Kuwait Law No. 13/2016 On Commercial Agencies was published in early 2016 and superseded the previous Kuwait Law No. 36/1964 on Organising the Commercial Agencies. Kuwait Law No. 13/2016 and Kuwait Ministerial Decision No. 565/2017 Releasing the Executive Regulation of the new Commercial Agencies Law are the primary regulations governing commercial agencies in Kuwait.

This Legislative Insight will cover key points of Kuwait Law No. 13/2016 concerning the appointment of commercial agents in the territory and its interpretation. Provisions of Kuwait Decree-Law No. 68/1980 On the Promulgation of the Commercial Transactions Law will also be considered in this analysis.

• In Kuwait, agency, distributorship, and franchise, laws are primarily governed by Kuwait Decree-Law No. 68/1980 and Kuwait Law No. 13/2016 which replaced the earlier Kuwait Law No. 36/1964.

• Commercial agency is one of the popular options chosen by foreign companies to establish its presence in Kuwait through a local agent.

• As per the laws, the agent or distributor must be a Kuwaiti national or Kuwaiti-owned company with at least 51% Kuwaiti ownership.