TAX
LAW
The
New Income Tax - Chapter 1 : DEFINITIONS
Article 1: Definitions
Wherever they
appear in this Law, each of the following words or terms
will carry the meaning beside it unless the context
indicates otherwise.
The Minister : The Minister of Finance.
The Department : The Department of Zakat
and Income Tax.
Tax : Income tax imposed in accordance
with this Law.
Person : Any natural or legal person.
Taxpayer : Any person who is subject to
tax in accordance with this Law.
Activity : Any commercial, professional,
trade or any other similar activity carried out to make
profit. This includes the use of movable or immovable
property.
Royalties : Payments received for the use
or the right to use intellectual rights, including, but
not limited to, copyright, patents, industrial designs and
secrets, trade marks and names, knowledge, trade and
business secrets or goodwill; or for the use of
information related to industrial, trade or scientific
expertise, or for the rights to exploitation of natural
and mineral resources.
The Kingdom : The territorial lands and
waters of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the air space under
its control, and its rights in the zone divided between
the Kingdom and the State of Kuwait. This also includes
marine or semi-marine areas that are under the
sovereignty, sovereignty rights or jurisdiction of the
Kingdom in accordance with International Law.
Capital company : A corporation, a
limited liability company, or a company limited by shares.
For the purpose of this Law, investment funds are
considered capital companies.
Personal company: A general partnership,
a silent partnership, or a limited partnership.
Resident : A natural person, a company
that fulfills the conditions of Article (3) of this Law,
any Saudi government agency, ministry, or other public
organization, and any other legal person or organization
formed in the Kingdom.
Nonresident : Any person other than a
resident.
Saudi Citizen : A person who holds the
nationality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or who is
treated as a Saudi citizen.
Commercial books : The set of books the
taxpayer keeps in which all his transactions are to be
recorded and as described in Royal Decree M61 dated
17/12/1409 [20 July 1989] and its by-laws issued in
Ministerial Resolution 699 dated 29/7/1410 [24 Feb. 1990],
as amended by Ministerial Resolution 1110 dated 24/12/1410
[16 July 1990], or as amended subsequently.
The By-law : The by-law of this Law.
Any word or term not defined in this Law will have the
same definition it has in other Laws applicable in the
Kingdom provided such definition does not conflict with
this Law.
Chapter
2 : TAXPAYERS
Article
2: Persons subject to taxation
(a) a resident capital company on non-Saudi shares.
(b) a resident non-Saudi natural person who does business
in the Kingdom.
(c) a nonresident who does business in the Kingdom through
a permanent establishment.
(d) a nonresident on other income subject to tax from
sources within the Kingdom.
(e) a person engaged in natural gas investment activities.
(f) a person engaged in oil and hydrocarbons production
activities.
Article 3: Concept of Residency
(a) A natural person is resident in the Kingdom for a
taxable year if he meets any of the following conditions:
(1) he has a permanent place of abode in
the Kingdom and is physically present in the Kingdom
during not less than 30 days in aggregate during the
taxable year;
(2) he is physically present in the
Kingdom during not less than 183 days in the tax year.
For the purpose of this paragraph, presence in the Kingdom
for part of a day is considered presence for the whole
day. Presence in case of transit between two points
outside the Kingdom is not considered.
(b) A company is a resident company if it meets any of the
following conditions:
(1) it is formed under the Companies
Regulations;
(2) its place of central control and
management is situated within the Kingdom.
Article
4: Permanent Establishment
(a) A permanent establishment of a nonresident in the
Kingdom, unless otherwise provided by this article,
consists of the permanent place of activity of the
nonresident through which it carries out business, in full
or in part, including business carried out through an
agent.
(b) The following are considered a permanent
establishment:
(1) construction sites, assembly
facilities, and the exercise of supervisory activities
connected with them;
(2) installations or sites used for
surveying for natural resources, drilling equipment, or
ships used for surveying for natural resources, as well as
the exercise of supervisory activities connected with
them;
(3) a fixed base where a nonresident
natural person carries out business;
(4) a branch of a nonresident company
which is licensed to carry on business in the Kingdom.
(c) A place is not considered a permanent establishment of
a nonresident in the Kingdom if it is used in the Kingdom
only to do the following:
(1) store, display, or deliver goods or
products belonging to the nonresident;
(2) keep a stock of goods or products
belonging to the nonresident for the purpose of processing
by another person;
(3) purchase goods or products only for
the purpose of collection of information for the
nonresident;
(4) perform any other activities that
are preparatory or auxiliary in nature in the interests of
the nonresident;
(5) draw- up contracts for signature
with regard to credits (loans), delivery of goods, or
provision of technical services;
(6) execute any combination of the
activities indicated in subparagraphs 1–5 of this
paragraph.
