CHAPTER TWO General Provisions
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SECTION ONE Permanent Establishment
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For the purpose of this Law, permanent establishment means a fixed place of business through which a business is wholly or partly carried on in Oman by a foreign person either directly or through a dependent agent.
Permanent establishment includes especially: |
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1. |
A place of sale, place of management, branch, office, factory or workshop. |
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2. |
A mine, quarry or other place of extraction of natural resources. |
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3. |
A building site, a place of construction or an assembly project. |
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A permanent establishment shall also mean-in application of the provisions of this Law- any foreign person that provides consultancy service or any other services in Oman for a period or periods of not less than ninety days in the aggregate in any twelve months whether directly or through employees of that person, or others designated by that person to perform such services.
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For the purposes of the foregoing Article 2, there shall not be regarded as having a permanent establishment if the foreign person uses a fixed place of business solely for the following purposes: |
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1. |
Storage, display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to that person; |
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2. |
The maintenance of a stock of goods belonging to that person for the purpose of storage, display or delivery or processing by another person; |
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3. |
Purchase of goods, merchandise, or collection of information for the business; |
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4. |
Carrying on any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character for the purposes of the business; |
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5. |
The combination of any of the activities mentioned in the foregoing four sub-Clauses of this Article provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from that combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character.
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SECTION TWO Non – Omani Partnership Agreements
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Agreements entered into outside Oman between two or more parties to carry on an activity to achieve a specific purpose, or to execute a specific work for the purpose of profit, and not regarded as forming a company which has a juristic personality independent and separate from its partners under the laws of the State in which the agreement is concluded, shall, for the purposes of this Law, be treated as forming a juristic person which is independent and separate from the parties to the agreement whatever be the limits of their liability for the debts arising from carrying on the activity, achieving the purpose or executing the work. Tax shall be charged on any income accruing to the permanent establishment in Oman owned by that person. |
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Assessment made on the income accruing in accordance with the foregoing Article 4, may not prejudice the liability of each party to the agreement for the tax due and payable by that person.
The parties to the agreement shall be jointly liable. |
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SECTION THREE The Principal Officer
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For the purposes of this Law, principal officer of an establishment, Omani company, or permanent establishment shall mean: |
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1. |
In relation to an establishment, the owner or the manager responsible for the establishment. |
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2. |
In relation to an Omani company:
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a) |
Partnership or limited partnership: the partner or the manager of the partnership or the limited partnership. |
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b) |
Joint venture: any partner or the manager of the joint venture. |
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c) |
Joint stock company: The chairman of the board of directors or the manager, authorized by the board. |
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d) |
Limited liability company: The chairman of the board of directors or the person responsible for management. |
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e) |
In cases of imposing receivership, liquidation or declaration of bankruptcy of the company: The receiver, liquidator or the bankruptcy manger. |
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3. |
In relation to a permanent establishment: |
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a) |
The owner or the manager. |
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b) |
Where it carries on the business in Oman through an agent: The agent of the owner of the permanent establishment |
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c) |
The foregoing sub-Clause (2) (e) of this Article shall apply in case of situations similar to those specified therein, with respect to the permanent establishment.
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Where there is no principal officer within the meaning of Article 6, the Secretary General may designate any person connected with the business as the principal officer for the purpose of this Law, and that person shall be the principal officer in relation to that business. Such designating shall be notified to the taxpayer. |
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The principal officer of an establishment, Omani company, or permanent establishment shall be the person responsible for discharging the obligations imposed on that establishment, Omani company, or permanent establishment pursuant to this Law, unless otherwise expressly provided for in this Law. |
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In case the owner of an establishment or permanent establishment is present outside Oman during any tax year, he shall designate a person to be the principal officer responsible for discharging the obligations provided for in this Law, during the presence of the owner abroad. The principal officer shall be present during the period of the discharge of his duties, and he may not be absent for a period exceeding ninety days during any tax year.
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SECTION FOUR Value of the Asset Disposed of
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Subject to any special provisions provided for in this Law, the following shall be considered when determining disposal value of any asset disposed of : |
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1. |
Where one asset is exchanged for another, the market value of the asset acquired by exchange on the date of exchange shall be considered. |
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2. |
In the case of disposal of any asset from the assets of a taxpayer without consideration or for a consideration less than its market value, the market value of the asset on the date of disposal shall be considered
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SECTION FIVE Obligations of Taxpayer
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Any taxpayer chargeable to tax pursuant to this Law shall provide to the Secretariat General the information relating to it as recorded in the Commercial Register or others, especially, its name and address, or any changes to this information.
The information shall be provided in the form prescribed for this purpose within three months from the date of incorporation, or the date on which the activity commenced, whichever the earlier, or within two months from the date of modification to this information.
The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the establishments or Omani companies which meet the conditions of the minimum limits of the capital registered in the commercial register, gross income, or the average number of employees in the establishment or Omani company, as determined by the Executive Regulation of the Law. |
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The accounts accompanying the final return shall be prepared by using the accrual basis of financial accounting unless it is permitted by the Secretariat General for the taxpayer to use another basis of accounting.
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Where the accounts referred to in the foregoing Article 12 are prepared by using a basis other than the accrual basis of accounting, any reference to expenses incurred in any tax year shall be deemed to be a reference to the amounts actually paid in such tax year. |
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Taxpayer may maintain the registers and books of accounts in a foreign currency only with the authorization from the Secretariat General.
If permitted, the taxable income or loss for any accounting period ending in any tax year shall be computed in Rials Omani in accordance with the average rate of the buying and selling rates of the currency prevailing on the ending date of that accounting period, as published by the Central Bank of Oman.
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Every taxpayer shall preserve for at least ten years from the end of the accounting period for which the income is chargeable to tax, all registers, books of accounts and the documents proving their contents, based on which the accounts are prepared and required to be submitted with the return of income in accordance with this Law, or those which may be necessary for stating the basis adopted in computing the taxable income in the return of income, or necessary for determining the tax chargeable on the categories of income mentioned in Article 52 of this Law. |
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SECTION SIX Obligations of Ministries, Government Authorities and other Parties
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Ministries and Government authorities which are competent for issuing licences to carry on the professional activities shall be required to notify the Secretariat General every six months of statements of permanent licences issued by them, their renewal, cancellation or expiry, as well as of temporary license at the time of issue in accordance with the conditions specified in the Executive Regulations of this Law. |
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The secretariat of the competent Court shall, if requested by the Secretariat General , provide it with the copies of the following: |
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Records on the attachment of movables and the date fixed for sale in accordance with the aforementioned Law of Civil and Commercial Procedures. Such notification shall be made promptly after an order for sale of the attached properties is issued by the Executive magistrate. |
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2. |
Declarations of properties submitted by garnishees within the garnishment proceedings in accordance with the aforementioned Law of Civil and Commercial Procedures: Such declarations shall be furnished promptly after submission of the declarations by the garnishee. |
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3. |
Notices for attachment of real estate made under the aforementioned Law of Civil and Commercial Procedures, after their registration at the concerned Secretariat of Land Register. Such notification shall be made promptly after registration of the notice.
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Any person who takes procedures for the sale of moveable properties or real properties of taxpayersin public auction shall notify the |