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The seminar, held under the patronage of department president Counselor Salah Al-Majed, carried the title “The Commercial Concealment Law: An In-Depth Reading of Legal Texts and Practical Applications,” according to a Kuwait Times report. Undersecretary Haitham Al-Ruwaished told the Kuwait News Agency that the event and others scheduled for the season aim to build legal awareness so that specialists and those impacted by the legislation can thoroughly understand its rules. This knowledge, he added, will simplify enforcement while bringing economic activities ranging from commercial and investment to industrial, agricultural, service and professional fields into compliance. Participants reviewed the decree’s legislative philosophy together with its wide scope and its contribution toward protecting legitimate business operations.
Kuwait Times reported that government officials and academics who joined the discussion underlined the law’s value in shielding the economic system and establishing a marketplace where success flows from efficiency and adherence to regulations rather than hidden arrangements. The panel explored the legislation’s legal, economic and regulatory facets in detail as the department launched its second annual legal cultural season. Earlier awareness sessions organized by the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry in August had already begun informing business owners about the forthcoming requirements, the publication noted in related coverage.
Decree-Law No. 78 of 2026, which was issued in early August and published in the Official Gazette on August 9, defines commercial concealment as enabling an unlicensed party to conduct business through another’s name, license or registration, according to multiple reports in Times Kuwait. The measure builds on earlier provisions found in the 1980 Commercial Law, the 2013 Commercial Shops Licensing Law and the 2016 Companies Law but creates a stricter, more direct enforcement structure. It sets penalties of one to three years in prison and fines from 10,000 to 100,000 Kuwaiti dinars or the value of any illicit profits, whichever is greater, with possible business closure, license revocation and asset confiscation.
Times Kuwait previously detailed that the law also addresses attempts to circumvent foreign-ownership limits, which generally cap non-Kuwaiti stakes at 49 percent in eligible companies while maintaining stricter rules for individual establishments. The legislation takes effect in February 2027, giving businesses a six-month adjustment window after its August publication to review ownership structures and licensing practices. Officials have framed the decree as essential for directing government incentives to genuine owners, curbing unfair competition and safeguarding public revenues.
Al-Ruwaished stated that the seminars will help align all forms of economic activity with the new legal standards once the provisions are widely understood. The department’s initiative forms part of broader regulatory education efforts that have included panels on beneficial ownership identification alongside the concealment rules. Additional sessions are planned throughout the legal cultural season to deepen public and specialist familiarity with the decree’s practical applications.
