Audit requirements in Qatar and how to prepare
Qatar audit requirements start in the Commercial Companies Law. A WLL, a single-owner LLC or a shareholding company names an auditor every year, and that auditor has to be on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s register. The tax return may want audited accounts as well. We get the books and schedules ready for the auditor, and someone else does the audit.
The year-end audit at a glance
- After the year end, for the partners’ meeting that approves the accounts
- 4 months
- Written notice to each partner before that meeting
- 21 days
- Listed in the tax rules to go with the final accounts
- 7 schedules
- Penalty if audited accounts and books are not kept or submitted
- QAR 30,000
From the Commercial Companies Law, the Income Tax Law and its Executive Regulations; see the sources at the end of the page.
Audit requirements in Qatar by type of company
The Commercial Companies Law (Law No. 11 of 2015) gives these companies an auditor.
WLL or LLC
One auditor or more, appointed by the partners’ general assembly every year (Art. 260).
Single-owner LLC
Bound by the same LLC rules, the auditor included (Art. 263).
Public shareholding company
Appointed by the general assembly for one year, for no more than five years in a row (Art. 141).
Private shareholding company
Follows the public company’s auditor rules (Art. 206).
Partnership limited by shares
One auditor or more (Art. 225).
The tax return brings a second test.
| Company | With the tax return |
|---|---|
| Tax-exempt, wholly owned by Qatari or GCC nationals, capital QAR 1 million or yearly revenue QAR 5 million | Audited statements |
| The same company, below both figures | A simplified return with financial statements |
| With foreign partners | Ask your tax agent or auditor which General Tax Authority rule applies, before the year closes |
Financial report preparation for the auditor
The auditor may read any record, and no one may hold papers back from it. This is the file we build before its first visit.
Closed books
All twelve months closed, and the trial balance, ledger and journal run for the whole year.
Bank
A reconciliation for each account at the year end, with the statements behind it.
Customers and suppliers
Balances listed by name, and the invoices behind the large ones.
Fixed assets
A register showing what was bought, sold and depreciated in the year.
Staff costs
Payroll matched to the WPS transfers, with gratuity and leave balances.
Company papers
The CR, the articles, any change of partners in the year, and the minutes of last year’s general assembly.
What goes with the final accounts in the tax return
Article 34 of the Income Tax Executive Regulations sets out what goes in the final accounts and which schedules are filed with them. In plain terms:
| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| The four statements | Financial position, profit or loss, changes in equity and cash flows |
| Auditor’s report | From an auditor registered in Qatar |
| Depreciation schedule | Fixed assets and the depreciation charged |
| Withholding tax schedule | Tax withheld at source during the year |
| Subcontractors | The subcontractors you used |
| From profit to taxable income | How the accounting profit turns into taxable income |
| Related parties | Dealings with related parties in the year |
| Asset movements | Fixed assets bought, revalued or sold |
Year-end accounts in Qatar, dated for a WLL
The dates below assume the year ends on 31 December, which is the Income Tax Law’s default. A company that wants a different year end needs the General Tax Authority’s permission first.
| When | What happens | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December | Year end. Goods in stock go into the inventory book and the year is closed | Commercial Law, Art. 25 |
| End of February | The managers finish the balance sheet, profit and loss account and their report | Companies Law, Art. 251 |
| March (example) | The audit itself: the auditor works through the books and asks for whatever papers it needs | No date set in law |
| Within a month of the accounts | Copies of the accounts and the auditor’s report go to the Ministry and to every partner | Companies Law, Art. 251 |
| 21 days before the meeting | A registered letter to each partner with the agenda and the balance sheet | Companies Law, Art. 250 |
| By 30 April | General assembly: the auditor’s report is heard, the accounts approved and next year’s auditor appointed | Companies Law, Arts. 250, 253 |
| By 30 April | Tax return on Dhareeba with the final accounts; any tax due is paid that same day | Tax Regulations Art. 29; Income Tax Law Art. 20 |
Take a company whose managers sign the accounts on 28 February. Their copies, with the auditor’s report, are due out by 28 March, so the report has to be signed inside that month. The tax return alone can be extended by up to four months if you ask at least 60 days before the deadline.
Who can audit your accounts
Only auditors on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s register of practising auditors may audit in Qatar, under Law No. 8 of 2020, which replaced the 2004 auditing law. We prepare; someone independent of us audits.
An auditor may not audit a company it advises, and under the tax regulations nobody who helped prepare a set of accounts may audit them.
