BuildCo must submit the Design Control I obtained in procedure 2.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
6 Obtain clearance from the Building Permit Department of the Urban 7 days no charge
Planning and Development Authority
Agency : Building Permit Department, Urban Planning and Development
Authority
The planning permission, which was obtained in procedure 1 is added to the plans and
drawings and submitted to the Plans and Drawings Section of the Building Permit
Department.
The Building Permit Department checks whether the drawings have been achieved
according to the regulations of Qatar National Building Specifications (QNBS). The key
QNBS are:
• Construction cannot utilize 100% of the land area
• Right to use land
• Number of stories allowed in each area of Doha
• Height specification for each building in Doha BuildCo must seek approval from
Building Permit Department stating that the project will not affect utilities’ infrastructure
7 Obtain final building permit approval (Design Control II) 10 days QAR 3,000
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
The application is composed of a file showing that land rent payments have been made,
the project meets zoning requirements, the Fire Department permits building of the
warehouse, and the Building Permit Department states that the project will not affect
utilities’ infrastructure. The fees are paid in the MIA for the building permit issuance.
8 Submit public announcement of construction project at the Municipality 1 day no charge
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
After obtaining approval of the drawings from the Building Planning Department, the
contractors, inspector, and owner must sign a statement showing that they fulfilled the
requirements mentioned in Qatar National Building Specifications.
9 Obtain final cadastral measurements of the warehouse at the Municipality 1 day no charge
of Industrial Area
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
This file includes:
• Health and hygiene clearance form
• Building drawing
• Cadastral certificate
10 Submit final records of construction project to the Municipality 1 day no charge
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
11 Receive final inspection 1 day QAR 100
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
12 Receive fire safety approval from the Civil Defense Department 3 days no charge
Agency : Civil Defense Department
This approval also includes a certificate of fire and panic safety and inspection certificate.
13 Obtain certificate of completion from Municipality 3 days no charge
Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
There is a one-stop shop at the Buildings Permit section of the Municipality of Industrial
Area. This one-stop shop is responsible for internal approvals related to completion of the
building project. Representatives from the planning, engineering, services and building
control departments are available in a single window. Contractors visit this single
window asking for the various agency approvals. It takes 3 days to obtain these approvals
from the same window. There is only one interaction between the contractor and the MIA
in this step. Every other interaction that takes place within the three-day period is internal
within the one-stop shop.
14 Obtain water connection 5 days QAR 20
Agency : Kahramaa
Obtain sewage connection 5 days no charge
15 Agency : Ashghal
Register the building at the municipality 0.5 days no charge
16 Agency : Municipality of Industrial Area
The Municipality of Industrial Area submits all data online and updates the database on a
regular basis. Silence-is-consent rules apply in this procedure.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Qatar – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Building quality control index (0-15) 12.0
Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.0
How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Available online; 1.0
Free of charge.
Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building List of required 0.0
regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents;
Required
preapprovals.
Quality control before construction index (0-1) 1.0
Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in Licensed 1.0
compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) engineer.
Quality control during construction index (0-3) 2.0
What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? Inspections by in- 1.0
(0-2) house engineer;
Inspections by
external engineer
or firm;
Inspections at
various phases.
Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 1.0
inspections are
always done in
practice.
Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0
Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance Yes, final 2.0
with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is
done by
government
agency; Yes, in-
house engineer
submits report for
final inspection.
Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0
always occurs in
practice.
Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 1.0
Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building Architect or 1.0
once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) engineer;
Construction
company.
Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible No party is 0.0
structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance required by law
or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain
insurance .
Professional certifications index (0-4) 4.0
What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the Minimum number 2.0
architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in architecture or
engineering;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer;
Passing a
certification
exam.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction Minimum number 2.0
on the ground? (0-2) of years of
experience;
University degree
in engineering,
construction or
construction
management;
Being a
registered
architect or
engineer;
Passing a
certification
exam.
Page 16
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Getting Electricity
This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly
constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of
tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology
for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(number) warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used.
• Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse:
all necessary clearances and permits
- Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods.
• Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are
receiving all necessary inspections
also collected for the second largest business city.
• Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an
purchasing material for these works area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway.
- Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time.
• Concluding any necessary supply contract and
- Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters
obtaining final supply
(14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters
Time required to complete each procedure (10,000 square feet).
(calendar days)
The electricity connection:
• Is at least 1 calendar day
- Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed
• Each procedure starts on a separate day capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1
• Does not include time spent gathering kilowatt (kW).
information - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage
distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more
• Reflects the time spent in practice, with little common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve
follow-up and no prior contact with officials
the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property
because the warehouse has access to a road.
income per capita)
- Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has
• Official costs only, no bribes already been completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or
• Value added tax excluded switchboard and the meter base.
The reliability of supply and transparency of The monthly consumption:
tariffs index (0-8)
- It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
• Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that
• Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy
consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh.
• Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest
• Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance supplier.
(0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of
electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation
• Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) purposes only 30 days are used.
• Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1)
Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)*
• Price based on monthly bill for commercial
warehouse in case study
*Note: Doing Business measures the price of
electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing
business score nor the ranking on the ease of
getting electricity.
Page 17
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Getting Electricity - Qatar
Standardized Connection
Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 4.0
Name of utility Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa)
City Covered Doha
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 4 4.7 4.5 3 (25 Economies)
Time (days) 90 72.4 77.2 18 (3 Economies)
Cost (% of income per capita) 12.5 479.9 64.2 0.0 (3 Economies)
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 5 4.2 7.5 8.0 (27 Economies)
index (0-8)
Figure – Getting Electricity in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Getting Electricity Score
0 100
79.34: Oman (Rank: 66)
78.59: Qatar (Rank: 69)
74.82: Bahrain (Rank: 82)
71.78: Kuwait (Rank: 95)
71.41: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 96)
69.45: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are
the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Figure – Getting Electricity in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita)
90 14
80
12
Cost (% of income per capita)
70
10
60
Time (days)
50 8
40 6
30
4
20
2
10
0 0
1 2 3 4
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Figure – Getting Electricity in Qatar and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
8
7
7
6
6
Index score
5 5
5
4.2
4
3
3
2
1
0
Qatar Bahrain Egypt, Arab Rep. Kuwait Oman Middle East & North Africa
Page 19
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Getting Electricity in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Submit application to Kahramaa and await estimate 30 calendar days QAR 0
Agency : Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA)
The customer needs to hire an electrical consultant to design the internal installation and
later inspect its execution, and an electrical contractor to execute the internal wiring. Both
need to be approved by the electricity utility, Qatar General Electricity and Water
Corporation (Kahramaa).
