The UAE ministry of economy signed memorandums of understandings (MoU) with the economic departments for the implementation of the national uniform commercial register (UCR) project.

The UCR is mandated by the council of ministers, implementing a supreme committee decision to co-ordinate national economic policies, programs and strategies with the aim of unifying commercial and trade name registration, and classifying the country’s economic activities.

UAE minister of economy Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi signed the MoUs with officials from the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah; representatives from the municipalities of Fujairah, Dibba Al Fujairah and Ajman; and members of the Ajman Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Sheikha Lubna said that the project was the first-of-its-kind in the country in terms of technical and implementation methods, and noted that the ministry had spent around Dh20 million ($5.4 million) since 2005 for similar strategic projects to develop its technical infrastructure.

“This project will effectively link the UAE’s economic chambers and local municipalities with the ministry through a centralised system, facilitating efficient, non-repetitive, and uniform investor and trade name registration at the national level. 

It will also feature a database on commercial registers and licensed economic sectors containing valuable data on sizes and capital investments; thus providing critical information for future economic plans and modernisation initiatives,” she added.

An important stipulation of the MoUs is the formation of two working groups to separately manage the procedural and technical aspects of the UCR. The members will be nominated by and from the ministry and concerned parties.

The procedural team will manage the processes involved in implementing the UCR and managing the trade names register of the ministry, while the technical team will work on the electronic link between the local and ministerial systems.

The ministry will establish a uniform guide for the classification of national economic activities and form permanent committees, comprising representatives from the ministry and the economic departments, and concerned authorities.

The ministry will also form a committee to identify recurring brand names recorded prior to the implementation of the UCR, with its recommendations to be raised to senior officials of both the ministry and the local departments.-TradeArabia News Service