RIYADH — Expatriates can now run for the elections to the Board of Directors of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the Kingdom, the Federation of Saudi Chambers has confirmed. This provision is included in the executive regulations of the new Chambers of Commerce Law that came into force recently, according to the federation sources. It is noteworthy that the Council of Ministers approved the new Chambers of Commerce Law on Dec. 1 2020 that allows foreign investors to become members of the board of directors of the chambers for the first time in the history of Saudi chambers. The law abolished the Saudi nationality requirement for the membership in the board of directors of the chamber. The move enables foreign investors to become members of boards of directors of the chambers of commerce for the first time with a condition that the membership to the board is renewed for two consecutive terms only. According to the new regulation, those who want to run or will be appointed to the chamber's Board of directors, must have an experience of no less than 10 years, while a five-year experience is required for holders of a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. The regulation also specified that the candidate's age should not be less than 30 years or at least 25 years old if he holds a university degree related to commercial and industrial business. The regulation also forbids relatives running for board elections. In the previous law, there was no ban on relatives contesting the election. In another qualitative leap, new technologies will be relied on in the voting and election processes of the chamber bodies. There are several provisions in the regulations that enable the private sector to save large sums of money as well as to bring down the cost for starting a commercial activity. It is also stipulated that the federation's revenues include 10 percent of the value of the subscriptions received by the chambers from their members and this amount shall be deposited in the account of the federation at the end of each Gregorian month. This is in addition to the financial compensation that the federation receives from the activities and events that it organizes jointly with various chambers. There should be an agreement between the federation and chambers in this regard. Also, five percent of the financial revenues obtained by chambers from attestation from subscribers shall be deposited in the account of the federation at the end of each Gregorian month. As per the new law, the Council of Saudi Chambers has been renamed as the Federation of Saudi Chambers. According to the new law, it is possible to establish more than one chamber of commerce in the same region, or offices or branches in the governorates and towns in their jurisdiction. The new law also gives exemption to new companies and establishments, which are joining the chamber, from the subscription fee for a period of three years since the date of their commercial registration. It allows anyone who practices a licensed commercial activity to be registered in the chamber of commerce. Unlike the previous law, the new law does not require multiple subscriptions with the increase in the number of branches of business firms. In the previous law subscription fees were multiplied by the number of branches and registered establishments.