The approved electrical contractor completes, signs, stamps, and submits an application
(‘Service Note’ and ‘Meter Card’) to the Installations section of the Customer Services
department at Kahramaa for electricity supply.
After the submission, the form is forwarded to the relevant Kahramaa departments for the
initial approval of the application (the client deals with the Installations Section of the
Customer Service; the application is forwarded internally to other departments, such as
Planning & Distribution that is in charge of the network design, etc.). The approval will
be indicated on the bottom of the back side of the form.
When the approval is obtained, a copy of the form is given to the contractor to fulfill the
said conditions in order to receive the requested service. Any charges to be paid by the
client as a result of the required service will be received from the concerned Kahramaa
departments on a separate letter and will be collected prior to performing any work.
The client will need to attach the following documents to the application:
• ID card
• Copy of Policy Plan
• Copy of ‘Land Deed’
• One set of approved Building Permit drawings
• Copy of Building Permit
• If the execution of the client request requires the construction of a substation, the client
is requested to submit electrical drawings signed and stamped by an approved electrical
consultant (which is not the case for 200 A)
Thanks to the drawings submitted and the utility’s up-to-date maps, no inspection of the
site is necessary to determine the specifics of the connection.
2 Obtain internal inspection by Kahramaa 1 calendar day QAR 0
Agency : Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA)
In this case, a service cabinet is needed. The customer’s approved electrical contractor
will need to submit the drawings for the cabinet to Kahramaa for approval and then
install it (normally in the property boundary wall facing a street, and as close as possible
to the LV main which will supply it).
After the internal works have been completed, the client will need to set up an
appointment with the Installations Section at the Customer Service department for
inspection.
The utility makes a general check of the internal installations that affect safety, such as
installation levels, etc.
An insulation resistance test is made at the incoming supply terminals of each distribution
board and switchboard to measure the outgoing circuits. This test shall be made and
passed satisfactorily before any completed installation or alteration to an existing
installation is connected to the Qatar General Electricity And Water Corporation
(Kahramaa) supply.
Where practicable, so that all parts of the wiring may be tested, all lamps should be
removed and all current using apparatus should be disconnected and all local switches
controlling lamps or apparatus should be closed.
3 Obtain external works from Kahramaa’s contractor or own contractor 49 calendar days QAR 28,350
Agency : Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) or
customer's contractor
For a capacity of up to 200 Ampere and a distance to the closest substation less than 350
meters, external works consist in connecting the service cabinet to the nearest distribution
transformer via underground cables.
Kahramaa’s contractor will be in charge of laying out a cable from the building to the
closest supply, and after that, for installing the meter and turning on electricity. The
customer's contractor could potentially also do the works in a simple case like this.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
4 Obtain meter installation and final connection by Kahramaa’s contractor 10 calendar days QAR 400
Agency : Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA)
After the inspection of the internal wiring has been carried out, Kahramaa will give a
form to the approved electrical contractor to fill out, submit and get approved by
Kahramaa to obtain meter installation and final supply.
For a capacity of up to 200 Ampere and a distance to the closest substation less than 350
meters, external works consist in connecting the service cabinet to the nearest distribution
transformer via underground cables.
Kahramaa’s contractor will be in charge of laying out a cable from the building to the
closest supply, and after that, for installing the meter and turning on electricity. The client
will also need to submit a copy of the building completion certificate in order to activate
supply.
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Getting Electricity in Qatar – Measure of Quality
Answer
Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 5
Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 3
System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 0.4
System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 0.2
What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 5.0
Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? Yes
Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1
Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes
Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 0
Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of No
supply?
Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0
Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages No
exceed a certain cap?
Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 0
Are effective tariffs available online? Yes
Link to the website, if available online http://km.qa/Custom
erService/Pages/Tarif
f.aspx
Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? No
Note:
If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff
index.
If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index.
Page 22
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Registering Property
This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to
purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land
administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency
of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for
the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
immovable property (number) parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used.
• Preregistration procedures (for example, The parties (buyer and seller):
checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement,
paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent).
- Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11
• Registration procedures in the economy's largest economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
business city.
- Are 100% domestically and privately owned.
• Postregistration procedures (for example, filling - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals.
title with municipality) - Perform general commercial activities.
Time required to complete each procedure The property (fully owned by the seller):
(calendar days)
- Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price.
• Does not include time spent gathering - Is fully owned by the seller.
information - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past
• Each procedure starts on a separate day - 10 years.
though procedures that can be fully completed - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes.
online are an exception to this rule - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required.
- Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000
• Procedure is considered completed once final square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is
document is received
located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no
• No prior contact with officials heating system and complies with all safety standards, building codes and legal
requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its
Cost required to complete each procedure (% of entirety.
property value) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase.
• Official costs only (such as administrative fees, - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of
duties and taxes). any kind.
- Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for
• Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural
payments are excluded activities, are required.
- Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it.
Quality of land administration index (0-30)
• Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8)
• Transparency of information index (0–6)
• Geographic coverage index (0–8)
• Land dispute resolution index (0–8)
• Equal access to property rights index (-2–0)
Page 23
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Registering Property - Qatar
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Procedures (number) 6 5.6 4.7 1 (4 Economies)
Time (days) 12 29.7 20.1 1 (New Zealand)
Cost (% of property value) 0.3 5.7 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia)
Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 24.5 14.2 23.0 None in 2017/18
Figure – Registering Property in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Registering Property Score
0 100
83.27: Qatar (Rank: 20)
81.07: Bahrain (Rank: 26)
74.03: Oman (Rank: 52)
67.54: Kuwait (Rank: 69)
62.11: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
55.00: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 125)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Registering Property in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of property value)
12 0.3
10 0.25
Cost (% of property value)
8 0.2
Time (days)
6 0.15
4 0.1
2 0.05
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6
Procedures (number)
* This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure.
Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and
women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website
(http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology ). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below.
