Introduction: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seeks to attract foreign investment by creating numerous opportunities and facilities for investors, with the aim of economic expansion and strengthening the Kingdom's economic infrastructure. Among these facilities is facilitating the issuance of licenses for scientific and technical offices for foreign investors who have agents, distributors, and consumers of foreign companies' products within the Kingdom. We will discuss this topic in detail below:
Scientific and Technical Office Licenses and Their Types
Scientific and technical office licenses are issued by the
relevant authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This service
is provided to foreign companies that have a Saudi agent or
authorized distributor in the Kingdom and wish to open an office
that provides scientific and technical services to agents,
distributors, and consumers of the company's products.
Types of Scientific and Technical Offices:
Includes licensing for offices operating in the following
fields:
Software and electronic systems development
Research, engineering, design, and innovation
The authority responsible for issuing scientific and technical
office licenses is the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.
Documents for Obtaining Scientific and Technical Office Licenses
in Saudi Arabia
Documents required for obtaining scientific and technical office
licenses:
A copy of the participating establishment's commercial
registration, certified by the Saudi Embassy.
A copy of the authorized power of attorney for the Saudi agent or
distributor.
Scientific and technical office licenses are applied for through
the website - the e-services portal, and the service is completed
within a maximum of two business days.
Requirements for Obtaining a License
Requirements for Obtaining Scientific and Technical Office
Licenses:
The office may conduct a market study for the company's type
of activity and prepare reports on this study for the headquarters.
The office shall submit an annual summary of its activities to the
Ministry of Investment.
The office is prohibited from executing any contracts or engaging
in commercial or investment activities in the Kingdom, directly or
indirectly. It is also prohibited from charging any fees for
training Saudi technicians.
The Financial Fee for Obtaining Scientific and Technical Office
Licenses for an Establishment
The financial fee for issuing a license is 2,000 Saudi Riyals per
year, up to a maximum of five years.
The fee for the first year of subscription to services provided by
the Ministry of Investment's Investor Relations Centers is SAR
10,000. Subsequently, the fee for service subscriptions is SAR
60,000 per year. The payment period for the service fee is 60 days
from the invoice date. If payment is not made within this period,
the service will be deemed void and the user must reapply.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
