Municipal fees put on hold till July 1

The government has postponed the implementation of higher taxes and other fees by some municipalities.
The decision was taken by the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council (FAERC), which on Thursday held its first meeting of 2018 under the chairmanship of Darwish bin Ismaeel al Balushi, Minister Responsible for Financial Affairs, and FAERC Deputy Chairman.
The companies, especially SMEs, will now get time till July 1 to make provisions in their budget for these additional municipal fees.

A working group of concerned parties will be formed, including the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry to assess the impact of these decisions, especially on the small and medium enterprises during this grace period. The Council also reviewed a range of topics including the report on the initial closing of the State’s final account for the fiscal year ended on December 31.
Further, the Council reviewed the outcomes of the study on the state-owned companies, the role they have played at the various stages of development, assessing their performance and the governance rules they apply.
The Council reviewed several reports related to oil and gas sector including those related to setting up refineries and petrochemicals factory, as well as allocating gas quantities for some projects at the Special Economic Zone in Duqm (SEZD). Moreover, the Council discussed a range of other topics and took necessary decisions towards them.