The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has confirmed the implementation of intensive inspection campaigns on stores selling and maintaining mobile phones in various regions of the Kingdom, starting from the first of the Holy Month of Ramadan, in order to verify the application and commitment with the regulations and to impose the legal penalties on the violators of the provisions of the Anti-Commercial Concealment Law in the field of telecommunications and their accessories.
According to the relevant law, the penalties on those proved to practice or being involved in commercial concealment may reach to two year imprisonment and a fine of one million riyals on each offender, whether a citizen or an expat, in addition to deporting the non-Saudi to his country after the end of the relevant sentence, also making defamation against the violators, as well as closing the shop and preventing the concealer from practicing the same business for five years.
MCI stressed that the joint inspection campaigns, in cooperation with the concerned authorities, come after the expiry of the deadline, the end of the current month, announced by the Ministry of Labor & Social Development.
MCI confirmed, in its statement today, on the joint coordination with the Ministries of Labor & Social Development, Municipal and Rural Affairs, Telecommunications & Information Technology on the application of the Ministerial Decree related to the Nationalization of Telecom Sector.
Meanwhile, the Ministry pointed out that the Authority of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) undertakes supporting the entrepreneurs in the telecommunications sector, so that to make partnership with the concerned parties and to achieve the strategic vision in supporting the private sector.
It is worth mentioning that the decision of nationalization of telecommunications jobs aim to create job opportunities for male & female Saudi, who wish to work in this field, due to the financial benefits and job stability derived from this activity, in addition to maintaining this profession, due to its importance, as far as the social, economic and security aspects are concerned, besides combating any practices of commercial concealment.
Based on the Ministerial Decree`s mechanism and agenda, the above mentioned ministries had given the shopkeepers a deadline of 90 days, since the enforcement of the relevant decree on 01.06.1437 H, to carry out nationalization by 50%, then the whole telecom sector to be nationalized on 01.12.1437 H.