KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: According to reliable sources, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has mandated that companies electronically certify the signatures of their financial budget auditors through the Kuwait Accountants and Auditors Association before submitting them electronically to the ministry. They explained that if the required accreditation is not attached to the submitted documents, the ministry’s systems will automatically reject the budget submission. This decision is part of the ministry’s commitment to ensuring the integrity of companies’ annual budgets and verifying that they are signed by auditors registered with the Kuwait Accountants and Auditors Association and included in the ministry’s official auditors’ register. The required certification helps in verifying the accuracy and reliability of the data, ensuring it is validated by accredited accounting and auditing firms. Regarding the fees charged by the Kuwait Accountants and Auditors Association for certifying the signatures of budget auditors, the sources said the fee is set at KD 15 per certification. They revealed that the total number of companies registered in the ministry’s records is approximately 365,000, including individual institutions that are not required to submit an annual budget.

In line with this decision, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has tasked the Information Systems Center with sending periodic notifications through the Sahel application to remind companies of the need to submit their annual budgets. The ministry will also maintain a complete electronic record of all submitted budgets and the certified auditors’ data for each budget. Furthermore, a direct electronic link with the Kuwait Society of Accountants and Auditors will be activated via a QR Code for electronic documentation purposes. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has activated a circular to stop receiving paper budgets from companies.

As of December 1, the ministry has ceased the manual receipt of budgets for all joint-stock companies, individual businesses, including one-person companies, and limited liability companies, replacing paper submission procedures with an entirely electronic process via the ministry’s website. The sources explained that the electronic submission process involves companies uploading their financial statements to the Kuwait Business Center website (www. kbc.gov.kw) in PDF format. This eliminates the need for in-person appointments to submit paper documents, which significantly reduces the processing time from an average of three weeks to just one day, or at most three days, during which the auditors’ submissions are reviewed. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has also activated the service for submitting joint-stock company budgets through the Kuwait Business Center website, following the success of an electronic pilot program for personal companies that began in July.