The Ministry of Commerce and Industry revealed that its commercial licenses department issued 526 new licenses, six new licenses per day, during the first three months of this year. The ministry issued 192 licenses in January, 142 in February, and 192 in March. Al-Anbaa reported that the Commercial Licensing Department released a statistical report detailing the 202 cancelled commercial licenses during the first quarter of 2023. In addition, the department completed about 3,750 transactions related to the issuance and renewal of licenses, change in address, modified activity, cancellation of licenses, and replacement of lost licenses. The paper added that January recorded the highest number of procedures with 1,390 total transactions.
The category with the most issued commercial licenses were the general trade and related services, with a total of 283 licenses in the first quarter, including 75 licenses for citizens, and four licenses for residents. The next most issued licenses were for textile, clothing, leather and related industries, with a total of 55 licenses during the mentioned period. The data also showed the department rejecting applications for two vehicles and dealing with about 182 micro-businesses.
Moreover, the department also dealt with 7,176 transactions for entrepreneurs, including 1,482 approved applications, and 2,744 rejected applications. The total number of licenses issued totaled 2,950 during the first quarter of 2023.