Kuwait Commercial Law No. 68 of 1980

Book One: Commerce in General

Chapter One: Commercial Activities

Article 5

The following activities shall be deemed commercial activities, regardless of the capacity or intention of the person carrying them out:

1. Banking transactions.

2. Current accounts.

3. Foreign exchange and financial exchange transactions.

4. Commercial agency and brokerage.

5. Bills of exchange, promissory notes, and cheques.

6. Establishment of commercial companies and the sale or purchase of their shares and bonds.

7. Public warehouses and pledges over property deposited therein.

8. Extraction of minerals and oils, quarrying of stone, and other natural resources.

9. Insurance of all kinds.

10. Establishments open to the public, such as public sports venues, cinemas, hotels, restaurants, and auction establishments.

11. Distribution of water, electricity, and gas, and the provision of postal, telegraphic, and telephone communications.

12. Transportation by land, sea, and air.

13. Business agencies, travel agencies, and export and import offices.

14. Printing, publishing, journalism, broadcasting, television, transmission of news or images, advertising, and the sale of books.

15. Factories, even where associated with agricultural operations, and undertakings involving construction or manufacturing.

16. Contracts for the construction, alteration, restoration, and demolition of real estate, where the contractor undertakes to provide raw materials or labor.

Article 6

All activities relating to maritime navigation shall be deemed commercial activities, particularly:

• Construction, sale, purchase, lease, charter, and repair of ships.

• Contracts relating to the wages and salaries of the ship's master, seafarers, and other personnel.

• Maritime lending and borrowing.

• Maritime transport and every transaction connected therewith, including the purchase or sale of ship supplies, equipment, tools, ammunition, fuel, ropes, sails, and provisions.

Article 7

All activities relating to air navigation shall be deemed commercial activities, particularly:

• Construction, sale, purchase, lease, hiring, and repair of aircraft.

• Contracts relating to the wages and salaries of aircrew and other personnel.

• Lending and borrowing.

• Air transport and every transaction connected therewith, including the purchase or sale of aircraft equipment and supplies.

Article 8

Activities connected with or facilitating the commercial transactions referred to in the preceding Articles, as well as all activities carried out by a merchant for the needs of his business, shall also be deemed commercial activities.

Article 9

Contracts and obligations entered into by a merchant shall, as a general rule, be deemed commercial unless it is established that such contracts and obligations relate to civil transactions.

Chapter Two: Merchants

Section One: Merchants in General

Article 10

A person shall be deemed a merchant if:

1. He conducts commercial transactions in his own name, possesses the required legal capacity, and carries on such transactions as his profession.

2. It is a company, even if it carries out non-commercial activities.

Article 11

Any person who announces to the public, by any means, the establishment of a business premises for commercial purposes shall be deemed a merchant, even if he does not habitually engage in commerce as a profession.

Article 12

Merchant status shall apply to any person who professionally carries on commerce under a pseudonym or while concealed behind another person, without prejudice to such status also applying to the person who appears to the public as carrying on the business.

Article 13

Where a person prohibited from engaging in commerce under special laws or regulations nevertheless carries on commercial activities, that person shall be deemed a merchant and shall be subject to the provisions of this Law.

Article 14

Ministries, government departments, associations, and clubs shall not be deemed merchants. However, commercial transactions carried out by such entities shall be subject to the provisions of this Law.

Merchant status shall apply to companies established or owned by the State or other public bodies, public institutions whose principal activity is commercial in nature, and establishments belonging to a foreign state that conduct commercial activities in Kuwait.

All provisions arising from merchant status shall apply to such entities unless otherwise provided by law.

Article 15

Individuals engaged in a simple craft or small-scale trade that depends primarily on their own labor shall not be subject to the obligations imposed on merchants concerning commercial books, registration in the Commercial Register, bankruptcy, and preventive composition.

Legislative Source

State of Kuwait – Ministry of Commerce and Industry
Decree-Law No. 68 of 1980 Promulgating the Commercial Law

Publication Notice: This English text is a translation prepared for informational and website publication purposes. In the event of any discrepancy or difference in interpretation, the official Arabic text and any subsequent amendments published by the competent authorities in the State of Kuwait shall prevail.