H. E. the Minister of Commerce & Investment, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi stressed that maximum penalties will be imposed against the commercial concealers in the telecommunication sector and its accessories. H.E. confirmed that MCI inspection tours will be continued on the telecom sector, to verify the commitment with the regulations and to impose the legal penalties against the violators, in cooperation with the ministries of Labor and Social Development, Municipal & Rural Affairs, Telecommunication & Information Technology as well as the Ministry of Interior.
H.E. the Minister said that the field inspection tours, carried out during the past two days on mobile shops in various regions of the Kingdom, revealed some violations in this sector, including the commercial concealment cases, which may lead to two yearsimprisonment, a fine of one million riyals on each offender,whether a citizen or an expat, besides deporting the expat from the Kingdom after completing the relevant sentence, also making defamation against the violators, as well as shutting down the shop and preventing the concealer from exercising the same business for five years.
H.E. Al Qasabi added that the integration among the relevant ministries in organizing the telecommunication sector and in making it limited to Saudi male and female, would benefit theSaudi economy and the citizens, besides contributing in supporting the Nationalization Programs.
H.E. the Minister confirmed that the Small & Medium Enterprises Authority (SME) would support the entrepreneurs in the telecommunication sector, in line with the partnership and cooperation with the relevant ministries for the nationalization of the telecom sector, thus achieving the National Strategy in supporting the private sector.