Page 24
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Figure – Registering Property in Qatar and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
30
24.5
25
Index score
20 17.5 17.0
15 13.5 14.2
10 9.0
5
0
Qatar Bahrain Egypt, Arab Rep. Kuwait Oman Middle East & North Africa
Details – Registering Property in Qatar – Procedure, Time and Cost
No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Bring the title of the property to the archive office of the real estate registry 1 day QAR 15
Agency : Real Estate Registration Department
This procedure includes submission of the application for the transfer of a property and
several supporting documents to the Archives office of the Real Estate Registry. These
documents include:
1. Original title deed and plan of the property;
2. ID cards of seller and buyer and their signatures (originals to be sighted by the official
at the ministry);
3. Powers of attorney
3. Valid commercial registration of each company;
4. Trade license;
5. A valid resolution from each company approving the transfer and authorizing
representatives to sign and execute the transfer
At least one party must be present at the time of submitting the application. After the
application has been submitted at the Customer Services desk, an application fee of QAR
15 must be paid (QAR 10 price of the paper on which the new title will be printed; this is
a special paper that cannot be counterfeited + QAR 5 for the plan).
Since June 2016, this procedure can also be completed online, either through the portal
(https://sak.gov.qa/Master.aspx#/) or through mobile application (SAK App). Applicants
would get an SMS when the documents have been approved to to visit any of the MOJ
service centers. If there any obstacles, the applicant will have to provide additional
information. •
2 Fill sale-purchase agreement that is available in the real estate registry 1 day no charge
Agency : Real Estate Registration Department
The archive office registers the title information in the Archive database.
3 The archive officer checks for encumbrances 1 day no charge
Agency : Real Estate Registration Department
The archive officer checks for encumbrances. The applicant normally requests a copy of
the encumbrances affecting the property stamped by the archive officer.
4 The buyer pays the transfer fee at the Customer Services counter 1 day QAR 28,821.68;
Agency : Real Estate Registration Department (0.25% of property
Pursuant to law no. 14 of 1964 a percentage fee is imposed upon the sale of real value)
properties (being 0.25 % of the purchase price) in addition to fees of authentication of
documents (5 riyals per document).
5 Checking of ownership of the seller and verification of the transfer 1 day no charge
agreement
Agency : Real Estate Registration Department
The director of the authentication department at the Real Estate Register Department
checks that that the seller is the owner and verifies the transfer agreement”. Upon paying
the registration fees, the buyer is given a receipt that will then need to be show to the
Authentication Department at the Ministry of Justice.
The contracting parties or their legal representatives need to appear in person before the
director of the Authentication Department. The director verifies the capacities and
identities of the contracting parties and verifies submitted applications, documents and
title deeds (showing that there are no encumbrances). If they are found to be valid, legal
and complete, the director shall approve the application and verify the contracting
parties’ acceptance of the application and make sure they understand its contents.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
6 The buyer takes the approved transaction to the registrar office for final 7 days no charge
records and receives the new title
Agency : Real Estate Registration Department
The contract shall be subsequently sent to the register section for it to be recorded in the
property folio and in the alphabetical index and for a title deed to be issued in the name of
the new purchaser or a registration certificate to be issued in the name of the new right
holder as the case may be.
Buyer receives the final title in his name
Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure.
Page 26
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Registering Property in Qatar – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 8.0
What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Real Estate
Registration
Department at
the Minisrty of
Justice
In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Fully 2.0
paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? digital
Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, restrictions Yes 1.0
and the like)?
Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Urban Planning
Department at
the Ministry of
Municipality and
Environment
In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city—in a Computer/Fully 2.0
paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? digital
Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing Yes 1.0
cadastral information (geographic information system)?
Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral Different 1.0
or mapping agency kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases but
databases? linked
Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the Yes 1.0
same identification number for properties?
Transparency of information index (0–6) 2.5
Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable Records are not 0.0
property registration in the largest business city? publicly available
Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made Yes, online 0.5
publicly available–and if so, how?
Link for online access: http://www.moj.g
ov.qa/forms.php
http://www.moj.g
ov.qa/dept/Reale
stateDept/Transa
ctionsDirectory.p
df
Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5
immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if
so, how?
Link for online access: https://sak.gov.qa
/Registration.pdf
http://www.almee
zan.qa/LawArticl
es.aspx?
LawTreeSectionI
D=8323&lawId=2
506&language=e
n
Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a legally Yes, in person 0.0
binding document that proves property ownership within a specific time frame–and if so, how
does it communicate the service standard?
Link for online access:
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0
occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration?
Contact information:
Page 27
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the Yes 0.5
immovable property registration agency?
Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2017: 3988 for 2017
Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Freely accessible 0.5
by anyone
Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available— Yes, online 0.5
and if so, how?
Link for online access: http://www.mme.
gov.qa/pdocs/cvi
ew?
siteID=1&docID=
9018&year=2016
Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a Yes, in person 0.0
specific time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard?
Link for online access:
Is there a specific and separate mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that No 0.0
occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency?
Contact information:
Geographic coverage index (0–8) 8.0
Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property Yes 2.0
registry?
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the Yes 2.0
immovable property registry?
Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? Yes 2.0
Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? Yes 2.0
Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 6.0
Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable Yes 1.5
property registry to make them opposable to third parties?
Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes 0.5
Is there a specific compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who No 0.0
engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by
the immovable property registry?
Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property Yes 0.5
transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)?
If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Registrar;
Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5
transaction?
If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Registrar;
Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? Yes 1.0
For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a property Civil Court of
worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the largest business First Instance
city, what court would be in charge of the case in the first instance?
How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a Between 1 and 2 2.0
case (without appeal)? years
Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the first instance? No 0.0
Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2017:
Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0
Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes
Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0
Page 28
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Getting Credit
This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in
facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more
information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of
borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of
• Rights of borrowers and lenders through indicators. The depth of credit information index measures rules and practices
collateral laws (0-10)
affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available
• Protection of secured creditors’ rights through through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index
bankruptcy laws (0-2) measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of
borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first
Depth of credit information index (0–8)
determined whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case
• Scope and accessibility of credit information scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory security
distributed by credit bureaus and credit registries interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Special emphasis
(0-8) is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of security interests is
possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a
Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) secured lender, BizBank.
• Number of individuals and firms listed in largest In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case
credit bureau as a percentage of adult population
A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions
Credit registry coverage (% of adults) relating to the use of movable collateral.
• Number of individuals and firms listed in credit Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank)
registry as a percentage of adult population are used:
- ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent).
- ABC has up to 50 employees.
- ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest
business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest
business city.
- Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned.
The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan,
ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable
assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both
possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not
allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a
fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory
security interests).
In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating
charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined
movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps
ownership and possession of the assets.
