Commercial Representatives

A commercial representative is a Kuwaiti individual or entity engaged by a foreign company pursuant to contract called a "commercial representative agreement" to represent its business interests in Kuwait. The scope of authority of a commercial representative is usually more limited than the authority granted to an agent. A commercial representative may be paid a set fee on a regular basis or a commission or percentage of profits. The duties and obligations of commercial representatives are governed by Articles 297 - 305 of the Commercial Code.

In executing documents on behalf of the foreign company, the commercial representative must sign his name as well as the name of the foreign company and indicate that he is a commercial representative. A foreign company is liable for all of the commercial representative's actions and liabilities, so long as they are conducted or incurred within the scope of representation.

Unlike an agency agreement, a commercial representation agreement cannot be registered with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The advantage of using a commercial representative rather than an agent in Kuwait is that the representative can be engaged, compensated, and terminated without consideration of the onerous laws applicable to agencies as discussed above.