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    DuVolks

    Sector guide / Saudi Arabia

    Trading & General Trading.
    From your products
    to your market.

    Understand the ownership route, company registration and operating checks for import, export, wholesale and retail.

    Find your starting pointPlan my setup

    Practical guidance for planning—not an eligibility decision.

    01 / Choose the route

    Start with the owners.
    Confirm the conditions.

    The same product does not mean the same ownership route for every investor.

    Can it be wholly foreign-owned?

    A 100%-foreign commercial route is available. A Saudi partner is not a general requirement simply because of the products being traded.

    Saudi or GCC-only ownership?

    Follow the applicable company-formation route. MISA investment registration is not a blanket requirement for Saudi/GCC-only businesses.

    Compare ownership routes

    Mixed ownership or unsure? Check the actual owners and activities before committing funds.

    Published rules and practical enquiries are different

    DuVolks reports that MISA enquiries indicate flexibility in how commercial-investment conditions are applied. Obtain case-specific confirmation before making an investment commitment; this is practical experience, not a change to the published rules.

    Reported processing flexibility is not a published waiver or exemption.

    02 / From formation to operation

    A clear route.
    Not one all-purpose licence.

    Registration establishes the company. Customs, premises and product checks depend on the work it will do.

    1. 01

      Confirm the activity and owners

      Choose the activities the company will actually carry out and the correct ownership route.

      Working towards

      A defined activity & ownership route

      DuVolks

      Find your activity
    2. 02

      Complete investment registration, where applicable

      For the foreign-investment route, complete the relevant MISA registration. Saudi/GCC-only routes follow their applicable formation process.

      Working towards

      Investment registration, if applicable

      MISA

      MISA registration guide
    3. 03

      Form the company and issue its CR

      Complete the company documents and commercial registration with the selected activities.

      Working towards

      A registered company & its CR

      Saudi Business Center / Ministry of Commerce

      Company registration guide
    4. 04

      Prepare the trading operation

      Register on Fasah if trading across borders and complete applicable premises and product approvals.

      Working towards

      The applicable operating registrations & approvals

      ZATCA / Municipality / product regulator

      Check operating requirements
    Check the sequence for your actual activity.

    These stages explain the route; they are not completed application progress or a promise of approval. Confirm any activity-specific approvals at the appropriate stage.

    Authorities & permits

    03 / People & premises

    People & premises

    Check the team and each trading location before hiring, leasing or fitting out.

    Planning your operation

    Nitaqat (Saudization)

    Plan both your entity’s Nitaqat position and the rules for the jobs you will hire.

    A broad sector name alone does not determine your Nitaqat percentage. Profession-specific Saudization is a separate check; meeting a Nitaqat band does not replace it.

    Your team & Saudization

    Nitaqat: your entity’s workforce

    Nitaqat assesses the entity’s workforce using its registered economic activity and employee figures. A broad sector name alone does not determine the required percentage. Use the Nitaqat planner with your Qiwa activity and workforce.

    Profession-specific Saudization

    Profession-specific Saudization is a separate check. The applicable decision may depend on the occupation, covered workforce, workplace and effective date. Meeting a Nitaqat band does not replace this check.

    Roles to check: sales, procurement, accounting and administrative roles. These are prompts for your hiring plan, not a statement that every listed role has the same quota.

    Calculate my Nitaqat planCheck profession Saudization

    Use the tool’s scope, effective date and source notes. These links do not transfer or infer your activity, headcount or job codes.

    HRSD — Nitaqat calculator ↗HRSD — decisions and regulations ↗

    Baladi (Municipality) — Commercial Activity License

    Your exact activity and premises determine the requirements. Check the Balady activity record before leasing or fitting out.

    • Match each shop, showroom or warehouse to its own activity and premises use.
    • Check storage, access, loading, signage and product-specific approvals before fitting out.
    Your premises & municipality requirements

    Check the premises requirements before signing a lease or starting fit-out.

    Planning prompts, not a complete activity-code licensing checklist. Confirm the exact requirements in Balady and with the relevant site authority. Area and room-size figures are not provided in this overview.

    Check the activity in Balady ↗Find my ISIC activity code

    In Balady, choose ISIC search, enter the activity code and select the detailed activity. This link opens the official lookup; it does not preselect a code or provide a live feed to this page.

    04 / Competent authorities

    Authorities & permits

    Registered is not the same as ready to trade. Match the approvals to your goods, premises and ownership route.

    The goods

    Trading across borders?

    Register the entity on Fasah when importing or exporting. This is importer/exporter registration—not a generic “Import/Export Licence”.

    Check product-specific approvals too, such as SFDA requirements for food.

    ZATCA: importer / exporter registration ↗

    The official service explains the registration steps.

    Company formation

    Investment registration, where applicable

    For the relevant foreign-investment ownership route; not a blanket requirement for Saudi/GCC-only businesses.

    Company formation

    Company formation and commercial registration

    Register the entity and the activities it will carry out.

    Before importing / exporting

    Fasah importer/exporter registration

    Register the entity on Fasah when importing or exporting; this replaces the old generic “Import/Export Licence” wording.

    Before operating

    Premises and product approvals

    Arrange the municipal licence for relevant premises and the approvals applicable to the goods, such as SFDA requirements for food.

    05 / Make the next conversation useful

    Bring a clear plan.
    Not a folder of documents.

    Use these four prompts to prepare. Ticks are a reading aid—not an eligibility check. Nothing is saved or sent.

    0 of 4 prompts reviewed

    DuVolks / Practical support

    Turn the trading plan into the next step.

    We can review your situation, help identify the relevant route and agree the work and fees. Official decisions remain with the authorities.

    Discuss my trading plan

    06 / Check the basis

    Know where the guidance
    comes from.

    Official sources & scope2 official references · review scope

    DuVolks practical guidance · updated 5 October 2026

    Targeted source check: 14 October 2026. The capital/market conditions and Fasah service were checked for this review; this is not a full legal or licensing audit.

    Workforce and premises source links are available with their relevant checks above. Requirements can change; confirm your proposal before relying on an overview.

    Who handles what?
    MISA
    Foreign commercial investment registration
    Ministry of Commerce / SBC
    Company formation and CR
    ZATCA / Fasah
    Importer/exporter registration and customs procedures
    Discuss Your Structure