There is no single office for product registration in Qatar. MOCI product registration, in the sense of a certificate from the Ministry, concerns factories: the industrial register and the Gulf National Product Certificate. Food is registered with the Ministry of Public Health, medicines with its registration committee, and radio and telecom equipment with the Communications Regulatory Authority.
Which authority registers which product
The authority depends on what the product is, not on who sells it.
So the first question is what you are selling. Biscuits are a Public Health matter; a Wi-Fi router is not. The table below shows only the routes we could confirm on official pages, and Customs checks each shipment against those approvals at the border.
| Product type | Authority | Portal or service | Main documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food products | Ministry of Public Health | Food Registration System: each product is registered before import, and a registration notice is issued for it. No fee. | The online form and its attachments. At import: a health certificate from the country of origin, a list of contents, a CR in the relevant field, and a halal certificate for meat, poultry and food with animal ingredients |
| Fresh vegetables and fruits | Ministry of Municipality | Import permit, applied for before the shipment leaves. Single use, valid 90 days | Initial invoice, warehouse licence or notarised storage contract, phytosanitary certificate, item lists |
| Medicines and pharmaceutical preparations | Ministry of Public Health, standing committee for registering pharmaceutical companies and their products | Registration of the company and of each medicine before it is circulated (Law No. 1 of 1986) | Conditions and documents set by decision of the Minister of Public Health |
| Radio and telecom equipment | Communications Regulatory Authority | Type approval on the e-Spectrum Services Portal, after signing in with Tawtheeq. QAR 500 per simplified application, QAR 1,000 per standard one. Traders also need an import authorisation | Technical specifications, the manufacturer’s declaration of conformity, all RF test reports, a technical and operational description |
| Consumer goods under Gulf standards | General Authority of Customs, at the first point of entry | Customs declaration on Al-Nadeeb | The Gulf conformity mark, or a conformity certificate from a recognised GCC body |
| Products made in a Qatar factory | Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Industrial Development Department | Industrial register; Gulf National Product Certificate on the Industrial Services Platform | Industrial licence; financial and technical reports prepared by an approved audit firm |
What MOCI product registration covers, and what it does not
People often say “MOCI product registration” for any product approval. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry does register some things linked to products, but it does not register food, medicines or telecom devices, and it does not issue conformity certificates for imported goods. This is what it does handle.
The activity on your CR
MOCI allows no commercial activity that is not recorded on the CR and the licence, so trading in a product starts with the right activity.
Factory products
Factories enter the industrial register and can apply for the Gulf National Product Certificate. Both sit with the Industrial Development Department.
Commercial agencies
When you act for a principal, the commercial agents register records your agency. The goods themselves are not registered there, and only Qatari agents can be entered.
Labels, defects and recalls
Consumer protection rules set what a label must show. A supplier that finds a defect must tell the Ministry’s competent department in writing, and MOCI’s digital services include product recalls.
Before you register a product
Most product approvals assume a company in Qatar that is allowed to trade in the goods. Put these in place first, because an authority will not look at the product until the company side is in order.
- The CR activity
Add an import activity, such as 461032 “Import activities”, and the trading activity for the product. On the Single Window the import codes need no approval from another authority and are open to foreign owners.
- Check the approving authority
The Business Activities Search Tool on the Single Window shows which authority approves each activity.
- The customs account
Register the company on Al-Nadeeb, the customs clearance system. The fee is QAR 100 for registration and for each annual renewal.
- The product file
Collect the technical data, certificates and labels the regulating authority asks for, before the goods are ordered.
Labels in Arabic, and conformity certificates
Pick up any packet on a shelf in Doha and its label is there because of Article 7 of the Consumer Protection Law. Under it, the wrapper or package of goods for sale states what the product is, its nature and its components, and warns clearly of any hazard. Arabic is compulsory (Article 17), other languages optional. Nothing on the label may be false or misleading.
| Label item | What the regulations ask for |
|---|---|
| Product | Name, type, nature, components and quantity (weight, measure, number or other unit) |
| Origin | Country of origin, written as “made in” followed by the country, and the country of export if any |
| Producer and importer | Name, trade name, address and trademark of each |
| Dates | Production date and shelf life |
| Use | Handling, storage and directions for use, and warnings about misuse |
| Inside the pack | A detailed Arabic leaflet on components, specifications and any risks |
Conformity is checked at the border. Goods with the Gulf conformity mark, or with a conformity certificate from a recognised GCC body, are accepted at the first point of entry and then move between GCC states without local checks. Where no Gulf or local standard exists, a recognised certificate to an international standard is accepted, or to the producing country’s standard if there is no international one.
The Gulf National Product Certificate for factories
In January 2026 MOCI issued a guide to its Gulf National Product Certificate service for factories. Applications go through the Ministry’s Industry Services Portal, listed among its e-services as the Industrial Services Platform, which you sign in to with Tawtheeq, the national authentication system. The guide covers the application requirements, registering and uploading documents, how the Ministry reviews and approves an application, and how the financial and technical reports are prepared.
Those reports are prepared by approved audit firms, so plan the factory’s accounts with the certificate in mind. MOCI presents the service as support for national industry and for trade between GCC states. The certificate is not in Law No. 18 of 2024, the GCC industrial law in force in Qatar; it rests on the Ministry’s guide.
- From the start of production to apply for entry in the industrial register
- 60 days
- Entry in the industrial register
- QAR 1,000
- Renewal of the entry
- QAR 500
Sources: Law No. 18 of 2024 (Art. 9); MOCI Decision No. 60 of 2024 (Schedule 10). Checked 22 Oct 2026.
How we help
Our part comes before anything is shipped. We help you match the CR activities to the products, prepare the Al-Nadeeb registration and the company papers each authority wants, and go through the Arabic label data with you before it goes to print. Registrations and certificates are decided by the authorities themselves: the Ministry of Public Health, the CRA, Customs and MOCI.
