INDUSTRY, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani could be summoned to Parliament by MPs who are seeking an open debate on government policies for businesses.
It includes commercial activities that expats or foreign companies can open in Bahrain as well as Commercial Registration (CR) concealment. The request by 10 MPs led by Mohammed Buhamood is set for vote during Tuesday’s weekly session.
A national campaign against CR concealment was launched in December last year. It covers businesses owned, operated and managed by expats under the name of Bahrainis. The campaign is run jointly by the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There are 80,000 active CRs in Bahrain.
Mr Buhamood claimed that expat businessmen and foreign companies were robbing Bahrainis of opportunities to make a living or survive.
“There is already huge competition amongst local businesses. Allowing non-Bahrainis to step in as competitors is unfair and adds to the pressure. We need to know what has been achieved by opening the market to expats and foreign companies.
“By doing so, has the government stopped CR concealment or is it still continuing at the same rate?”
Mr Alzayani had earlier said that the campaign was a chance to rectify violations, with failure to do so within the set deadline punishable with imprisonment for a period not exceeding a year and a fine not exceeding BD100,000.
BCCI board chairman Sameer Nass had claimed at the time that BD1.2 billion was being transferred as remittances annually, and a big part of it was a result of CR concealment.
Meanwhile, MPs will also vote on tougher punishments for rogue traders indulging in price gouging and hoarding.
Amendments to the 2012 Consumer Protection Law, originally proposed by the Shura Council, aim to criminalise the practice of stocking and inflating the price of goods by businessmen.
Under the proposed amendments, the penalties vary for first-time offenders and repeat violators. The violating business would be shut down for three months for the first offence and six months if it is repeated. The same punishment will be enforced on those hindering inspectors.
The move followed several cases in which vegetables and food staples were found hidden in warehouses.
Parliament’s financial and economic affairs committee has recommended that the move be rejected, saying new rules have already been introduced by the government to protect consumer rights.
MPs will also vote on a government-drafted legislation to join the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“Multilateral Instrument” or “MLI”)
Under it, the member country will swiftly implement a series of tax treaty measures to update international tax rules and reduce the opportunity for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.
The MLI already covers 96 jurisdictions and came into force on July 1, 2018.
Parliament will also vote on amendments to the 2006 Labour Fund Set-up Law that would see specific small and medium companies represented in the board. The government has called for a rethink saying that two-third of board members were already from the private sector.
The Industry, Commerce and Tourism Ministry said a decision has been taken to direct 20 per cent of government purchases and projects to small and medium companies, while also allocating them 10pc of inner contracts for supplies within ministries and government bodies.
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