Page 29
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Getting Credit - Qatar
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 1 2.2 6.1 12 (5 Economies)
Depth of credit information index (0-8) 7 5.1 6.7 8 (42 Economies)
Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 28.2 14.7 21.8 100.0 (4 Economies)
Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0 15.5 65.3 100.0 (25 Economies)
Figure – Getting Credit in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Getting Credit Score
0 100
65.00: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 60)
45.00: Bahrain (Rank: 112)
40.00: Qatar (Rank: 124)
36.00: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
35.00: Kuwait (Rank: 134)
35.00: Oman (Rank: 134)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their scores for getting credit. These scores are the
sum of the scores for the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index.
Figure – Legal Rights in Qatar and comparator economies
8
7
6
Index Score
5
5
4
3
2.2
2
1 1 1 1
1
0
Qatar Bahrain Egypt, Arab Rep. Kuwait Oman Middle East & North Africa
Page 30
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Legal Rights in Qatar
Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 1
Does an integrated or unified legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and No
enforcement of functional equivalents to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy?
Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without No
requiring a specific description of collateral?
Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring a No
specific description of collateral?
May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds and No
replacements of the original assets?
Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and obligations be Yes
secured between parties; and can the collateral agreement include a maximum amount for which the assets are
encumbered?
Is a collateral registry in operation for both incorporated and non-incorporated entities, that is unified geographically and by No
asset type, with an electronic database indexed by debtor's name?
Does a notice-based collateral registry exist in which all functional equivalents can be registered? No
Does a modern collateral registry exist in which registrations, amendments, cancellations and searches can be performed No
online by any interested third party?
Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency No
procedure?
Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? No
Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization No
procedure? Does the law protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and sets a time
limit for it?
Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law allow No
the secured creditor to sell the collateral through public auction or private tender, as well as, for the secured creditor to keep
the asset in satisfaction of the debt?
Figure – Credit Information in Qatar and comparator economies
8 8
8
7
7
6 6
6
5.1
Index Score
5
4
3
2
1
0
Qatar Bahrain Egypt, Arab Rep. Kuwait Oman Middle East & North Africa
Page 31
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Credit Information in Qatar
Depth of credit information index (0-8) Credit Credit Score
bureau registry
Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? No Yes 1
Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? No Yes 1
Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and No No 0
financial institutions - distributed?
Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries No Yes 1
that distribute more than 10 years of negative data or erase data on defaults as
soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this component.)
Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? No Yes 1
By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or No Yes 1
credit registry?
Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online No Yes 1
(for example, through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or
both)?
Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help No Yes 1
banks and financial institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers?
Total Score ("yes" to either public bureau or private registry) 7
Note: An economy receives a score of 1 if there is a "yes" to either bureau or registry. If the credit bureau or registry is not operational or
covers less than 5% of the adult population, the total score on the depth of credit information index is 0.
Coverage Credit bureau Credit registry
Number of individuals 0 606,727
Number of firms 0 25,167
Total 0 631,894
Percentage of adult population 0 28.2
Page 32
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Protecting Minority Investors
This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain
as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most
recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
• Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several
approval requirements for related-party
assumptions about the business and the transaction.
transactions; Disclosure requirements for related-
party transactions
The business (Buyer):
• Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock
of minority shareholders to sue and hold exchange. If there are fewer than ten listed companies or if there is no stock
interested directors liable for prejudicial related- exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with
party transactions; Available legal remedies multiple shareholders.
(damages, disgorgement of profits, fines, - Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on
imprisonment, rescission of the transaction) behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law.
• Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): - Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr.
Access to internal corporate documents; James appointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members.
Evidence obtainable during trial and allocation of - Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum
legal expenses requirements. Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that
are not mandatory.
• Extent of conflict of interest regulation index
- Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network.
(0–10): Simple average of the extent of
disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of
The transaction involves the following details:
shareholder indices
- Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two
• Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10): directors to Buyer’s five-member board.
Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail
decisions hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores.
• Extent of ownership and control index (0-10): - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand
Governance safeguards protecting shareholders Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price
from undue board control and entrenchment is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value.
- The proposed transaction is part of the company’s principal activity and is not
• Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10): outside the authority of the company.
Corporate transparency on ownership stakes,
- Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all
compensation, audits and financial prospects
required disclosures made—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently.
• Extent of shareholder governance index (0– - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the
10): Simple average of the extent of shareholders executives and directors that approved the transaction.
rights, extent of ownership and control and extent
of corporate transparency indices
• Strength of minority investor protection index
(0–10): Simple average of the extent of conflict of
interest regulation and extent of shareholder
governance indices
Page 33
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Protecting Minority Investors - Qatar
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2.0 6.4 6.5 10 (13 Economies)
Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2.0 4.7 5.3 10 (Cambodia)
Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 2.0 4.5 7.3 10 (Djibouti)
Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 4.0 5.1 6.4 10 (Kazakhstan)
Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 2.0 4.7 5.4 None in 2017/18
Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 5.0 5.8 7.6 10 (6 Economies)
Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Protecting Minority Investors Score
0 100
66.67: Bahrain (Rank: 38)
58.33: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 72)
58.33: Kuwait (Rank: 72)
51.83: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
46.67: Oman (Rank: 125)
28.33: Qatar (Rank: 178)
Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their scores for protecting minority
investors. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the extent of conflict of interest regulation index and the extent of
shareholder governance index.
Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Qatar and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
Qatar 5 2 2 2 4 2
Bahrain 7 4 8 7 9 5
Egypt, Arab Rep. 9 3 8 7 5 3
Kuwait 8 9 5 6 3 4
Oman 4 5 8 4 4 3
OECD high income 7.4 5.5 6.5 5.2 6.3 7.4
Middle East & North Africa 5.8 4.7 6.4 4.7 5.1 4.5
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Sub-Indicator Score
Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) Extent of director liability index (0-10) Extent of disclosure index (0-10)
Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10)
Page 34
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Qatar – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-10) 2
Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 2.0
Whose decision is sufficient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Shareholders or 1.0
board of directors
including
interested parties
Must an external body review the terms of the transaction before it takes place? (0-1) No 0.0
Must Mr. James disclose his conflict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0
obligation
Must Buyer disclose the transaction in periodic filings (e.g. annual reports)? (0-2) Disclosure on the 1.0
transaction only
Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0
obligation
Extent of director liability index (0-10) 2.0
Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue for the damage the Yes 1.0
transaction caused to Buyer? (0-1)
Can shareholders hold Mr. James liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0- Not liable 0.0
2)
Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused to Not liable 0.0
Buyer (0-2)
Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by No 0.0
shareholders? (0-1)
Must Mr. James repay profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by No 0.0
shareholders? (0-1)
Is Mr. James disqualified upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0
Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Voidable if 1.0
negligently
concluded
Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 2.0
Before suing, can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the No 0.0
transaction documents? (0-1)
Can the plaintiff obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Documents that 1.0
the defendant
relied on
Can the plaintiff request categories of documents from the defendant without identifying No 0.0
specific ones? (0-1)
Can the plaintiff directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) No 0.0
Is the level of proof required for civil suits lower than that of criminal cases? (0-1) Yes 1.0
Can shareholder plaintiffs recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) At the discretion 0.0
of the court
Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 3.7
Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 4.0
Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? No 0.0
Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of No 0.0
shareholders?
Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? Yes 1.0
Page 35
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new Yes 1.0
shares?
Must shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor? Yes 1.0
Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the affected No 0.0
shares approve?
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, does the sale of 51% of its assets require No 0.0
member approval?
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 10% call for a No 0.0
meeting of members?
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must all or almost all members consent to add a Yes 1.0
new member?
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a member first offer to sell their interest to No 0.0
the existing members before they can sell to non-members?
Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 2.0
Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chairperson of the board of No 0.0
directors?
Must the board of directors include independent and nonexecutive board members? No 0.0
Can shareholders remove members of the board of directors without cause before the end Yes 1.0
of their term?
Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising board No 0.0
members?
Must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of No 0.0
Buyer?
Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? Yes 1.0
Is a subsidiary prohibited from acquiring shares issued by its parent company? No 0.0
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer have a mechanism to resolve No 0.0
disagreements among members?
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to No 0.0
all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer?
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer distribute profits within a maximum No 0.0
period set by law?
Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 5.0
Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect beneficial ownership stakes representing 5%? No 0.0
Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and No 0.0
directorships in other companies?
Must Buyer disclose the compensation of individual managers? Yes 1.0
Must a detailed notice of general meeting be sent 21 days before the meeting? No 0.0
Can shareholders representing 5% of Buyer’s share capital put items on the general meeting No 0.0
agenda?
Must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0
Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? Yes 1.0
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must members meet at least once a year? Yes 1.0
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 5% put items on the No 0.0
meeting agenda?
Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual financial statements be Yes 1.0
audited by an external auditor?
Page 36
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Paying Taxes
This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as the
administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures (VAT refund and tax audit). The most recent
round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2018 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2017 (January 1,
2017 – December 31, 2017). See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory contributions a
2017 (number per year adjusted for electronic medium size company must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden
and joint filing and payment) of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is
also compiled on frequency of filing and payments, time taken to comply with tax
• Total number of taxes and contributions paid or laws, time taken to comply with the requirements of postfiling processes and time
withheld, including consumption taxes (value
waiting.
added tax, sales tax or goods and service tax)
• Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used:
- TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2016.
Time required to comply with 3 major taxes It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes and contributions
(hours per year) recorded are paid in the second year of operation (calendar year 2017). Taxes and
• Collecting information, computing tax payable mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government.
• Preparing separate tax accounting books, if The VAT refund process:
required - In June 2017, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the
• Completing tax return, filing with agencies machine is 65 times income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per
month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are
• Arranging payment or withholding equally expensed per month (875 times income per capita divided by 12). The
machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess input VAT incurred in June will be
Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial
profits) fully recovered after four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs,
sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will
• Profit or corporate income tax exceed Output VAT in June 2017.
• Social contributions, labor taxes paid by
The corporate income tax audit process:
employer
- An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax
• Property and property transfer taxes depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an
• Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo.
taxes discovered the error and voluntarily notified the tax authority. The value of the
underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax liability
• Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the
annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period.
Postfiling Index
• Time to comply with a VAT refund (hours)
• Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks)
• Time to comply with a corporate income tax
correction (hours)
• Time to complete a corporate income tax
correction (weeks)
Page 37
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Paying Taxes - Qatar
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Payments (number per year) 4 17.7 11.2 3 (Hong Kong SAR,
China)
Time (hours per year) 41 196.7 159.4 49 (Singapore)
Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 11.3 32.7 39.8 26.1% (32 Economies)
Postfiling index (0-100) 50.08 84.41 None in 2017/18
Figure – Paying Taxes in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Paying Taxes Score
0 100
99.44: Qatar (Rank: 2)
93.89: Bahrain (Rank: 5)
92.48: Kuwait (Rank: 7)
90.16: Oman (Rank: 12)
74.52: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
52.73: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 159)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their scores for paying taxes. These scores are the
simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators, with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the
component indicators, the total tax and contribution rate. The threshold is defined as the total tax and contribution rate at the 15th percentile
of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis up to and including Doing Business 2015, which is 26.1%. All economies with a
total tax and contribution rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold.
Figure – Paying Taxes in Qatar and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
100
85.32
80
Index score
60
50.08
40 36.54
20
0
Qatar Bahrain Egypt, Arab Rep. Kuwait Oman Middle East & North Africa
Page 38
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Paying Taxes in Qatar
Tax or Payments Notes on Time Statutory Tax base Total tax Notes on
mandatory (number) Payments (hours) tax rate and TTCR
contribution contribution
rate (% of
profit)
Employer 1.0 online 36.0 10% gross wages 11.28
paid -
Pension
contributions
Trade license 1.0 QAR 1,010 fixed amount 0.01
renewal per 1 year
Vehicle 1.0 fixed amount 0.00 small amount
registration
renewal
Corporate 1.0 5.0 n/a taxable profit 0.00
income tax
Employee 0.0 jointly 5% gross wages 0.00 withheld
paid -
Pension
contributions
Totals 4 41 11.3
Page 39
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Paying Taxes in Qatar – Tax by Type
Taxes by type Answer
Profit tax (% of profit) 0
Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 11.3
Other taxes (% of profit) 0
Page 40
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Paying Taxes in Qatar – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Postfiling index (0-100)
VAT refunds
Does VAT exist? No
Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? N/A
Restrictions on VAT refund process N/A
Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) Not applicable
Is there a mandatory carry forward period? Not Applicable
Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) No VAT No VAT
Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) No VAT No VAT
Corporate income tax audits
Does corporate income tax exist? No
Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) Not applicable
Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) No corporate No corporate
income tax income tax
Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) No corporate No corporate
income tax income tax
Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, profit tax, tax on company's income are all named corporate
income tax in this table.
