«عكاظ» تنشر الضوابط الجديدة لتراخيص الهيئات الثقافية

The Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, approved the licensing regulations for cultural entities including "Architecture and Design," "Visual Arts," "Culinary Arts," "Music," "Films," "Literature, Publishing, and Translation," "Museums," "Heritage," "Fashion," "Libraries," and "Theater and Performing Arts." The provisions of the regulations will take effect 90 days from the date of publication in the official newspaper.

Each entity has the right to issue, amend, renew, or cancel licenses.

The new regulations aim to organize the mechanism for obtaining activity licenses, define their procedures and the obligations arising from them, and regulate oversight and supervision. The provisions of each regulation apply to practitioners of activities related to any of the cultural entities, and each entity has the right to issue, amend, renew, or cancel related licenses, with the emphasis that obtaining licenses in advance is a prerequisite for practicing any of these activities.

Each entity is responsible for preparing licensing rules and submitting them to the ministry for approval, studying requests for issuing, amending, canceling, or renewing licenses according to its jurisdiction, making decisions on them, taking necessary actions against violators of the regulations and licensing rules, studying complaints from those holding a license or those whose license has been denied, and making decisions on them as long as they fall within its jurisdiction, and then forwarding inquiries received from the call center regarding licensing matters.

The licensee is obligated not to engage in activities not specified in the activities and categories and types of licenses and regulations in force in the Kingdom, to adhere to applicable laws such as intellectual property protection, and to respect the rights of others in ownership, to enter all data related to the license into the electronic portal, to update the activity data in case of any changes, and if the licensed activity is practiced through electronic platforms registered with the relevant authorities, to enable regulatory bodies and the authorized space to exercise their competencies. If the licensed activity requires approvals from other entities, these approvals must be obtained before commencing the activity.

It is also required that the licensee comply with the approved regulations and instructions, facilitate all inspection and field monitoring operations, and adhere to health and safety standards and consumer protection.

Regarding the licensing application procedures, the applicant must submit through the electronic portal, and if it is not possible to use the portal, they may submit the application in paper form, obtain the necessary approvals and licenses from the relevant authorities, and pay the specified fees.

Meanwhile, the procedures for canceling or renewing the license application require it to be submitted through the platform, including comprehensive information about the reasons for cancellation that enables the entity to study the application and make a decision. The entity accepts or rejects applications based on its assessment of the necessity of continuing the license within 30 days from the date of receiving the cancellation request from the licensee, provided that all requirements are met during the license period. The licensee must inform the entity of any changes affecting the license requirements within a period not exceeding 30 days.

The licensee may not transfer the license except after obtaining the approval of the entity and ensuring that the necessary conditions and requirements are met. The licensing data includes the name of the licensee, the name of the activity or activities, the commercial registration, the national address, and the license number. The authorized inspection and oversight management is responsible for monitoring any violations and actions contrary to the provisions of the regulations, and must submit the results of the oversight and inspection to the relevant authority to issue the appropriate decision regarding the violating establishment, which has the right to monitor violations and apply penalties and sanctions.

The entity has the right, in the event of the licensee's non-compliance with the provisions of the regulations or licensing rules, to take one or more of the following actions: the first warning, then the second warning, in case of failure to correct the violation, suspending the activity for a specified period, according to the duration of the prohibition in penalties for repeating any violation during the warning period, or in case of failure to correct the violation within the specified period, and permanently canceling the license. The licensee has the right to appeal before the committee reviewing objections within a maximum period of 30 days from the date of being informed of the decision to impose the penalty or action, provided that the appeal is justified.

The committee shall decide on the objection within a maximum period of 30 days from the date of submission, and it may request any data or documents it deems necessary to consider the objection. If the committee accepts the appeal, a final decision will be issued for cancellation, amendment, or reconsideration and directed to the relevant authority to take the necessary action. The passage of the specified period without a decision on the appeal is considered a rejection of it, and this does not affect the licensee's right to appeal before the administrative judicial authorities after the committee's decision is issued, in accordance with the relevant regulations and instructions, and in a manner that does not conflict with the provisions of the regulations.