Launch of the Home-Based Business Regulations - October 19, 2017

Download the following attachments to learn more about how you can register your business from home:

Why Home-Based Business Licensing?

As part of its efforts to support micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Jordan, the USAID Jordan Local Enterprise Support Project (LENS), has been working on providing new opportunities for home-based Businesses (HBBs) in Jordan since 2015. USAID LENS has worked closely with key stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Greater Amman Municipality to develop a new legal framework to help support the economic participation of HBBs.

In 2016, USAID LENS submitted a regulatory proposal to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MOMA) advocating the extension of an instruction regarding the registration and licensing of home-based businesses, which was only applied within Greater Amman Municipality, excluding other municipalities in Jordan.

Later that year, this proposal was accepted by MOMA, published in the November 2016 National Gazette, and went into effect on August 1, 2017. This regulatory change now allows the formalization of hundreds of home-based businesses throughout Jordan, granting them legal access to new and bigger markets.

Achievements timeline:

2014: USAID LENS conducted a survey on 4,700 businesses in Jordan to identify MSEs working from home, as well as the sectors and fields they are working in. The survey showed that about a quarter (23%) of all business activities in Jordan is informal, which means these businesses are unregistered, preventing them from expanding, generating solid revenue and reaching new markets.
November 2015: USAID LENS presented a concept note about home-based businesses to the technical team at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MOMA). The paper included a definition and explanation of a home-based business, and listed the types and models of home-based businesses in different countries around the world. The concept note also included a proposal for regulating home-based businesses in Jordan under the leadership of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MOMA).
September 2016: the amending Regulations on Buildings and Zoning for Cities and Villages were issued and went into effect in 1 January 2017. The regulations stated that the Higher Organizing Council may use residential areas for starting HBBs, after receiving approval from the competent committee and in accordance with instructions issued by the Board for this purpose. Therefore, this regulation constitutes a legal basis for home-based businesses.
December 2016: USAID LENS conducted a study on the economic impact of regulating HBBS. This study included an analysis of the regulations, institutional and operational frameworks, and a comparative study on HBBs in other countries.
January 2017: held engagement sessions with all stakeholders, which resulted in policy statements. Accordingly, USAID LENS worked with government stakeholders to revise GAM instructions and devise new instructions for MOMA.
April 2017: USAID LENS started dialogues with the Deputy Director General of the Social Security Corporation to explain its HBB work and request the possibility of exempting HBBs from compulsory contributions to social security.
June 2017: The amendment to the MOMA Regulations on Zoning was approved by the Cabinet on June 13th.
July 2017: The amendment to the MOMA Regulations on Zoning was published in the Official Gazette on the 16^th of July.
August 2017:
- The HBB instructions, supporting the MOMA and GAM amended HBB regulations on Zoning, were published in the Official Gazette in August.
- Following advocacy by LENS, the Board of the Social Security Corporation decided to exempt HBBs from compulsory social security contribution. Under the recent Social Security Law that expanded coverage to all business segments, HBBs would need to pay at least JOD 47 per month; a payment which would constitute a significant portion of their earnings. Hence, the exemption eliminates a fundamental barrier to businesses operating from home, and incentivizes them to register as formal entities.
September 2017: LENS conducted special training sessions targeting staff in MOITS, GAM, MOMA and different municipalities, who are involved in the registration and licensing of HBBs. Each session involved representatives from MOITS (center and directorates), GAM and MOMA staff as well as staff from municipalities. The purpose was to take them through the details of the new regulatory framework.