The hours for VAT include all the VAT and sales taxes applicable.
The hours for Social Security include all the hours for labor taxes and mandatory contributions in general.
The postfiling index is the average of the scores on time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain a VAT refund, time to comply with a
corporate income tax correction and time to complete a corporate income tax correction.
N/A = Not applicable.
Page 41
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Trading across Borders
Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures
the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic
transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project
was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made
about the traded goods and the transactions:
• Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents
during transport, clearance, inspections and port
Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are
or border handling in origin economy
recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are
• Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency
required by destination economy and any transit at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day.
economies The time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual
• Covers all documents required by law and in procedure took 24 hours.
practice, including electronic submissions of
Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are
information
excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors
Border compliance are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate
prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. Contributors are private sector
• Customs clearance and inspections experts in international trade logistics and are informed about exchange rates.
• Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more
than 20% of shipments) Assumptions of the case study:
- For all 190 economies covered by Doing Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a
• Handling and inspections that take place at the warehouse in the largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a
economy’s port or border
warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy.
- It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS
Domestic transport
8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest
• Loading or unloading of the shipment at the value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the
warehouse or port/border product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its
• Transport between warehouse and port/border natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product.
Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000.
• Traffic delays and road police checks while - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import
shipment is en route product and the trading partner, as is the seaport or land border crossing.
- All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in
connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared
and submitted during the export or import process.
- A port or border is a place (seaport or land border crossing) where merchandise
can enter or leave an economy.
- Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police,
border guards, standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or
industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities.
Page 42
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Trading across Borders - Qatar
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 25 58.0 12.5 1 (19 Economies)
Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 382 442.4 139.1 0 (19 Economies)
Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) 10 67.9 2.4 1 (26 Economies)
Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 150 244.6 35.2 0 (20 Economies)
Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 48 105.4 8.5 0 (25 Economies)
Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 558 536.0 100.2 0 (28 Economies)
Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) 72 75.5 3.4 1 (30 Economies)
Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 290 269.0 24.9 0 (30 Economies)
Figure – Trading across Borders in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Trading Across Borders Score
0 100
79.39: Oman (Rank: 72)
77.77: Bahrain (Rank: 77)
71.51: Qatar (Rank: 97)
60.17: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
54.24: Kuwait (Rank: 159)
42.23: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 171)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their scores for trading across borders. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import.
Figure – Trading across Borders in Qatar – Time and Cost
Time (hours) Cost (USD)
80 558 72 600
70
500
60
Time (hours)
382
Cost (USD)
48 400
50
290
40 300
30 25
150 200
20
10 100
10
0 0
Export Export Import Import
- - - -
Border Documentary Border Documentary
Compliance Compliance Compliance Compliance
Page 43
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Trading across Borders in Qatar
Characteristics Export Import
Product HS 39 : Plastics and articles thereof HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor
vehicles
Trade partner China Japan
Border Hamad port Hamad port
Distance (km) 40 40
Domestic transport time (hours) 2 3
Domestic transport cost (USD) 340 330
Details – Trading across Borders in Qatar – Components of Border Compliance
Time to Complete (hours) Associated Costs (USD)
Export: Clearance and inspections required 6.0 184.8
by customs authorities
Export: Clearance and inspections required 0.0 0.0
by agencies other than customs
Export: Port or border handling 24.0 196.9
Import: Clearance and inspections required 37.3 113.3
by customs authorities
Import: Clearance and inspections required 0.0 0.0
by agencies other than customs
Import: Port or border handling 48.0 444.4
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Trading across Borders in Qatar – Trade Documents
Export Import
Commercial invoice Bill of lading
Certificate of origin Commercial invoice
Packing list Certificate of origin
Bill of Lading Packing list
Export customs declaration Delivery order
Container release order Cargo release order
SOLAS certificate Import customs declaration
SOLAS certificate
Page 45
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Enforcing Contracts
The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the
quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and
efficiency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more
information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Time required to enforce a contract through the The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract between 2
courts (calendar days) domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the
quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt
• Time to file and serve the case enforcement.
• Time for trial and to obtain the judgment
To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses several
• Time to enforce the judgment assumptions about the case:
Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and
courts (% of claim) Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the
data are also collected for the second largest business city.
• Attorney fees - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are
• Court fees not of adequate quality.
- The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local
• Enforcement fees currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater.
- The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases
Quality of judicial processes index (0-18)
worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000.
• Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) - The seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets to
secure the claim.
• Case management (0-6)
- The dispute on the quality of the goods requires an expert opinion.
• Court automation (0-4) - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal.
• Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s movable
assets.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Enforcing Contracts - Qatar
Standardized Case
Claim value QAR 492,348
Court name Doha Court of First Instance
City Covered Doha
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Time (days) 570 622.0 582.4 None in 2017/18
Cost (% of claim value) 21.6 24.7 21.2 None in 2017/18
Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 3.5 6.1 11.5 None in 2017/18
Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Enforcing Contracts Score
0 100
60.02: Oman (Rank: 73)
59.58: Kuwait (Rank: 77)
55.04: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
52.79: Qatar (Rank: 122)
51.75: Bahrain (Rank: 128)
42.75: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 160)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their scores for enforcing contracts. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators.
Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Qatar – Time and Cost
Time (days) Cost (% of claim value)
Cost (% of claim value)
1200 30
1010 26.2 24.7
1000 25
21.2 21.6
Time (days)
800 18.6 20
635 14.7 622.0 598 15.1
566 582.4 570
600 15
400 10
200 5
0 0
Bahrain Egypt, Kuwait Middle OECD Oman Qatar
Arab East high
Rep. & income
North
Africa
Page 47
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Qatar and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
Qatar 2 0 1.5
Bahrain 2 0 0.5
Egypt, Arab Rep. 2 0 3.5
Kuwait 2.5 0 4
Oman 2.5 0 4
OECD high income 2.5 3.1 2.3 3.6
Middle East & North Africa 2.2 0.8 0.4 2.8
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Sub-Indicator Score
Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) Case management (0-6) Court automation (0-4) Court structure and proceedings (-1-5)
Details – Enforcing Contracts in Qatar
Indicator
Time (days) 570
Filing and service 60
Trial and judgment 450
Enforcement of judgment 60
Cost (% of claim value) 21.6
Attorney fees 15.5
Court fees 2.5
Enforcement fees 3.6
Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 3.5
Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 1.5
Case management (0-6) 0.0
Court automation (0-4) 0.0
Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Enforcing Contracts in Qatar – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 3.5
Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 1.5
1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? No 0.0
2. Small claims court 1.0
2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims? Yes
2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? No
3. Is pretrial attachment available? Yes 1.0
4. Are new cases assigned randomly to judges? Yes, but manual 0.5
5. Does a woman's testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man's? No -1.0
Case management (0-6) 0.0
1. Time standards 0.0
1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil Yes
case?
