Bahrain: Fresh guidelines issued to regulate online businesses

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Bahrain has put in place new guidelines for online commercial activities in a bid to tighten control and boost surveillance over e-commerce ventures.

The rules and regulations, which have been ratified by Industry and Commerce Minister Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, aim to protect consumers and ensure high quality of services from a rising number of online businesses.

According to the Official Gazette, 71 commercial activities have been approved for Virtual Commercial Registration (Sijili), which allows individuals to set up the business without the need to register an office address.

These commercial activities include not only goods but also services through websites or social media pages.

Commercial ventures that will be granted such a licence include textile-making, tailoring, electrical installations, car washing, antiques trading, handicraft, food delivery services, media production and online marketplaces.

However, a physical shop or an office address will be mandatory for 11 other activities and traders launching these ventures cannot solely run an online store.

Businesses prohibited from being solely run online include food and drinks, medical devices and services, pharmaceuticals, chemical products and petroleum, and purchasing and selling of live animals.

Entrepreneurs looking to procure a Sijili licence must adhere to certain terms and conditions.

Applicants must be Bahraini nationals and must conduct business through sole proprietorship. Upon registration, the business owner needs to provide a permanent mailing address.

Holders of virtual commercial registers are not entitled to apply for permits to bring in foreign workers.

Approval for licences need to be obtained from the appropriate licensing agency, which depends on the requirements for each commercial activity. Some ventures may require two or more licences.

For example, activities relating to fashion, graphic design and photography need licences issued by the Industry and Commerce Ministry. Translation and Public Relation activities also require a licence from the Information Ministry’s Publication and Press Directorate.

While entrepreneurs cannot solely sell food and drinks online, licensed chefs can offer their services virtually as long as they follow official guidelines.

They must commit to strict hygiene standards in all stages of food production and ensure necessary measures are taken to keep them safe for consumption.

Additionally, their Commercial Registration number should be clearly visible on their main social media page and website at all times.

Those running commercial stores, meanwhile, are obligated to have a permanent website and not just run the business on social media. They also need to ensure that all products being sold are legally allowed within the kingdom and are not prohibited from a virtual commercial licence.

The GDN reported that in 2019 a total of 976 Bahraini youths owned Virtual Commercial Registrations (Sijili) representing 43 per cent of the total number of virtual CRs since the system was launched by the Industry and Commerce Ministry in 2016.

Sijili was initiated by the ministry to allow some commercial activities to be carried out without the need to register the property’s title office or headquarters.

E-commerce has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past decade.

Global retail e-commerce sales rose to $6.3 trillion in 2023, from $1.8trn in 2016, and are expected to grow to $8.1trn by 2026, with 4.5 billion users worldwide – or roughly half the population of the planet, according to data tracking site Statista.

By 2026, e-commerce is expected to make up 24 per cent of all retail sales, up from 18.8pc in 2021.