The Ministry of Commerce and Investment reviewed the mechanisms of licensing offers and reductions in a meeting that was organized by the Hospitality and Recreation Committee at Asharqia Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Region on Wednesday.
During the meeting, the Director General of the branch of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment in the Eastern Province Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Khaldi said that the Ministry aims to organize the offers of discounts and competitions to protect the consumer from misleading and unimaginable offers and discounts through an easy electronic system, as the immediate license of the facility is granted electronically within one working day.
He explained that the establishments that are wishing to submit offers and discounts can obtain the license electronically from the Ministry on the link Sales.mci.gov.sa.
The Director General of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment in the Eastern Province stressed that the Ministry issued more than 36 thousand licenses for reduced products so far.
He noted that 54% of licenses were granted to commercial records, and 46% for agencies and trademarks.
Al-Khaldi said that partial discounts are given to shops that are wishing to make discounts at least 50% of the products offered at the shop three times a year.
Comprehensive discounts are granted to shops if all of their goods are subject to comprehensive reductions of 3 times a year.
General discounts are given to shops that are wishing to make a final liquidation due to leaving the activity or changing its type.
Al-Khaldi praised the commitment of the commercial establishments to the rules and conditions of the reductions through the licensing or a copy thereof in a visible place and to maintain the list of approved prices throughout the license period, and the general rate of reductions shall not be less than 10% of the price during the month preceding the commencement of the reductions, as well as placing cards on the products covered by the reduction showing the price before and after the reduction.
The advantages of the system of reductions were the immediate acceptance of applications and the issuance of reduced licenses based on the commercial agency or trade register, easy verification of product invoices for the purpose of auditing, the issuance and printing of licenses electronically to the merchant and the possibility of obtaining licenses for all shops in the Kingdom, as well as allowing the extension of a one-time reduction license and access to the data of any product listed on the reduced product list.
The director of the Ministry's branch in the Eastern Province talked about seasonal reductions, which is divided into seven sections (before the month of Ramadan, Eid al Fitr, Eid al-Adha, national day, Regions' discounts, the White Friday, Mid-term leave and the end of the year).
It is worth mentioning that the steps to extract the licenses should be done by registering on the site Sales.mci.gov.sa and then select the registry and brand, and add the products in a file (Excel) attachment to the site, then choose the duration of reduction and payment of the invoice sent and uploading the bills of the previous points of sale for reduced products.
The deputy chairman of Asharqia Chamber and the chairman of the Hospitality and Leisure Committee, Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Boali, said during the meeting that the wise government has sought to develop the hospitality and entertainment sector with its added value in the national economy through intensified efforts and programs responsible for the upgrading of various elements, reformulated regulations that related to sector development and the massive leisure projects have significantly contributed to enhancing the roles and position of the national economy and providing more investment opportunities and job generation.
He said that Asharqia Chamber, held this meeting, which is part of the activities and programs of the Committee on Hospitality and Entertainment in 2019, because it recognizes the importance of introducing industry leaders to the controls and requirements of promotional offers and to enrich dialogue and discussion on many topics relevant to this vital sector.
