New commercial register, trade names laws effective as of April 3

The Ministry of Commerce announced that the new commercial register and trade names laws will come into effect on Thursday, April 3.

The move is part of the government's efforts to develop the commercial environment and simplify procedures in the Kingdom.

The ministry's spokesperson, Abdulrahman Al-Hussein, said the new commercial register law introduces several fundamental changes, most notably the cancellation of sub-registers, opting instead for a single commercial register covering all regions of the Kingdom without being limited to a specific city.

Additionally, the validity period of the commercial register will be abolished, requiring only annual data updates. The commercial register number will become the unified number for the establishment, starting with the digit 7. Furthermore, the law will grant a five-year grace period to rectify the status of existing sub-registrations.

Regarding trade names, the new law will allow the registration of trade names in English and the inclusion of letters or numbers, which was not previously permitted.

It will also allow the independent handling of the trade name separately from the establishment, with the possibility of transferring to another trader. However, the law will not allow the registration of identical or similar names even if the business activities differ.

The ministry had previously announced the suspension of the two laws for seven days, with full and updated services to resume on April 3, in line with the enforcement of the new laws.