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Factory Establishment (Procedures and Guidelines)

In light of the government's efforts to encourage local and foreign investments, the State of Qatar has developed a modern, digital system aimed at reducing the regulatory burden, improving efficiency, saving time and costs for investors and business persons to obtain necessary approvals, permits and licenses to establish businesses and factories. There are two stages to start an industrial project in Qatar Establishment, and Licensing. The following is a brief description of each of the stages and their procedures.

 

Factory Establishment Stages

First: Establishment

At this stage, an investor fills out a comprehensive application form.This stage is completed by issuing the commercial register and then, the initial approval on the industrial project. The investor will also choose if he needs a land plot to establish their project.

Second: Licensing

After the issuance the initial approval of the industrial project and then starting the environmental permit issuance alongside the industrial land allocation permit (if the investor needs land) in parallel. after that, the industrial license is issued, allowing the investor to proceed and establish and prepare the factory.

Establishment Stage: 

The investor shall complete following steps:

Filling and submitting the application form:

The investor fills out a simple questionnaire and establishment application to identify:

• Capital and partners
• Business activities
• Legal form
• Trade name
• Authorized signatories
• Capital distribution
• Company location
• Required labor
• Company contract
• Additional data (land data, equipment and machinery, raw materials, products). 

And attach the following documents: 

• Initial feasibility study (technical and financial).
• Authorization letter from the owner(s) to the person who will process the application.
• Factory blueprint (if land allocation is required).
• Assignment certificate from Manateq Company (if identified that Manateq is the land donor). 

Application processing:

Processing of the application for issuing required approvals begins. Regular notifications on the progress of the application are sent out to the investor via SMS and email. Investors can also follow the progress via the Single Window website (www.singlewindow.gov.qa). The investor will also be contacted in case there is an error or incomplete input in the application.

Payment:

After all the approvals are issued, a notification is sent out to the investor to pay the applicable fees through one of the following methods: 

• Single Window website using debit or credit cards.
• Visiting the Single Windows service centers. 
• Bank transfer.
• Bank Deposit.

Issuance 

After successfully completing the payment, a final notification is sent out to the investor advising them of the issuance of the certificates. The investor can obtain the certificate online or by visiting any of the Single Window service centers. 

Licensing Stage

As previously mentioned, an initial approval is given after the commercial registration has been issued. The applications environmental permit and industrial land allocation are automatically submitted as there are no fees required. 

Land allocation:

The land allocation request (for the investors who do not own land and have made a request during the establishment stage) is reviewed. Industrial land will be allocated once it has been established that the investor has not previously been assigned land from any other official government entity. It is worth mentioning that a direct land allocation service can be obtained at the Ministry of Commerce after the initial approval, in which case the factory blueprint should be attached.

Environmental Permit:

The industrial project shall be inspected to ensure it meets the required environmental conditions, including submitting a study of the environmental impact of the project and identification of the reference terms. The request is processed within five working days.

Notice: There is a possibility for there to be direct communication between the investor and Ministry of Municipality and Environment during the approval of the study on environmental impact. However, some industrial activities may not require submission of such a study. This will be determined during the application review process.

After completing both applications, the industrial license is automatically issued paving the way for the investor to begin the construction, preparation and installation of production lines for the factory. The investor is also permitted to take advantage of the customs exemptions regulations.