1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? No
1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? Yes
2. Adjournments 0.0
2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be No
granted?
2.b. Are adjournments limited to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances? No
2.c. If rules on adjournments exist, are they respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a.
3. Can two of the following four reports be generated about the competent court: (i) time to No 0.0
disposition report; (ii) clearance rate report; (iii) age of pending cases report; and (iv) single
case progress report?
4. Is a pretrial conference among the case management techniques used before the No 0.0
competent court?
5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for No 0.0
use by judges?
6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for No 0.0
use by lawyers?
Court automation (0-4) 0.0
1. Can the initial complaint be filed electronically through a dedicated platform within the no 0.0
competent court?
2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims filed before the No 0.0
competent court?
3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0
4. Publication of judgments 0.0
4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the No
general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the
internet or court website?
4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme No
court level made available to the general public through publication in official
gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website?
Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0
1. Arbitration 1.5
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or Yes
consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure
encompassing substantially all its aspects?
1.b. Are there any commercial disputes—aside from those that deal with public No
order or public policy—that cannot be submitted to arbitration?
1.c. Are valid arbitration clauses or agreements usually enforced by the courts? Yes
2. Mediation/Conciliation 0.5
2.a. Is voluntary mediation or conciliation available? Yes
2.b. Are mediation, conciliation or both governed by a consolidated law or No
consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure
encompassing substantially all their aspects?
2.c. Are there financial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation No
(i.e., if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court filing fees, income
tax credits or the like)?
Page 50
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Resolving Insolvency
Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to
calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or
debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing
Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist
Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies,
several assumptions about the business and the case are used:
• Measured in calendar years
• Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers.
The hotel experiences financial difficulties.
Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local
estate) currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater.
- The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s
• Measured as percentage of estate value
real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to
• Court fees operate otherwise.
• Fees of insolvency administrators
In addition, Doing Business evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to
• Lawyers’ fees judicial liquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best
• Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees insolvency practices have been implemented in each economy covered.
• Other related fees
Outcome
• Whether business continues operating as a going
concern or business assets are sold piecemeal
Recovery rate for creditors
• Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by
secured creditors
• Outcome for the business (survival or not)
determines the maximum value that can be
recovered
• Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are
deducted
• Depreciation of furniture is taken into account
• Present value of debt recovered
Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16)
• Sum of the scores of four component indices:
• Commencement of proceedings index (0-3)
• Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6)
• Reorganization proceedings index (0-3)
• Creditor participation index (0-4)
Page 51
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Resolving Insolvency - Qatar
Indicator Qatar Middle East & OECD high Best Regulatory
North Africa income Performance
Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 30.2 26.3 70.5 None in 2017/18
Time (years) 2.8 2.8 1.7 0.4 (Ireland)
Cost (% of estate) 22.0 13.8 9.3 1.0 (Norway)
Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 0 .. .. ..
concern)
Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 7.0 5.9 11.9 None in 2017/18
Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Qatar and comparator economies – Ranking and Score
DB 2019 Resolving Insolvency Score
0 100
44.57: Bahrain (Rank: 93)
42.34: Oman (Rank: 100)
42.27: Egypt, Arab Rep. (Rank: 101)
39.29: Kuwait (Rank: 115)
38.12: Qatar (Rank: 120)
32.69: Regional Average (Middle East & North Africa)
Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their scores for resolving insolvency. These
scores are the simple average of the scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index.
Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Qatar – Time and Cost
Time (years) Cost (% of estate)
4.5 4.2 25
22.0 4.0 22.0
Cost (% of estate)
4
3.5 20
Time (years)
3 2.8 2.8
2.5 2.5 13.8 15
2.5
2 9.5 10.0 1.7 9.3
10
1.5
1 3.5 5
0.5
0 0
Bahrain Egypt, Kuwait Middle OECD Oman Qatar
Arab East high
Rep. & income
North
Africa
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Qatar and comparator economies – Measure of Quality
Qatar 4 2 1 0
Bahrain 4 2 1 0
Egypt, Arab Rep. 4 2.5 2 1
Kuwait 4 2 1 0
Oman 4 2 1 0
OECD high income 5.3 2.8 2.2 1.9
Middle East & North Africa 3.3 2.2 1.2 0.4
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Sub-Indicator Score
Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4)
Reorganization proceedings index (0-3)
Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the
economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.”
Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Qatar and comparator economies – Recovery Rate
Recovery rate(cents on the dollar)
100
80
60
42.2
38.0
40 32.4
30.2
23.4 26.3
20
0
Qatar Bahrain Egypt, Arab Rep. Kuwait Oman Middle East & North Africa
Page 53
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Resolving Insolvency in Qatar
Indicator Answer Score
Proceeding foreclosure BizBank will most likely initiate the foreclosure, as it will be the most efficient way to recover the
debt. Even if Mirage's management initiates insolvency proceedings at the same time, BizBank
can still continue with the foreclosure. Although Qatari law includes automatic stay provisions
applicable to insolvency, they are applied on individual basis and will most likely not prevent
BizBank from continuing with foreclosure.
Outcome piecemeal sale The court will appoint a financial expert, who will evaluate the assets of the company. The
financial expert will produce a report advising the court whether the company is viable. Under the
case assumptions, the hotel will most likely not be able to operate as a going concern after sale. It
is not common for a hotel to be sold by public auction in Qatar and there are no publicly known
precedents.
Time (in years) 2.8 It will take 2.75 years to complete foreclosure proceedings. Foreclosure proceedings will start with
the Bank filing the application, after which several court hearings will take place. Qatari courts are
rather slow, so all steps that need approval of the court will take a long time. The court will appoint
a financial expert to evaluate the assets of the company and prepare a report on whether the
business is viable. Based on this report, the court will decide whether to sell the hotel as a going
concern or whether to sell it piecemeal. Hotel's assets will be sold at a public auction. It is likely
that at least two auctions will be held before the hotel is sold. The auction procedure is likely to
take at least one year.
