Qatar has strengthened its single window system by launching a new service to issue online establishment registrations and commercial licences; a move ought to enhance the country's appeal in attracting both domestic and overseas investments.
Efforts are also underway to include more services into the single window system, through which as many as 800 international companies had registered in 2021, said Mohamed Hamad al-Nuaimi, director of the Single Window, in the presence of officials from the ministries of Interior and Labour.
The new service has been launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior (MoI).
The establishment registration is issued automatically along with a new commercial licence for a fee of QR200, which can be paid through the single window website.
When applying for a comprehensive incorporation service or for the commercial licence issuance, citizens and residents can now obtain their establishment registration through the General Directorate of Passports, unified MoI centres, or the single window platform website.
"It (considerably) shortens the time taken for the companies (to register)," al-Nuaimi told reporters on the sidelines of a function organised to unveil the new service.
Earlier the computer code had to be taken from the Ministry of Interior and now it can be downloaded online through Metrash2, he said.
The single window system, which was started in 2019, had conducted more than 26,000 transactions and issued over 7,000 documents during 2021. The system has also adopted the use of electronic signatures and signed as many as 19,000 e-contracts with the Ministry of Justice, and completed about 29,000 payments.
The streamlining of the operations through single window system is expected to give a fillip to the local economy, which has rebounded from the shocks created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The rollout comes as part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s efforts to continuously improve and develop its services, in an effort to upgrade and streamline the business service system in Qatar. The new service also aims to encourage the country’s investment and trade environment, al-Nuaimi said.
The ministry had previously launched a package of 12 e-services, which have improved its dealing with the public.
These smart e-services cover the setup of: comprehensive establishment, comprehensive renewal, requesting a replacement for a lost commercial licence, printing a commercial register extract, factory establishment, foreign companies’ branch management, comprehensive incorporation completion, factory establishment completion, branch addition, sub-licence addition, and commercial licence issuance and renewal.
The establishment of single window is one of the most important efforts to enhance the operational efficiency in service delivery, thereby saving time and costs for investors.
This national initiative aims at facilitating the procedures of starting a business in the country and directing investments to the priority sectors identified in the National Development Strategy 2018-22.
 
 
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