(d) A nonresident partner in a resident personal company
is considered to have a permanent establishment in the
Kingdom in the form of a partnership interest.
Article 5: Source of Income
(a) Income is from a source in the Kingdom if it is
(1) derived from an activity which
occurs in the Kingdom;
(2) derived from immovable property
located in the Kingdom, including gains from the disposal
of an interest in such immovable property and from the
disposal of shares, stocks or partnership interests in a
company the property of which consists directly or
indirectly principally of interests in such property;
(3) derived from the disposal of shares
or a partnership interest in a resident company;
(4) derived from the rental of movable
property used in the Kingdom;
(5) derived from the sale or license of
industrial or intellectual property used in the Kingdom;
(6) a dividend, management fee, or
director's fee paid by a resident company;
(7) a payment for services made by a
resident company to the company’s head office or to an
affiliated company;
(8) a payment made by a resident for
services performed in whole or in part in the Kingdom;
(9) amounts for exploitation of a
natural resource in the Kingdom; or
(10) attributable to a permanent
establishment of a nonresident located in the Kingdom,
including income attributable to sales in the Kingdom of
goods of the same or similar kind as those sold through
such a permanent establishment, and income arising from
the rendering of services or the performance of other
activity in the Kingdom of the same or similar nature as
activity performed via such a permanent establishment.
(b) In determining the source of income, the place of
payment of the income is not taken into account.
(c) For purposes of this article, a payment made by a
permanent establishment of a nonresident in the Kingdom is
considered to be made by a resident company.
Chapter
3 : TAX BASE and TAX RATES
Article
6: Tax Base
(a) The tax base of a resident capital company is the
total of non-Saudi shares in its income subject to tax
from any activity within the Kingdom less any deduction
allowed under this Law.
(b) The tax base of a resident non-Saudi natural person is
his income subject to tax from any activity within the
Kingdom less any deduction allowed under this Law.
(c) The tax base of a non-resident who exercises activity
within the Kingdom through a permanent establishment is
his income subject to tax arising from or related to the
activity of such establishment less any deduction allowed
under this Law.
(d) The taxable income of each natural person is
determined separately.
(e) A capital company is taxable on its tax base
separately from its shareholders or partners.
Article 7: Tax Rates
(a) The tax rate is 20% of the tax base of the following:
(1) a resident capital company.
(2) a non-Saudi resident natural person
who does business.
(3) a nonresident person who does
business in the Kingdom through a permanent establishment.
(b) The tax base of a taxpayer engaged in natural gas
investment activities is subject to a tax rate of 30%.
(c) The tax base of a taxpayer engaged in oil and
hydrocarbon production is subject to a tax rate of 85%.
(d) The withholding tax rates are stipulated under Article
68 of this Law.
Article
8: Income Subject To Tax
Income subject to tax is gross income that includes all
income, profits, gains of any type and of any form of
payment resulted from carrying out activity, including
capital gains and any incidental income and other than
exempt income.
Article 9: Gains and Losses on Disposal of Assets
(a) The gain or loss from the disposal of an asset is the
difference between the consideration received and the cost
base of the asset.
(b) No gain or loss on disposal of a depreciable asset is
taken into account other than what is stipulated by
Article 17 of this Law.
(c) The gain or loss on disposal by a natural person of an
asset that is not used in the activity is not taken into
account in determining income subject to tax.
(d) The cost base of an asset purchased, produced,
manufactured, or constructed by the taxpayer is the amount
paid or incurred by the taxpayer in cash or in kind in
respect of the acquisition of the asset.
(e) Where a part of an asset is disposed of, the cost base
of the asset is apportioned between the part of the asset
retained and the part disposed of in accordance with their
market values at the time of purchase.
(f) Expenses incurred to alter or improve an asset that is
still being depreciated are added to the cost base of the
asset.
(g) The consideration received on disposal of an asset
includes the market value of consideration in kind
including relief from debt encumbering the property.
(h) Where an asset is disposed of by way of gift or
inheritance, the disposer is treated as having received
consideration equal to the fair market value of the asset
at the date of disposal, unless paragraph (i) of this
Article applies.
