The Kurdistan Board of Investment and an investment licence in the Region
The Law Office of Ali Barakat in Baghdad sets out what Investment Law No. 13 of 2006, as amended, provides on the investment commission in the Region, and on the grant of an investment licence inside the Kurdistan Region. The page presents the federal framework as published in the Official Gazette. Any legislation issued by the Region that regulates investment there is read from its published official regional instrument. The wording then remains general.
The Region’s commission in the federal text
Article 1 defines the Region’s commission as the investment commission in the Region, responsible for investment planning and for granting investment licences in the Region. The head of the Commission, in this sense, is the head of the Region’s investment commission. The word “Commission” in the law may mean the National Investment Commission, the Region’s commission or the governorate commission, as the case may be. Territorial and subject-matter competence is read before an application is filed.
Article 5, first, forms, in the regions as in the governorates not organised in a region, investment commissions with legal personality, funded from the Region’s budget, with power to grant licences, to plan and to encourage investment, and with power to open branches in the areas under their authority in coordination with the National Investment Commission. The Region’s commission is linked to the Prime Minister of the Region and is subject to the oversight of the Region’s council, under paragraph sixth. It coordinates its work with the National Investment Commission, and draws up its plans so as not to conflict with federal investment policy, under paragraphs fourth and fifth. In common English usage this body is referred to as the Kurdistan Board of Investment. The federal name is “the Region’s commission”, as it appears in article 1.
Article 7(a) provides that the Commission accepts licence applications for projects whose capital is not less than the minimum fixed by the Council of Ministers, or by the Council of Ministers of the Region as the case may be, in a regulation issued on the proposal of the Commission. The Region’s Council of Ministers may, within the scope of this paragraph, fix a minimum in a regulation. That minimum is read from that regulation in its source. The Commission must decide the application within forty-five days, under paragraph (c). The requirement of the Iraqi Council of Ministers’ approval before a licence is granted, if the value of the project exceeds two hundred and fifty million dollars, is a rule in paragraph (b). It is read in its own text when it applies.
What should not be read from the federal text alone?
The existence of the Region’s commission in the federal law does not replace a reading of any procedures the Region lays down for filing an application or granting a licence, if it has a statute or instructions in force. An electronic portal is described only if a published official instrument establishes it. The Region’s commission is also not treated as a commission of a governorate not organised in a region for the purpose of administrative linkage: the former is linked to the Prime Minister of the Region, the latter to the governor, under article 5, sixth.
The one-stop window, the periods for sectoral consultation, and objection and grievance, appear in articles 9 and 20 of the federal law. If they apply to an application filed in the Region, they are read in their text. If the Region has a special procedural arrangement, that is established from its source. A disagreement between the National Investment Commission and another body over the grant of a formation licence “other than the Region’s commissions” is referred to the Prime Minister for decision, under article 20, third. The wording “other than the Region’s commissions” in that paragraph is read as it stands.
Legal basis and sources
- Investment Law No. 13 of 2006 as amended (Official Gazette No. 4031 of 17/1/2007)
- First Amendment Law No. 2 of 2010
- Second Amendment Law No. 50 of 2015
Frequently asked questions
Who grants an investment licence inside the Kurdistan Region under the federal law?
The Region’s commission, under articles 1 and 5: it is responsible for planning and for granting licences in the Region.
Where is an investment law issued by the Region read from?
From the published official regional source.
Is the Region’s commission linked to the National Investment Commission?
Article 5 requires coordination with the National Investment Commission. The administrative link of the Region’s commission is to the Prime Minister of the Region, with oversight by the Region’s council.
Related topics and articles
- 01When to approach the Baghdad Investment Commission, and when the National Investment Commission?When to apply to the Baghdad or National Investment Commission under Law 13/2006 as amended: strategic and federal projects, and Cabinet approval.
- 02How is an investment licence applied for, and who grants it?Applying for an investment licence under Law 13/2006 as amended: application, one-stop window, 45-day decision, sectoral reply in 15 days, grievance.
- 03Industrial investment land in Basrah under the Investment LawHow Law 13/2006 as amended treats title or musataha of industrial land for a project in Basrah, without listing unconfirmed plots.
- 04Free Zones Authority Law No. 3 of 1998What Free Zones Authority Law No. 3 of 1998 provides: link to the Minister of Finance, the board, and deciding investment applications inside a free zone.
- 05The legal framework for setting up a factory or industrial project in IraqTwo routes to a private or mixed industrial project in Iraq: a formation licence from the General Directorate of Industrial Development under Industrial Investment Law No. 20 of 1998, or an investment licence under Investment Law No. 13 of 2006. Who may use each, what each offers, and what the project owner must do.