Saturday 03 / October / 2026
Muscat: The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion intensified field inspection and monitoring efforts during the first half of 2026 to ensure commercial and industrial establishments comply with laws, regulations and approved standards across the Sultanate of Oman.
The ministry’s inspection teams conducted extensive field visits to verify product quality, enforce regulations and take legal action against non-compliant establishments, contributing to consumer protection and supporting a stable and transparent investment environment.
Hilal bin Mohsin Al-Amri, Director of the Inspection Department at the ministry, said the results and performance indicators for H1 2026 reflect extensive field efforts and continuous monitoring across the governorates.
He said the department focuses on fair institutional oversight, consumer protection, intellectual property rights and ensuring that products and services conform to approved standards, thereby enhancing customer and investor confidence in the Omani business environment.
As part of efforts to enforce intellectual property rights, 36 inspection visits were conducted targeting restaurants, cafes and retail outlets. The teams issued 32 written warnings to establishments involved in trademark imitation and infringement in the food, personal care and household cleaning sectors, in addition to four warnings issued to restaurants and cafes. Awareness campaigns were also carried out to combat counterfeit products.
The ministry conducted 182 inspection visits to fuel filling stations in Muscat Governorate to verify compliance with regulations governing their establishment and operation. It also handled 18 reports received through the “Tajawob” platform.
Regarding mandatory electronic payment services at commercial centres and shops, inspection teams handled 198 field reports, resulting in 17 violations and 12 written warnings.
In industrial inspection and support for national products, teams conducted 72 field visits to industrial establishments to verify that actual activities matched registered industrial licences. Seven facilities holding National Product Identity licences were also inspected to verify local added-value ratios in accordance with Ministerial Decision No. 62/2022.
The ministry further conducted visits to 65 industrial establishments in Muscat Governorate to assess their actual need for expatriate manpower and ensure that manpower requests correspond with the scale of operations. Field visits were also carried out to liquefied cooking gas depots to verify compliance with approved land areas and uses under Ministerial Decision No. 185/2024.
In the specifications, standards and laboratory testing sector, inspectors, in cooperation with the National Center for Measurement and Calibration, verified legal measuring instruments and calibrated 172 commercial scales, all of which were found to be compliant.
Meanwhile, 13,671 product samples were visually inspected to verify the presence of the Gulf Conformity Mark and the government hallmark for precious metals. The inspections resulted in 168 violations involving non-conforming goods.
Al-Amri affirmed that the results achieved during H1 2026 reflect the ministry’s continued commitment to effective field monitoring and protecting the rights of consumers and investors.
He added that developing inspection and monitoring tools and strengthening coordination with relevant government entities would contribute to raising compliance levels, limiting the circulation of non-conforming products, ensuring the safety and stability of Omani markets, and supporting the competitiveness of the investment and commercial environment.
