Everybody is doing it: Home based businesses in Kuwait are legal
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Kuwait is a tax-free country where home based / Instagram / FaceBook / Blog businesses are basically legal. This means expats and locals can make a lot of easy money without any oversight or government enforced legislation.
If you order food from a home based business you run the risk of getting food poisoning since there isn't any health inspector checking if the food is safe for public consumption. Some cases of food poisoning could prove fatal for the very young, sick and elderly.
I usually stick to sweets and desserts when purchasing from a local home based business in Kuwait to be on the safe side. In the US we have a lot of bake sales to raise money for charity or special causes.
‘Legal’ home-based businesses thrive in Kuwait
Kuwait Times repost (link)
Running a business from home is very popular in Kuwait, especially with the great role of social media during the past few years. People sell various items from their houses without having any license for practicing commercial activities. This may carry risks for customers who buy from these home-based businesses as they don’t have the right to claim damages for bad quality or fake brands, as the seller is an individual without a commercial license.
According to local legislation, practicing such activities is not illegal. “We don’t have any local law sanctioning people who work or do business from their homes. Only in few cases when some customers got harmed by food poisoning, they were entitled to claim for compensation,” attorney Hussein Al-Asfour told Kuwait Times. Anwar Al-Mubarak, inspector at the Customer Protection Department of the Ministry of Commerce, noted that the absence of legal regulations makes these businesses spread and expand in the community.
“The privacy of houses and private places is highly respected in Kuwait. Our inspectors can’t enter a house or a private place, so the only way for unsatisfied customers is to complain at the police station, and they can demand the accused seller report to the police station,” he noted. “The police can try to solve the problem peacefully between the claimant and the seller. Otherwise they may transfer the case to the general prosecution. Then the claimant will go through the legal process at the court to get compensation,” he added.
Hopefully a new law will be issued in this matter. “I heard that soon there will be a new regulation organizing this issue. If such activities are regulated or forced to be licensed, it would definitely eliminate the numerous complaints of unsatisfied or scammed customers, as the seller will have legal responsibility. Also, it may allow our inspectors to deal with such businesses run from homes,” explained Mubarak.
The department currently deals with companies and licensed stores only. “If a customer complains against a store, we can go and check the complaint and give the store a notice to attend and try to resolve it amicably. But if he doesn’t attend or we don’t reach a solution, then we transfer the case to the prosecution and the case will be dealt in court,” he concluded.
The Municipality deals with foodstuff, and their inspectors are in charge of unlicensed sellers, but the same problem of private places exists. “We can’t enter private places including houses, hotels or exhibition halls based on a complaint of a customer. The complainer has to complain at the police station that will send a letter to our department at all the municipality branches in any area.
And based on this letter our inspectors can go to the place. We only deal with food, which is related to cleanliness and hygiene. For other stuff, customers can claim at the Customer Protection Department of the Ministry of Commerce,” stressed Abdullah, an inspector from the Municipality. People can call the hotline of the Customer Protection Department on 135, and the Municipality complaints hotline on 139.
By Nawara Fattahova, Staff Writer, Kuwait Times
Kuwait is a tax-free country where home based / Instagram / FaceBook / Blog businesses are basically legal. This means expats and locals can make a lot of easy money without any oversight or government enforced legislation.
If you order food from a home based business you run the risk of getting food poisoning since there isn't any health inspector checking if the food is safe for public consumption. Some cases of food poisoning could prove fatal for the very young, sick and elderly.
I usually stick to sweets and desserts when purchasing from a local home based business in Kuwait to be on the safe side. In the US we have a lot of bake sales to raise money for charity or special causes.
‘Legal’ home-based businesses thrive in Kuwait
Kuwait Times repost (link)
Running a business from home is very popular in Kuwait, especially with the great role of social media during the past few years. People sell various items from their houses without having any license for practicing commercial activities. This may carry risks for customers who buy from these home-based businesses as they don’t have the right to claim damages for bad quality or fake brands, as the seller is an individual without a commercial license.
According to local legislation, practicing such activities is not illegal. “We don’t have any local law sanctioning people who work or do business from their homes. Only in few cases when some customers got harmed by food poisoning, they were entitled to claim for compensation,” attorney Hussein Al-Asfour told Kuwait Times. Anwar Al-Mubarak, inspector at the Customer Protection Department of the Ministry of Commerce, noted that the absence of legal regulations makes these businesses spread and expand in the community.
“The privacy of houses and private places is highly respected in Kuwait. Our inspectors can’t enter a house or a private place, so the only way for unsatisfied customers is to complain at the police station, and they can demand the accused seller report to the police station,” he noted. “The police can try to solve the problem peacefully between the claimant and the seller. Otherwise they may transfer the case to the general prosecution. Then the claimant will go through the legal process at the court to get compensation,” he added.
Hopefully a new law will be issued in this matter. “I heard that soon there will be a new regulation organizing this issue. If such activities are regulated or forced to be licensed, it would definitely eliminate the numerous complaints of unsatisfied or scammed customers, as the seller will have legal responsibility. Also, it may allow our inspectors to deal with such businesses run from homes,” explained Mubarak.
The department currently deals with companies and licensed stores only. “If a customer complains against a store, we can go and check the complaint and give the store a notice to attend and try to resolve it amicably. But if he doesn’t attend or we don’t reach a solution, then we transfer the case to the prosecution and the case will be dealt in court,” he concluded.
The Municipality deals with foodstuff, and their inspectors are in charge of unlicensed sellers, but the same problem of private places exists. “We can’t enter private places including houses, hotels or exhibition halls based on a complaint of a customer. The complainer has to complain at the police station that will send a letter to our department at all the municipality branches in any area.
And based on this letter our inspectors can go to the place. We only deal with food, which is related to cleanliness and hygiene. For other stuff, customers can claim at the Customer Protection Department of the Ministry of Commerce,” stressed Abdullah, an inspector from the Municipality. People can call the hotline of the Customer Protection Department on 135, and the Municipality complaints hotline on 139.
By Nawara Fattahova, Staff Writer, Kuwait Times
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