Closing a company in Qatar (mainland)

Who this is for

Partners or shareholders of a company registered on the Qatar mainland under the Commercial Companies Law (Law No. 11 of 2015, as amended) who want to wind down the business and cancel its commercial registration. It does not cover companies in the Qatar Financial Centre or the Qatar free zones, which follow their own exit procedures, or compulsory liquidation ordered by a court.

Before you start

• A decision by the partners or shareholders to dissolve the company, taken and recorded the way the company's articles of association require.
• A liquidator the partners agree on, and that liquidator's written acceptance of the role.
• Copies of the company's commercial registration, commercial licence, articles of association, and the Qatar ID or passport of the partners or authorised signatory.
• A clear picture of what the company owes: suppliers, landlords, lenders, employee wages, and any dues to the General Tax Authority.
• If the company employs workers: a plan for ending their contracts and settling their notice, wages and end-of-service gratuity under the Labour Law.

Steps

1. Decide how the company will close

   Most mainland companies close through voluntary (consensual) liquidation: the partners agree to dissolve the company and appoint a liquidator under the Commercial Companies Law (Law No. 11 of 2015, as amended by Law No. 8 of 2021). A company can also be wound up by a court order in some circumstances. Check your company's articles of association first, since the law applies only where they are silent on liquidation.

2. Appoint a liquidator and record the dissolution

   The partners record their decision to dissolve the company and name a liquidator, who must accept the appointment in writing. Once dissolved, the company enters liquidation immediately and keeps its legal identity only for the purposes of the liquidation. From this point, the company's documents must show that it is "under liquidation".

3. Apply on the Single Window

   Submit the Company Closure service request on the Single Window, with the application data and attachments. Closing a main commercial registration runs in two stages on the platform: first "Putting Company Under Liquidation", then "Closing the main CR". Depending on your case, you may need the partners'/owner's consent to the closure (if the company isn't a shareholding company, or is an individual establishment), a Final Account of Liquidation Works (a template is available on the Single Window's Information Centre page), a No Objection Letter from the General Tax Authority (needed if any owner or partner is not Qatari or GCC, excluding Oman, or the company is a foreign branch/representative office), a Ministry of Labour approval, a No Objection Letter from any government entity with an active block decree on the company, and an approval from the General Authority for Minors Affairs if an owner or partner is a minor.

4. Notify creditors and give them time to claim

   Under the law, the liquidation must be advertised in a newspaper so creditors can come forward, and the period given for them to submit their claims may not be less than 75 days. Use this period to settle confirmed debts in the order the law and the company's liquidation rules set.

5. Settle obligations to employees

   End employment contracts in line with the Labour Law: give the notice the law and the contract require, pay outstanding wages, and pay the end-of-service gratuity. You will also need to cancel the workers' work permits and residence permits with the Ministry of Interior. See our guides on work permits and employment contracts, and on end-of-service gratuity, for the detail.

6. Close tax, bank and other registrations

   Contact the General Tax Authority about your final tax position on Dhareeba before the company is struck off; a company with a tax card is expected to keep filing until it is deregistered. Close the company's bank accounts once its debts are settled, and cancel any other licences, subscriptions or registrations tied to the commercial registration, such as the establishment ID at the Ministry of Labour.

7. Receive the final cancellation

   Once the liquidator's work is done and the required documents and notice period are complete, MOCI cancels the commercial registration. Keep the company's records, accounts and the liquidator's final report, since the General Tax Authority requires accounting records to be kept for 10 years.

Good to know

• The company's name and documents must carry the words "under liquidation" for as long as the liquidation lasts, under the Commercial Companies Law.
• This guide covers voluntary liquidation agreed by the partners. A court can also order a company's liquidation, including over serious breaches of the Commercial Companies Law; that route follows the court's own procedure, not MOCI's liquidation request.
• Qatar Financial Centre and Qatar Free Zones companies are not covered here. They close through the QFC and the Qatar Free Zones Authority, not through MOCI's liquidation request.
• Commercial registrations and licences that are not renewed do not disappear on their own; a formal liquidation or cancellation request is normally needed to close the company's record.
• If the company has debts larger than its assets, get legal advice before starting liquidation, since this can affect how creditors are paid and whether partners or managers carry personal liability.