Cost (% of 22.0 Major expenses will include attorneys' fees (up to 20%) and fees of other professionals and
estate) service providers involved in the proceedings.
Recovery rate 30.2
(cents on the
dollar)
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Details – Resolving Insolvency in Qatar – Measure of Quality
Answer Score
Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 7.0
Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.0
What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency proceedings? (b) Debtor may 0.5
file for liquidation
only
Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to file for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a 0.5
creditor may file
for liquidation
only
What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the (a) Debtor is 1.0
insolvency framework? generally unable
to pay its debts
as they mature
Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 4.0
Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential goods Yes 1.0
and services to the debtor?
Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome Yes 1.0
contracts?
Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of preferential transactions? Yes 1.0
Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of undervalued transactions? Yes 1.0
Does the insolvency framework provide for the possibility of the debtor obtaining credit after No 0.0
commencement of insolvency proceedings?
Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (c) No priority is 0.0
assigned to post-
commencement
creditors
Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) 0.0
Which creditors vote on the proposed reorganization plan? N/A 0.0
Does the insolvency framework require that dissenting creditors in reorganization receive at No 0.0
least as much as what they would obtain in a liquidation?
Are the creditors divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan, No 0.0
does each class vote separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally?
Creditor participation index (0-4) 1.0
Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or No 0.0
appointment of the insolvency representative?
Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial No 0.0
assets of the debtor?
Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request information No 0.0
from the insolvency representative?
Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to decisions Yes 1.0
accepting or rejecting creditors' claims?
Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the
economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.”
Page 55
Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Labor Market Regulation
Doing Business presents detailed data for the labor market regulation indicators on the Doing Business website
(http://www.doingbusiness.org). The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate
ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business.
The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2018. See the methodology for more information.
What the indicators measure Case study assumptions
Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the
(i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for worker and the business are used.
permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration
of fixed-term contracts; (iii) length of the The worker:
probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work
experience.
Working hours - Is a full-time employee.
(i) maximum number of working days allowed per - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory.
week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly
rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are The business:
restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy).
day and for overtime work; (iv) whether - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city.
nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city.
same night hours as men; (v) length of paid annual - Has 60 employees.
leave. - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover more than
50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to firms that are not party to them.
Redundancy rules - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than
(i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining
workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify agreements.
and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1
redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant
workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to
reassign or retrain a worker before making worker
redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for
redundancies and reemployment.
Redundancy cost
(i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii)
severance payments due when terminating a
redundant worker.
Job quality
(i) whether law mandates equal remuneration for
work of equal value and nondiscrimination based on
gender in hiring; (ii) whether law mandates paid or
unpaid maternity leave; (iii) length of paid maternity
leave; (iv) whether employees on maternity leave
receive 100% of wages; (v) availability of five fully
paid days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility
requirements for unemployment protection.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Labor Market Regulation - Qatar
Details – Labor Market Regulation in Qatar
Answer
Hiring
Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No
Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) 60.0
Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) No limit
Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 0.0
Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.0
Maximum length of probationary period (months) 6.0
Working hours
Standard workday 8.0
Maximum number of working days per week 6.0
Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 0.0
Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) 0.0
Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 25.0
Restrictions on night work? Yes
Whether nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work the same night hours as men Yes
Restrictions on weekly holiday? No
Restrictions on overtime work? Yes
Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (working days) 18.0
Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 24.0
Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 24.0
Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 22.0
Redundancy rules
Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes
Third-party notification if one worker is dismissed? No
Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? No
Third-party notification if nine workers are dismissed? No
Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? No
Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No
Priority rules for redundancies? No
Priority rules for reemployment? No
Redundancy cost
Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 4.3
Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 8.7
Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 8.7
Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 7.2
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 3.0
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 15.0
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 30.0
Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 16.0
Job quality
Equal remuneration for work of equal value? No
Gender nondiscrimination in hiring? No
Paid or unpaid maternity leave mandated by law? Yes
Minimum length of maternity leave (calendar days)? 50.0
Receive 100% of wages on maternity leave? Yes
Five fully paid days of sick leave a year? Yes
Unemployment protection after one year of employment? No
Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? n.a.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
Business Reforms in Qatar
In the past year, Doing Business observed a peaking of reform activity worldwide. From June 2, 2017, to May 1, 2018, 128 economies
implemented a record 314 regulatory reforms improving the business climate. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented
by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented since Doing Business 2008.
= Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more difficult to do business.
DB2019
Starting a Business: Qatar made starting a business easier by removing the requirement to open a bank account to deposit the minimum
capital.
Getting Credit: Qatar improved access to credit information by guaranteeing borrowers the legal right to inspect their credit data from the
credit registry.
DB2018
Getting Credit: Qatar improved access to credit information by starting to provide consumer credit scores to banks, financial institutions
and borrowers.
Trading across Borders: Qatar made exporting and importing easier by inaugurating the new Hamad Port.
DB2017
Starting a Business: Qatar made starting a business easier by abolishing the paid-in minimum capital requirement for limited liability
companies.
Registering Property: Qatar made registering property easier by increasing the transparency at its land registry.
Protecting Minority Investors: Qatar weakened minority investor protections by decreasing the rights of shareholders in major decisions,
by diminishing ownership and control structures, by reducing requirements for approval of related-party transactions and their disclosure to
the board of directors, and by limiting the liability of interested directors and board of directors in the event of prejudicial related-party
transactions.
DB2016
Trading across Borders: Qatar reduced the time for border compliance for importing by reducing the number of days of free storage at the
port and thus the time required for port handling.
DB2014
Paying Taxes: Qatar made paying taxes easier for companies by eliminating certain requirements associated with the corporate income
tax return.
DB2013
Trading across Borders: Qatar reduced the time to export and import by introducing a new online portal allowing electronic submission of
customs declarations for clearance at the Doha seaport.
DB2012
Starting a Business: Qatar made starting a business easier by combining commercial registration and registration with the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry at the one-stop shop.
Dealing with Construction Permits: Qatar made dealing with construction permits more difficult by increasing the time and cost to
process building permits.
Getting Credit: Qatar improved its credit information system by starting to distribute historical data and eliminating the minimum
threshold for loans included in the database.
DB2011
Starting a Business: Qatar made starting a business more difficult by adding a procedure to register for taxes and obtain a company seal.
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Doing Business 2019 Qatar
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