The Ministry of Local Development has announced the start date for implementing the new time and date for opening and closing shops, which will begin on September 30th, as determined by the Supreme Committee for Shop Licensing.
According to the decision, the Ministry stated:
Except for restaurants, cafes, and bazaars arranged in Article Two of this decision, all businesses and malls are open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the winter.
In the winter, the closing time is extended to 11 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, as well as on holidays and official state holidays.
Restaurants, cafes, and bazaars, including those in commercial malls, open every day at 5 a.m. and close at 12 a.m. in the winter, with takeaway and home delivery services for restaurants and cafes available 24 hours a day.
In the winter, all workshops and handicraft shops within the residential block are open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the exception of workshops on roads and gas stations, as well as workshops associated with citizen urgent services, for which the Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Licensing Public Stores issues a decision.
The opening and closing dates of shops in coastal and tourist governorates can be changed by a decision of the Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Licensing Public Stores based on a proposal from the competent governor or the head of the New Urban Communities Authority, which must be presented to the Higher Committee for Licensing Public Stores.
Grocery stores, supermarkets, bakeries, and ovens are exempt from the periods specified in this decision, owing to the late-night operations of some stores, such as fruit and vegetable markets, poultry markets, wholesale markets, and pharmacies.
And the use of the new dates will continue until the decision is made to return to the use of summer dates, which run from the last Friday in April to the end of the last Thursday in September of each year.
