Businesses sometimes face financial crises that leave them unable to pay their debts on time, while creditors move to protect their claims. At this stage the right legal decision can make the difference between rescuing a business and liquidating it. Dr. Abdullah Al Rashdi Office, Advocates and Legal Consultants acts as a bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer in Oman, advising and representing both debtors and creditors in preventive composition, restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings, with over 20 years of experience.
The Oman Bankruptcy Law
The Bankruptcy Law was issued by Royal Decree 53/2019 and came into force in July 2020. It gives a struggling trader a real chance to recover instead of moving straight to liquidation, through three main routes:
- Preventive composition: an arrangement between the debtor and its creditors under court supervision, allowing the debtor to settle its debts on terms the creditors accept and avoid being declared bankrupt.
- Restructuring: a court-supervised plan to reorganise the business, its debts and obligations so it can keep trading and repay creditors from its income.
- Bankruptcy: used when a trader has stopped paying its commercial debts and the business cannot be saved; it usually ends with the sale of assets and distribution of the proceeds to creditors by rank.
Each route has its own conditions, deadlines and effects on the debtor, creditors and guarantors, and insolvency disputes now fall to the specialised Court of Investment and Commerce established in 2025. Choosing the right route, and the right moment, needs careful legal and financial analysis.
When do you need a bankruptcy lawyer?
If you are a debtor or run a struggling company:
- Your company faces financial difficulty and you want to understand your options before the crisis deepens.
- You want to negotiate rescheduling or a reduction of debts through preventive composition.
- You need a restructuring plan to present to creditors and the court.
- A creditor has filed a bankruptcy petition against you or your company.
If you are a creditor:
- A trader who owes you has stopped paying and you want to protect your claim.
- Bankruptcy, composition or restructuring proceedings have opened for a debtor and you must lodge your claim on time.
- You want to object to a plan that does not protect your rights, or to transactions that harm creditors.
How we help
- Assessing the company's legal and financial position and recommending the right route: settlement, preventive composition, restructuring or bankruptcy.
- Preparing composition or restructuring applications and representing you before the court.
- Negotiating with creditors and banks and drafting settlement and rescheduling agreements.
- Filing or defending bankruptcy petitions and following the proceedings to the end.
- Lodging and proving creditors' claims, and objecting to plans and transactions that prejudice them.
- Advising directors, partners and guarantors on their exposure, and defending them where needed.
- Working alongside our debt collection, corporate and legal advice services when the file requires it.
How we work with you
- Confidential first meeting: we listen and review the company's key figures in strict confidence.
- Diagnosis: we review debts, security, contracts and obligations and set out the options and deadlines.
- Plan: with your financial adviser we build the legal plan and prepare the applications.
- Negotiation and representation: we negotiate with creditors and represent you at every stage before the court.
Read also: Preventive Composition under Oman Bankruptcy Law
Frequently asked questions
What is preventive composition under Omani law?
It is a procedure under the Bankruptcy Law that lets a trader in financial difficulty agree with its creditors, under court supervision, to settle its debts on set terms such as instalments or reductions, avoiding a bankruptcy declaration and continuing to trade. Approval is subject to conditions and majorities set by the law.
What is the difference between composition, restructuring and bankruptcy?
Composition is mainly an agreement with creditors to settle debts; restructuring is a broader plan to reorganise the business so it survives; bankruptcy applies when the trader has stopped paying and cannot be rescued, and usually ends in liquidation.
Who can file for a company's bankruptcy?
The debtor itself can file, and creditors can file where the legal conditions are met; other bodies may apply in the cases set out in the law. Each route has its own procedure and documents.
When should I speak to a bankruptcy lawyer?
As early as possible, when the first signs of distress appear and before payments actually stop. The earlier you act, the more options remain open.
If your company is in financial difficulty, or you are owed money by a struggling trader, contact Dr. Abdullah Al Rashdi Office on WhatsApp, call +968 92000841, or visit us at Al Nahda Tower, first floor, office 116, Al Khuwair, Muscat. Your file is handled in strict confidence.