A simplified guide on the importance of obtaining a commercial registration for your business, the steps for issuance, and the renewal fees of a commercial registration, along with some required conditions when registering a trademark and the advantages of documenting a successful online store from Salla.

One of the most important things that companies need at the beginning of their commercial journey is to ensure that they operate legally to guarantee the easy continuity of activity and the completion of all their procedures with the Ministry of Commerce. One of the things that guarantees this is obtaining a commercial registration for your activity.

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What is a Commercial Registration?

It is a tool provided by the Ministry of Commerce to regulate trade movement in the country and strictly control data related to businesses and companies. It contains detailed information about traders, businesses, and commercial activities, such as:

• Data of the company owner or their representative (the applicant).

• Type of company.

• The company's commercial name, which distinguishes it from others, requiring that the company owner's name be part of it.

• Trade name, which is the designation placed by the merchant on the shop sign.

• The purpose of establishing the company.

• The main address and branches, if any.

• Capital details.

• The start date of the company.

• The date of the license to practice the activity.

• Data of partners and senior management, if any.

• Trademark registration number and patents.

The Importance of Obtaining a Commercial Registration

First: Obtaining Privileges

One of the most prominent advantages of obtaining a commercial registration is that the majority of governments offer owners of registered businesses more benefits, especially securing support for startups and growing companies. Among these privileges is providing more legal protection and legitimizing the commercial project.

Second: Obtaining Financing

Obtaining funding is one of the most important benefits of extracting a commercial registry for most funders, as they do not prefer to provide funding to any institution unless it holds a commercial registry in the country. This is because these companies operate legally, thereby guaranteeing the rights of all parties.

Third: Gaining Customer Trust

Extracting a commercial registry for the institution or company gives it more loyalty from customers. The Ministry of Commerce has provided a useful service for consumers and merchants, which is "Maroof" E-Commerce. It is a (free) service that enables the seller to easily reach a larger segment of customers by marketing their store and means of communication with absolute reliability to link their store with the commercial registry. It also gives the online shopper an idea about the quality of services provided to them by online stores through the ability to view customer reviews and ratings of the store, as well as sharing their experience along with product evaluation.

Fourth: Legal Protection

If you do not extract a commercial registry and register your company, you will not be able to litigate or plead in commercial courts and benefit from the law that protects your company. In the absence of a commercial registry, it cannot be verified that you are the original owner of the institution or that you own it, and there is no proof that the company filing the lawsuit in its name is a real company to begin with.

Fifth: Market Competition

Obtaining a commercial registration allows you to inquire about other companies' records and learn their details. The purpose of obtaining this information is to ensure that the companies you intend to deal with in the future are real and registered in accordance with the law. Conversely, having a commercial registration for your company will allow other companies to know your business record, in order to make deals with you in future businesses after ensuring your company is legal.

Sixth: Avoiding Personal Liability

When you obtain a commercial registration and register your company legally, you will not be individually liable for the company you own; rather, your liability is related to the number of shares you own in the company. Of course, this aspect differs if your company is registered as a sole proprietorship.

Conditions for Obtaining a Commercial Registration:

Below are the conditions for obtaining a commercial registration for the company or activity you own:

1. The merchant must have a place of business, such as a store or from home.

2. Availability of the original ownership contract or lease agreement of the establishment.

3. The owner of the establishment must have an account on the Absher platform.

4. Provide merchant data such as commercial ID number, full name, date of birth, and signature.

5. The owner of the commercial registration must not be less than 18 years old.

6. The owner of the establishment must not work in the government or private sector.

7. The capital must not be less than 5000 Riyals.

Fees for Obtaining a Commercial Registration:

The fees for obtaining a commercial registration vary depending on whether it is a main commercial registration being issued for the first time, or a branch commercial registration, which is a registration for other projects bearing the same commercial name:

• The cost of issuing the main commercial registration is 200 SAR per year.

• The cost of issuing the branch commercial registration is 100 SAR per year.

Steps to Obtain a Commercial Registration:

1. Log in to the Ministry of Commerce website.

2. From the menu at the top, select "E-Services", then choose "Issue Commercial Registration".

3. Select "Start Service", then "Log in to System".

4. You can register through the Commercial Registration system or through the Unified National Access (Nafath).

5. Select the registration method (citizen and resident, Gulf citizen, or non-resident).

6. The system will redirect you to the Unified Access Platform (you must have an Absher account so the system can retrieve the data).

7. Fill in the required details (Absher username, password, verification code, policies check).

8. After that, you will be redirected to the Commercial Registration system; choose "Issue Registration".

9. Choose the type of registration name (personal commercial name, existing commercial name, reserved commercial name).

10. Enter business data (field, activity type, type of establishment, etc.).

11. If you own an e-commerce business, select "Add E-Commerce Data" and fill in the details (website link, Maroof certificate, agreeing to the undertaking).

12. Enter financial and registration data (date, validity period of the registration, capital, email, national address, etc.).

13. The application details (the registered information and the invoice) will be displayed; please approve them.

14. The invoice details will be reviewed for payment (the payment period for the invoice is 30 days from its request).

Extracting and Renewing a Commercial Registration
It has become possible to renew the commercial registration after its expiration through the Ministry of Commerce website through the following steps:

• Log in to the Ministry of Commerce website.

• Log in to the Commercial Registration system.

• Select "My Registrations", and the system will display all registrations.

• Next to the registration you want to renew, select "Options".

• From the dropdown list, select "Renew".

• Determine the renewal years (maximum renewal period is 5 years).

• The renewal invoice details will be displayed for payment.

Documenting Stores from Salla

At Salla, thousands of merchants have been helped to start their business online and expand with ease, and the goal is to facilitate E-Commerce and create a reliable and safe business environment for everyone, which is why we launched the Store Verification service.

Store verification is a service launched by Salla platform aiming to verify the validity of merchant data when activating payment methods. This is done through direct and seamless technical integration to verify individual, institution, and company data, contributing to speeding up the process of activating electronic payment gateways and other payment methods.

Why do I need to verify my store?

• A basic requirement to start selling on Salla platform.

• Activate payment methods in your online store.

• Contributing to building a safe environment for e-commerce for both merchant and customer.

Frequently Asked Questions About Store Verification

What are the possible reasons for my store verification failing?

• The commercial registration does not match the identity of the store owner.

• Incorrectly entering ID/Iqama number, date of birth, or commercial registration number.

• The bank name does not match the name on the IBAN certificate.

• The ID, commercial registration, or charity certificate is not clear.

• The store is empty of products.

• Absence of contact details.

Can a new store that contains no products be verified?

No, adding products to the store is an essential prerequisite for verification.