LMRA ultimatum

Ployers asked to pay monthly expat levy by Aug. 31

Em
Bonney Mascarenhas
Staff Reporter

Nearly 75 per cent of 45,000 employers have not paid the monthly levy of BD10 charged for each expatriate worker in their employment, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) said yesterday. “This is despite the fact that we had allowed some leniency to employers to pay the bills,” LMRA CEO Ali Radhi said.The invoices were originally scheduled to be sent in the first week of July. “But the bills were sent later because many employers had not submitted data of the expatriate employees. We requested them to submit the information so that our data matches with their employee records,” LMRA acting head of public relations, Waheed Al Balushi,  told the Tribune.

The move was to help smooth the way for the employers and give them time to adjust to new regulations implemented by the body. But apparently the opportunity is being squandered away. Only 11,250 have paid their bills. The authority is offering yet another incentive for those who pay their invoices in time. “Their data will be automatically cleansed as soon as they make the payment,” Radhi said, adding: “The information of 26,924 expatriates belonging to 3,925 companies was cleansed under this scheme.”

Firms which fail to pay will be penalised according to the law and will most likely be unable to secure work visas for foreign employees. The last date to pay is August 31. Payments can be made online if the employer has registered with the LMRA. They can also opt to pay through Al Ahli Bank or visit the LMRA headquaters in Sanabis.