Why Do You Need a CR without a License

It sounds interesting to have your own business and to run it smoothly without losses. Many people do dream about it and a very few can convert it in reality by establishing a company to carry on the business activities.

Bahrain government has promoted the idea of establishing businesses for the economic growth of the country at large. The government has promulgated various policies and created efficient systems to help a new entrepreneur to establish its own business activity by registering it in the Kingdom's commercial register system which is known as SIJILAT launched in year 2015.

The commercial registration certificate is a certificate that gives a legal status to a business entity to be free to carry on their business in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It contains various vital information of the business entity:

• name of the company;
• form of the company;
• name of legal representatives of the company;
• registration number;
• name of the business activities;
• commercial office address, etc.

The Commercial Registration without a License (CR without a License) is a certificate issued at the initial stage of the establishment of a company, where it has not yet started running its business, to an establishing business entity or company before a final CR with a License is issued by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism.

The main difference between the CR with a license and the CR without a license is that the CR without a license is not a full-fledged Commercial Registration. It is only given to make it easy for a new business entity to perform its initial tasks related to its formation:

• registering a name for the company;
• agreeing with contract with vendors, suppliers, and other entities;
• entering a lease agreement;
• getting the licenses for business activities from different government authorities, and so forth.

But the company cannot start running its business. However, the CR with a license is a full-fledged commercial license to carry on the business in order to procure profit.

But the CR with a license is issued only after getting the CR without a License and submitting all the required documents and meeting all the criteria listed at the SIJILAT portal. After getting the CR with a license you are free to run business in Bahrain with no restrictions.

With the growing effect of globalization and government's focus towards economic growth different measures are tried and promoted in different countries.

The Kingdom of Bahrain is not immune to this change which is happening globally; most of the GCC nations are planning and working towards shifting their economies from oil-based economy to tourism based or manufacturing or service sector based economy. Bahrain has been working towards the same and has been immensely supportive towards local and foreign investors.

Hence, the development of an e-system for the registration of a new business has given a lot of support and boost to the new entrepreneurs.

Simply they have to log-in to the portal through an advanced eKey or through any service provider for registering their companies in the system by providing certain documents. And then they can get the CR without a License to start the process of establishing a business in working condition rather than only on paper.

The CR without a License is a kind of approval from the government that such business entity or company is capable to agree with other companies (persons, authorities). The government has checked and approved its background, and other parties can be relaxed about its authentic existence and from any future fraud.

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism has launched the SIJILAT to make it easy for entrepreneurs, investors and business owners to get all the registrations and licensing of commercial establishments through this portal as it is connected with all the other electronic systems of the relevant government entities.

Getting a Commercial Registration is easy.

1. Firstly, you must get an advanced eKey from the Service Centre of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism by visiting it in person and submitting all the required documents and fulfilling all the required guidelines. If you can't get the eKey personally, then you can sign a power of attorney for the same.
2. Once you have the eKey, login to SIJILAT portal and click on the icon for Commercial Registration, choose the type of the commercial registration which is required. For establishing a new business entity the commercial registration without a license is applied firstly in order to start the initial process to establish a business entity like obtaining leased premises and lease agreement, to engage with vendors, securing a commercial name etc.

An enterprise must prepare the following documents beforehand while applying for CR without a license:

1. Passport copies of all the shareholders, founders, directors of the company.
2. Minimum 3 proposed names of the company.
3. Name of the business activity.
4. Details of capital to be invested.
5. Educational details or other relevant details of the founders.
6. Legal form of the company.
7. Details of the legal representatives of the company.
8. Other documents as required.