(i) If an asset is encumbered by debt exceeding its fair
market value, the disposer is treated as having received
consideration equal to the amount of the debt.
(j) No gain or loss is taken into account in determining
the tax base on an involuntary disposal of an asset, to
the extent that the proceeds are reinvested in an asset of
a like kind within one year of the involuntary disposal.
(k) The cost base of a replacement asset described in
paragraph (j) is determined with reference to the cost
base of the replaced asset.
(l) Where an asset owned by a taxpayer is converted to
personal use or otherwise ceases to be used in the
production of income, the taxpayer is deemed to have
disposed of the asset for its fair market value, and shall
recognize the resulting gain (but not loss).
Article 10: Exempt income
The following incomes are exempt from income tax:
(a) Capital gains realized from disposal of securities
traded in the Stock Market in the Kingdom in accordance
with controls specified in the By-law.
(b) gains on the disposal of property other than assets
used in the activity.
Article 11: Deduction for Contributions
A deduction is allowed in determining the tax base of each
taxpayer for contributions paid during the tax year to
public agencies or philanthropic societies licensed in the
Kingdom which are nonprofit organizations and are allowed
to receive these contributions.
Article
12: Outlays Connected with the Receipt of Income
All
the ordinary and necessary expenses of earning income
subject to tax paid or accrued by the taxpayer during the
taxable year are deductible in determining the tax base,
with the exception of outlays of a capital nature and
expenses that are nondeductible according to Article 13 of
this Law and other provisions of this Chapter.
Article 13: Nondeductible Expenses
No
deduction is allowed for the following:
(a)
expenses not connected with the earning of income subject
to tax;
(b) payments or benefits to a shareholder, a partner or
their relatives which constitute wages, salaries, awards
or the like or which do not represent arm’s length
payments for property or services.
(c)
entertainment expenses;
(d)
expenses of a natural person for personal consumption.
(e) income tax paid in the Kingdom or in another state;
(f) fines and penalties paid or payable to any party in
the Kingdom (excluding those paid for breach of a
contractual
obligation);
(g) any bribe or similar payment the making of which is a
criminal offence under the laws of the
Kingdom,
even if made abroad.
Article 14: Bad Debts
(a) Taxpayers are entitled to a deduction for bad debts
connected with goods or services that have been sold where
income from such sale was previously included in income
subject to tax.
(b) The deduction is allowed at the time the debt is
written off in the taxpayer’s books as worthless upon
due proof of its worthlessness and as specified in the
By-law.
Article
15: Deductions for Allocations to Reserve Funds
No deductions for allocations to reserve funds shall be
allowed other than doubtful debts reserve funds to banks.
The By-law establishes rules and controls for these
reserve funds.
Article 16: Deductions for Research and Development
Expenditures
A deduction is allowed for expenditures on research and
development connected with the earning of income subject
to tax. This Article does not allow a deduction for
expenditures on the acquisition of land or equipment to be
used for research, such equipment being subject to
depreciation under Article 17 of this Law.
Article
17: Depreciation
(a) A depreciation deduction is allowed for depreciation
of a taxpayer's depreciable tangible or intangible assets,
other than land, which are wholly or partly used in the
production of income subject to tax, which has a value
extending beyond the end of the taxable year, and which
loses value because of wear and tear or obsolescence.
(b)
Depreciable assets are classified into groups and rates as
follows:
|
Sequence
No.
|
Group
|
Depreciation
Rate
|
|
1.
|
Fixed
Buildings.
|
5%
|
|
2.
|
Industrial
and agricultural movable buildings.
|
10%
|
|
3.
|
Factories,
machines, engines, hardware and software
(computer software) and equipment, including
passenger cars, and cargo vehicles.
|
25%
|
|
4.
|
Expenses
for geological surveying, drilling, exploration,
and other preliminary work to exploit and
develop natural resources and their fields.
|
20%
|
|
5.
|
All
other tangible and intangible depreciable assets
not included in pervious categories, such as
furniture, planes, ships, trains and goodwill.
|
10%
|
(c) The depreciation deduction for each group is
determined under paragraphs (d) to (l) of this Article.
(d) The depreciation deduction for each group is
calculated by applying its depreciation rate determined
under paragraph (b) of this Article against the balance of
the group at the end of the taxable year.
(e) The balance of the group at the end of the taxable
year is the total of the balance of the group at the end
of the preceding taxable year after allowing for the
deductions under this article for the preceding taxable
year and 50 % of the cost base of assets added to the
group in the taxable year and the preceding taxable year,
reduced by 50% of the consideration received from the
disposal of assets in the group during the taxable year
and the preceding taxable year, provided that the balance
may not be reduced to a negative amount.
