The main laws regulating business in Kuwait are the Civil Code (Law 67 of 1980), the Commercial Code (law 68 of 1980) the Commercial Companies Law (law no 1 of 2016), Kuwait Tax Decree No:3 of 1955, Kuwait Labour Law No:38 of 1964 and Foreign Direct Investment Law No:116 of 2013.
To do business a license is necessary. General Trading, Contracting, Importing and Industrial licenses are issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI).
Any Kuwaiti or GCC national over 21 years of age may carry on business in Kuwait. But a foreigner (Non GCC National) may not carry on business unless he has one or more Kuwaiti partners and the capital owned by the Kuwaiti partner in the business is not less than 51% of the total capital. A foreign firm may not set up a branch and may not perform any commercial activities in Kuwait except through a Kuwaiti agent.
Business enterprises can take several forms viz. Kuwait Shareholding Company (K.S.C.) Company With Limited Liability (W.L.L.), General Partnerships or Joint Ventures.
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