01
Legal issue
An issuer may not claim interest where the credit-card agreement specifies no rate; CBO Circular No. 1096 set a ceiling but did not itself create an interest obligation.
02
Published principle
The Arabic text published by the Supreme Court is the primary source. The English translation was published by the Technical Bureau; Russian and Chinese are unofficial Smart Global Capital editorial translations.
This is a published legal principle—an extract selected by the Supreme Court of Oman Technical Bureau—not the full text of the judgment.
Under Article 80 of the Commercial Law, interest on a commercial loan or debt must be expressly agreed by the parties within the prescribed limits. If a credit-card agreement specifies no interest rate, the issuer has no right to claim interest. Central Bank of Oman Circular No. 1096 dated 20 May 2010 merely set annual ceilings of 18% for customers transferring their salaries to the bank and 20% for others. Those ceilings applied only where the parties had agreed a rate.
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Applicability
The 18% and 20% figures are historical ceilings under the cited circular, not current-rate guidance. Current CBO rules, the agreement, product and customer status must be checked. The principle is consistent with Challenges 549/2018 (A) and 746/2018 (B), but does not replace their factual analysis.
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Related instruments
- Commercial Law, Article 80
- Banking Law, Royal Decree No. 114/2000, Article 14
- Central Bank of Oman Circular No. 1096 dated 20 May 2010
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