(f) Where an asset owned by a taxpayer is converted to
personal use or otherwise ceases to be used in the
production of income subject to tax, the taxpayer is
deemed to have disposed of the asset for its fair market
value.
(g) Where 50% of the consideration received from the
disposal during a taxable year and the preceding taxable
year of assets in a group exceeds the balance of the group
at the end of the taxable year disregarding the amount of
such consideration, the balance of the group is reduced to
zero and the excess is included in the taxpayer's income
subject to tax.
(h) If the balance of the group at the end of the year,
after allowing for the deduction under paragraph (d), is
less than SR 1,000, a deduction is allowed for the amount
of the balance.
(i) Where all the assets in a group are disposed of, a
deduction is allowed for the balance of the group at the
end of the year of assessment.
(j) Where a construction is bought or sold together with
land, the total consideration shall be reasonably
apportioned to arrive at a separate value of the
construction.
(k) Where assets are used only in part for the production
of income subject to tax, a corresponding portion of the
depreciation shall be allowed as a deduction in computing
the tax base.
(l) Notwithstanding the previous paragraphs, assets under
BOT or BOOT contracts are depreciated over the contract
period or over the contract remaining period if acquired
or renewed during that period.
Article 18: Repair Expenses Deduction
(a) Deductions are permitted in respect of each group for
expenses of the repair or improvement of depreciable
assets belonging to that group.
(b) The amount of expenses deductible in accordance with
paragraph (a) of this Article for each year is limited to
4 percent of the balance of the group value at the end of
the year.
(c) An amount exceeding the restriction established in
paragraph (b) of this Article shall go to increase the
value of the balance of the group.
Article 19: Expenditures on Geological Surveying and
Work to Prepare for the Extraction of Natural Resources
(a) Expenditures on geological surveying and work to
prepare for the extraction of natural resources are
deductible in the form of amortization charges at the
depreciation rate as determined in paragraph (b) of
Article 17 of this Law; these expenditures constitute a
separate group.
(b) This article also applies to expenditures on
intangible assets borne by the taxpayer in acquisition of
rights to geological surveying and the processing or
exploitation of natural resources.
Article 20: Contributions to an Authorized
Retirement Fund
(a) A deduction is allowed for contributions by an
employer to an authorized retirement fund established in
accordance with the laws of the Kingdom for the benefit of
an employee of the taxpayer.
(b) The deduction allowed under paragraph (a) of this
Article in respect of each employee for whose benefit the
contribution is made is limited to 25 percent of the
employee’s income, calculated without regard to
contributions made by the employer.
(c) No deduction is allowed in respect of contributions by
an employee to an authorized retirement fund.
Article 21: Loss Carry-Forward
(a) A net operating loss may be carried forward to the
taxable year following the year in which the loss is
incurred, to be deducted in determining the tax base of
future taxable years until the cumulative loss is fully
offset. The By-law specifies the maximum percentage of
carried forward loss allowed to be annually deducted.
(b) A net operating loss is equal to the excess of the
deductions allowed under this Chapter over the income
subject to tax for the taxable year.
(c) In the case of a natural person, only the deductions
and income from activity are taken into account in
determining the amount of the net operating loss.
Article
22: Taxable year
(a) The taxable year is the same as the State’s
financial year.
(b) A taxpayer may use a 12-month period other than the
one specified in paragraph (a) of this Article in
accordance with controls specified in the By-Law.
(c) Where the taxable year for a taxpayer changes, the
period between the last full taxable year prior to the
change and the date on which the changed taxable year
commences shall be treated as a separate short taxable
year. The first year of a newly established taxpayer or
the last year of a taxpayer that ceases activity or
liquidates shall also be a short taxable year if not
coinciding with a full year, unless it is a long taxable
year in conformity with the Company Law.
(d) Groups of related companies, as defined in Article 64
of this Law, must utilize the same taxable year.
Article 23: Method of Accounting
(a) A taxpayer's method of accounting must clearly reflect
the taxpayer's income.
(b) The gross income and deductions of a resident company,
and any other taxpayer who keeps or is required to keep
commercial books according to accounting principles
generally accepted in the Kingdom, are determined
according to such books after adjustments made to conform
to the rules of this Law.
