Tag: Case and Fatwa Summary

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) held that the Oman Housing Bank, a government-owned enterprise under the Oman Investment Authority, is exempt from value added tax (VAT).

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) confirmed the right of the employer under the Standard Contract for the Construction of Buildings and Civil Works to replace a contractor with another if the first contractor goes bankrupt in accordance with article 63-1 of the Standard Contract. The MJLA noted that the exercise of this right can be restricted by the provisions of article 59 of the Civil Transactions Law, but determined that none of the cases of article 59 applied in this case.

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) deemed that the allocation of a government building to a government entity does not automatically make that government entity a party to a construction contract relating to that building when another government entity has been explicitly assigned the obligations relating to this contract by royal decree.

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) adopted a literal interpretation of article 52-3 of the Standard Contract for the Construction of Buildings and Civil Works, Fourth Edition 1999 stipulating that the contractor is entitled to a revision of the contract value if the cumulative value of the variation orders exceeds 10% of the original contract value.

The Supreme Court confirmed that both the contractor and the engineer are jointly liable for defects in a construction project for a period of ten years from the completion of the project, irrespective of what the contract says, in accordance with articles 634 and 635 of the Civil Transactions Law.

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) deemed that the first sale of real estate by the developer in integrated tourism complexes is not exempt from value added tax (VAT).

The Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs (MJLA) deemed the Corporate Governance Principles for Government-Owned Companies issued by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) to be invalid due to the failure of the CMA to publish such principles in the Official Gazette and the lack of competence of the Executive President of the CMA to issue them. The MJLA also held that companies subordinate to the Oman Investment Authority are not exempt from the scope of such principles.

The Supreme Court held that an employer is liable for the conduct of an employee as long as the employee is seen as an apparent agent of the employer, even if the employee conducts activities not authorised by the employer and even if the employer does not gain profit from these activities.

The Supreme Court confirmed a court of appeal judgment in which a lawsuit initiated by a joint venture company against a third party was dismissed on the basis that a joint venture company does not have legal personality, and therefore it is incapable of initiating lawsuits against any third party.

The Supreme Court held that a shareholder who signs a guarantee agreement for the debts of the company remains liable for these debts even after selling his shares in the company.