Checking your auditor
- Register
- Practising auditors, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- On every report
- The auditor’s name and register number
- Signature
- By the registered auditor in person
- Barred
- Consultancy for the same client; auditing accounts it helped prepare
- Tax agent
- The auditor of the accounts cannot also act as your tax agent
- Removal
- Not during the year being audited, unless the auditor broke the law, and then only with the Ministry’s approval
How we prepare your company for the audit
- Close the year
Last entries posted, the 31 December stock count recorded, open months closed.
- Reconcile
Each balance is agreed back to the ledger, one working paper per account, from the bank and the customers and suppliers to staff advances and the fixed assets.
- Draft the statements
The four statements and the notes, plus the schedules for the tax return.
- During the audit
We answer the auditor’s questions and find the papers it asks for.
- After the meeting
We help you send the copies out and set up next year’s books.
Related services
Common questions about audit requirements in Qatar
What are the requirements of a statutory audit in Qatar?
Under Article 260 of the Companies Law, an LLC’s general assembly appoints one or more auditors every year (shareholding companies follow Article 141). Whoever is appointed has to be on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s register, and has to be independent of the company it audits. The scope comes from Article 145. Besides the balance sheet and the profit and loss account, the auditor looks at internal controls and at the assets themselves, then reports to the general assembly in writing.
Source: Commercial Companies Law No. 11 of 2015, as amended (Al Meezan)
Which audit is mandatory in Qatar?
The Companies Law audit, every year, for an LLC or a shareholding company. Each of them has an auditor, single-owner LLCs included. Tax brings a separate test for tax-exempt companies wholly owned by Qatari or GCC nationals: audited statements go with the return from QAR 1 million of capital or QAR 5 million of yearly revenue, and below both a simplified return is enough.
Source: General Tax Authority, Circular of the President No. 2 of 2021 (PDF)
Who can audit a company’s accounts in Qatar?
Only an auditor in the register of practising auditors kept by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, under Law No. 8 of 2020. It writes its register number next to its name on every report and signs in person. It may not audit a company it advises, or accounts it helped to prepare.
Source: Law No. 8 of 2020 regulating the auditing profession (Al Meezan, Arabic)
When are year-end accounts due in Qatar?
Take a WLL whose year ends on 31 December. Its managers prepare the accounts by the end of February, and the partners meet by 30 April to approve them with the auditor’s report. The tax return is also due within four months, so by 30 April, unless the tax authority grants an extension requested 60 days ahead.
Source: Income Tax Executive Regulations, Cabinet Decision No. 39 of 2019 (Al Meezan)
What are the accounting standards used in Qatar?
International ones. The Income Tax Law asks every taxpayer to keep its books under Qatar’s laws and international accounting standards. Under the Companies Law, the auditor’s report then says whether the company keeps proper accounts under internationally accepted accounting principles. Settle with your auditor early in the year which framework the statements will follow.
What is required for an audit?
Mostly paper. The auditor may open any book, record or document and ask for any data it needs, and no one may hold anything back from it. So before the first visit we put together the year’s ledger and trial balance, a reconciliation for every bank account, customer and supplier balances, the fixed asset register, and payroll tied to the WPS transfers.
Source: Law No. 8 of 2020 regulating the auditing profession (Al Meezan, Arabic)
Can our accountant also be our auditor?
No. Article 34 of the income tax regulations says that anyone who took part in preparing the accounts may not audit them, and Article 27 of Law No. 8 of 2020 stops an auditor doing consultancy work for a company whose accounts it audits. In our case that means we prepare the books and statements, and your registered auditor gives the opinion on them.
Source: Income Tax Executive Regulations, Cabinet Decision No. 39 of 2019 (Al Meezan)
Did not find your question? Ask an adviser. We reply with what applies to your case.
Sources
Official sources for the facts on this page, last checked 24 Oct 2026.
- Commercial Companies Law No. 11 of 2015, as amended (Al Meezan)
- Law No. 8 of 2020 regulating the auditing profession (Al Meezan, Arabic)
- Income Tax Law No. 24 of 2018 (Al Meezan)
- Income Tax Executive Regulations, Cabinet Decision No. 39 of 2019 (Al Meezan)
- General Tax Authority, Circular of the President No. 2 of 2021 (PDF)
- General Tax Authority, Income Tax Law and its Executive Regulations, 2024 edition (PDF)
- Dhareeba, Financial penalties
- Commercial Law No. 27 of 2006 (Al Meezan)
When does your financial year end, and who audited last year’s accounts?
Tell us your legal form and how your books are kept. We list what the auditor will ask for, and by when.