(c) A natural person may account for tax purposes on a
cash or accrual basis, but if his gross income from
business for a taxable year exceeds the amount specified
in the By-law, he must account for business income on an
accrual basis in all succeeding taxable years.
(d) A company which keeps or is required to keep
commercial books must account for income and deductions on
an accrual basis. Otherwise, it may account for tax
purposes on a cash or accrual basis.
(e) Except for a change from the cash basis to the accrual
basis required under paragraph (c) or (d) of this Article,
a taxpayer may change its method of accounting only with
the prior written permission of the Department.
(f) If the taxpayer's method of accounting is changed,
adjustments to items of income, deduction, or credit, or
to other items must be made in the taxable year following
the change, so that no item is omitted and no item is
included more than once.
Article 24: Cash-Basis Accounting
A cash-basis taxpayer must take income into account when
received or made available and must take deductions into
account when paid.
Article 25: Accrual-Basis Accounting
(a) An accrual-basis taxpayer must take income and
deductions into account when payable.
(b) An amount is payable to the taxpayer when the taxpayer
becomes entitled to receive it, even if the time for
discharge of the entitlement is postponed or the
entitlement is payable in installments.
(c) An amount is treated as payable by the taxpayer when
all the events that determine liability have occurred.
Article 26: Long-Term Contracts
(a) In the case of an accrual-method taxpayer, income and
deductions relating to a long-term contract are taken into
account on the basis of the percentage of the contract
completed during the taxable year.
(b) The percentage of completion is determined by
comparing costs allocated to the contract and incurred
during the taxable year with the estimated total contract
costs.
(c) In this Article, the term "long-term
contract" means a contract for manufacture,
installation, or construction, or the performance of
related services, which is not completed within the
taxable year in which work under the contract commenced,
other than a contract estimated to be completed within 6
months of the date on which work under the contract
commenced.
Article 27: Trading Stock
(a) A taxpayer who maintains trading stock must establish
and maintain inventories of such stock.
(b) A deduction is allowed for the cost of trading stock
sold during the taxable year.
(c) The cost of trading stock sold in a taxable year is
determined by adding to the opening trading stock the cost
of goods acquired during the year, and subtracting the
closing trading stock.
(d) A cash-basis taxpayer may calculate the cost of
trading stock on the prime-cost or absorption-cost method,
and an accrual-basis taxpayer must calculate the cost of
trading stock on the absorption-cost method.
(e) The value of trading stock on hand at the end of the
taxable year is the lower of its cost or market value at
that date. A taxpayer should account for the trading stock
on the weighted average-cost method, or any other method
after a written permission of the Department is obtained.
Once chosen, a stock valuation method may only be changed
with the permission of the Department.
Chapter
7 : ADDITIONAL (MISCELLANEOUS) RULES FOR DETERMINING TAX
BASE
Article
28: Joint Property
Income or deductions relating to jointly owned property
are apportioned among the joint owners in proportion to
their respective interests in the property.
Article 29: Valuation
(a) Where the calculation of the tax base or gross income
involves a non-cash property, services, or other benefit,
its fair market value on the date taken into account for
tax purposes is used in determining the income.
(b) The fair market value of non-cash property transferred
to an employee or other provider of services is determined
without regard to any restriction on transfer.
Article
30: Currency Conversion
(a) Gross income and tax base are calculated in the Saudi
Riyal.
(b) Where the calculation of income involves an amount in
a currency other than the Saudi Riyal, the amount is
converted at the exchange rate as notified by the Saudi
Arabian Monetary Agency applying between the currency and
the SR on the date of the transaction.
Article 31: Indirect Payments and Benefits
The gross income of a taxpayer includes a payment that
directly or indirectly benefits the taxpayer and a payment
dealt with as the taxpayer directs, which would have been
income of the taxpayer if the payment had been made
directly to the taxpayer.
Article 32: Compensation Receipts
Compensation payments received take the character of the
thing that is compensated.
Article 33: Recouped Deductions
(a) Where a previously deducted expenditure, loss, or bad
debt claim is recovered, the amount recovered is included
in gross income for the year in which it is recovered and
takes the character of the income to which the deduction
related.
(b) For the purposes of this article, a deduction is
considered recovered in the absence of the basis for the
deduction.
Article 34: Presumptive Taxation
(a) If branches or subsidiaries of foreign airline, sea or
land shipping and transportation companies operating in
the Kingdom fail to file a proof of their tax base in
accordance with this Law, the tax base will be determined
as follows:
1. The tax base from the airline
business for branches or subsidiaries of foreign airline
companies operating in the Kingdom will be 5 percent of
gross income realized in the Kingdom from tickets,
shipping freight, mail or any other income. Such branches
are required to file returns showing their gross income in
the Kingdom in the prescribed terms under this Law.
