Law No. 7 of 1982 The Regulation of Travel and Tourism Offices

Law No. 7 of 1982 The Regulation of Travel and Tourism Offices 7 / 1982

Number of Articles: 21

Table of Content

We, Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar;
After duly considering the Amended Provisional Constitution, in particular Articles 23, 34 and 51 thereof,
Law No. 11 of 1962 establishing the Commercial Register System as amended;
Law No. 4 of 1963 establishing Qatar Chamber of Commerce;
Law No. 13 of 1963 regulating the entry and residence of foreign nationals in the State of Qatar, as amended;
Law No. 5 of 1970 specifying the powers of the ministers and the functions of the ministries and other government bodies, as amended;
Law No. 14 of 1972 establishing the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Information;
Law No. 4 of 1974 specifying the functions of the Ministry of Information, as amended;
Law No. 3 of 1975 on the Commercial, Industrial and Similar Public Businesses;
The Council of Ministers Resolution No. 4 of 1974 on the establishment of the Departments and Divisions of the Ministry of Information;
The Resolution of the Minister of Municipal Affairs No. 8 of 1979 specifying the types of businesses subject to the provisions of Law No. 3 of 1975 on Commercial, Industrial and Similar Public Businesses,
The Resolution of the Committee formed in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet at the seventh ordinary meeting, 1979, of the representatives of the Ministry of Communications and Transport, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance and Petroleum to study the issue of the unification of ground services at the Doha Airport and travel offices;
The proposal of the Minister of Communications and Transport and the Minister of Information;
The draft law submitted by the Council of Ministers; and
Having consulted the Shura Council;
Hereby promulgate the following law:

Articles

Article 1

In applying the provisions of this law, the following terms and expressions shall have the meanings assigned thereto, unless the context requires otherwise:

“The Minister” means the Minister of Communication and Transport concerning travel offices, and the Minister of Information concerning tourism offices.

“The Ministry” means the Ministry of Communication and Transport concerning travel offices and the Ministry of Information concerning tourism offices.

“Competent Department” means the Department of Civil Aviation concerning travel offices and the Department of Tourism and Antiques concerning tourism offices.

Article 2

Every facility that, within the scope of the applicable laws and regulations, sells travel tickets, facilitates the transporting of luggage, reserves seats in regular means of transport, and performs passenger exchange operations or other related services shall be deemed a travel office.

Article 3

Each facility that, within the scope of the applicable laws and regulations, provides passengers with travel, accommodation and other tourism-related services, especially those listed hereunder, shall be deemed a tourism office:

Obtaining visas.
Making hotel reservations.
Organizing individual and group excursions.
Facilitating foreign currency exchange.
Providing travel insurance through appropriate insurance companies.

Article 4

a. No travel or tourism office shall be opened, managed or exploited unless a permit is obtained from the competent department at the Ministry.

Except for the services required to facilitate the performance of the duties of Hajj and Umrah, unlicensed offices without such a permit shall not practice the services stipulated in Article 2 and Article 3 (b) and (c ) of this law.
Notwithstanding the prohibition contained in Article 4 (a), aviation and airline companies may provide passengers with the services contemplated in Article 2 and Article 3 (b) and (c) if they obtain the permit stipulated in paragraph (a) herein, but only if such companies allocate an independent department to perform such services in their offices and on a budget independent from the rest of its operations.

Article 5

The said permit shall be valid for one year and shall be renewable upon all conditions being met. The permit shall be deemed cancelled if not renewed within sixty days after its expiration. Such cancellation shall not be waived unless approved by the competent department.

