MUSCAT: New regulations for the obtainment of a license to use arms, ammunition and explosives for non-military or security entities have been issued by the Ministry of Defence.

As per the regulations, the applicant for a license should not have been convicted of a crime, he/she should not be affiliate with any country or institution that are banned from import and export in accordance with local or international decisions. The licence does not include materials which can be re-exported to a banned country or institution.

The application for the possession of arms, ammunitions and explosives should be presented to the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Sultan’s Armed Forces for Planning and Operations. The licence may be issued for any of the purposes of entry, export, re-export, temporary pass and exit of the aforementioned items. The licence also specifies the quantities of the same as well as the outlets through which they can be imported, exported or re-exported. The licensee should specify the location where these items would be stored including the coordinates and description of the place.

The duration for the validity of the licence is determined in accordance to the type and quantity of arms, ammunitions and explosives.

The licence may be cancelled in case that the arms are used by someone other than the licensee without a prior permission from the ministry of defence or in the case that the licensee did not comply with the general regulations or in case of using these items in a way that threatens security or causes damage to the environment.