Article 6

The following conditions shall apply to the granting of permits for opening travel and tourism offices:

In the case of a sole proprietor, the applicant shall be a Qatari citizen not younger than 21 years. In the case of a corporation, its entire staff shall be Qatari;
The applicant or any of the partners shall not have been convicted of an offence involving honesty or honour;
The applicant or his office manager shall possess sufficient experience in the field of work stated in the application;
An engineering design of the office shall be attached to the permit application and signed by a licensed engineer certified by the competent department;
The applicant shall deposit with the Treasury of the Ministry insurance in the amount of one hundred thousand (100,000) Qatari Riyals, which shall be allocated to pay for office expenses it performs in execution of the provisions of the law. The payment of such due amounts shall be made only with the approval of the Minister;
The insurance shall be underwritten by a letter of guarantee issued from a bank operating in Qatar in favour of the Ministry, provided that the insurance shall remain in effect for the entire period during which the office carries on its business and shall not be made conditional on any term. The letter of guarantee shall stipulate the right of the Ministry to liquidate the business, either partially or completely, if any claim against the office is due or is based on a judgment from the court of jurisdiction.

Article 7

The facility may combine the activities of a travel office and a tourism office.

Article 8

The competent department shall prepare a register devoted to licensed offices. The Minister shall determine the data to be included therein.

Article 9

The licensee shall register the office in the commercial register and subscribe in the Qatari Chamber of Commerce within one month of the date on which the permit is issued.

Article 10

Offices granted a permit may, according to the provisions of this law, open branches in the State of Qatar without obtaining additional permits, provided that the competent department is notified before the opening of any branch. Each branch shall retain an official copy of the original permit issued for the main office.

Article 11

The office owner or administrator shall submit to the competent department all prints, publications, photographs and any tour, hotel or public shopping brochures issued by the office for distribution inside the country or abroad. The name of the office shall be stated on all of these materials.

Article 12

Based on a recommendation from the competent department, the Minister may cancel a permit in the following cases:

If the office ceased its activities for one year.
If the office practiced an activity other than that permitted by this law.
If the office fails to satisfy one or more or all of the conditions stipulated in Article 6 of this law.
If the person responsible for the management of the office, within one month from receiving the Ministry payment notification, does not top the amount of the insurance deposited at the Ministry and used thereby to pay the dues of the office according to the provisions of Article 6 )5(.

Article 13

The number of employees appointed to work in the office shall be commensurate with the workload, provided that at least two of the employees shall be fluent in both English and Arabic, experienced in their field of work, and knowledgeable aboutthe regulations? laws and by-laws that govern their job.

Article 14

The office shall be fitted with appropriate furniture and sufficient space to permit the proper performance of its work and services.

Article 15

In the event of the permit owner's death, the heirs shall notify the Ministry within sixty days thereof and shall furnish the names and addresses of those persons who shall continue to run the office. They shall also choose a representative on their behalf who shall be responsible for executing the regulations of this law and the decisions enforcing it. They shall take all necessary steps to transfer the permit into their names no later than six months after the owner's death, failing which their rights therein shall be forfeited.

Article 16

Travel and tourism offices operating in Qatar shall, upon promulgation of this law, regulate their business according to the provisions of this law within a period not exceeding three months from the promulgation date. The Minister may, upon the request of the concerned person and on good cause shown, extend the period by an additional three months.

Article 17

Travel offices stipulated in Article 2 of this law shall share their commissions according to the regulations of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Article 18

Ministry employees delegated by the Minister shall hold the rank of Judicial Control Officer in controlling and investigating offences in contravention of this law, by-laws and the decisions that execute it. Such employees may, at any time, enter stipulated offices to inspect them and their operations, records and documents, and to verify the proper execution by the office of the provisions, by-laws and decisions herein and those issued by IATA, and to determine any violations thereof.

Article 19

a. Any person convicted of an offence in contravention of any provision of this law or of the by-laws or decisions executing it shall be sentenced to fine of not less than two thousand (2.000) Riyals and not exceeding ten thousand (10.000) Riyals.

In the event of recidivism, the court, in addition to imposing a fine, may cancel or suspend the permit for a period of six months.
Without prejudice to any other penalty imposed by the law, the court shall order closure of the office upon a contravention of one or more or all of the provisions of Articles 4, 5 and 6 therein.

Article 20

The Minister shall issue the by-laws and decisions required for the execution of this law.

Article 21

All competent authorities, each within its own area, shall execute this law which shall come into force thirty days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.