2. The tax base for shipping and
transportation business of branches or subsidiaries of
foreign shipping, land and sea transportation companies
operating in the Kingdom will be 5 percent of gross income
realized in the Kingdom from charges for freight or any
other income. Such branches are required to file returns
showing their gross income in the Kingdom in the
prescribed terms under this Law.
(b) The Minister may authorize certain other sectors to be
subject to presumptive taxation according to bases and
rates specified in the By-law.
Article 35: International Agreements
To the extent that the terms of a treaty or other
international agreement to which the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia is a party are inconsistent with the provisions of
this Law (apart from the anti-avoidance provisions of
Article 63 of this Law) the terms of the treaty or
international agreement prevail over the provisions of
this Law.
Chapter
8 : PRINCIPLES OF TAXATION FOR PERSONAL COMPANIES
Article
36: General Provisions
(a) The partners rather than the personal company are
taxed, but the personal company is required to file an
information declaration. The information declaration is to
show the income, gain, loss, deductions, credits, and
other items or tax attributes of the personal company for
the taxable year, and is subject to procedural rules,
including penalties, applicable to tax returns under this
Law.
(b) The personal company, rather than its partners, shall
be responsible for making any applicable elections under
this Law, such as choice of taxable year, accounting
method and inventory method, and for filing notices and
statements required in relation to its activities.
(c) The provisions of this Law applicable to capital
companies shall apply to limited partners in limited
partnerships.
Article 37: Taxation of Partners
(a) In determining the tax base of a partner, the income,
expenses, losses, or credits derived or accrued by the
personal company retain their character as to geographic
source and type of income, gain, deduction, loss, or
credit.
(b) A partner’s share of personal company income, loss,
deduction, or credit is taken into account for the
partner’s taxable year in which the personal company’s
taxable year ends. A loss in excess of the partner’s
cost base is suspended until the partner acquires
sufficient cost base to offset the loss or until the
partner’s interest is terminated.
(c) Personal company losses and deductions allocated to a
partner in accordance with paragraph (b) of this Law are
not subject to the related party loss disallowance rule of
Article 63(d) of this Law. A personal company’s loss
that is suspended under Article 63 (d) is not allocable to
the partners until the conditions of Article 63 (d) are
met. If a loss is incurred on a distribution in complete
termination of a partner’s interest, the conditions of
Article 63 (d) are considered met.
Article 38: Cost Base of Partner's Interest
(a) The cost base of a partner's interest in a personal
company is the amount the partner pays for the interest
plus the cost base of property contributed by the partner.
(b) The cost base is increased by the partner’s share of
personal company income (including exempt income) included
in the partner's gross income.
(c) The cost base is decreased (but not below zero) by
distributions by the personal company to the partner and
by the partner’s share of partnership losses, deductions
and nondeductible expenditures of the partnership (other
than capital items).
(d) Debt incurred by the personal company, including debt
to which the property of the personal company is subject,
increases each partner’s cost base in accordance with
the partner’s interest in the personal company. Debt
born by certain partners who have personal liability for
it will cause the increase of the cost base of these
partners only.
Article
39: Cost Base of a Personal Company’s Assets
(a) A personal company will have a starting cost base in
contributed property equal to the cost base of the
contributing partner.
(b) If a partner is retiring from membership in a personal
company and receives a distribution that causes the
retiring partner to recognize gain on the disposal of the
partner’s interest in the personal company, the cost
base of the personal company’s gain assets is increased
(but not above fair market value) by the amount of
disposal gain recognized. Cost base adjustments are
allocated among assets according to the proportionate
difference between cost base and fair market value.
(c) If a partner is retiring from membership in a personal
company and receives a distribution that causes the
retiring partner to recognize loss on the disposal of the
partner’s interest in the personal company, the cost
base of the personal company’s loss assets is reduced
(but not below zero) by the amount of disposal loss
recognized. Cost base adjustments are allocated among
assets according to the proportionate difference between
cost base and fair market value.
(d) For purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this
Article, a gain asset is one that has a cost base lower
than its fair market value and a loss asset is one that
has a cost base higher than its fair market value.
Article 40: Transfer of Property to a Personal
Company
(a) No gain or loss calculation for a transfer to a
personal company by a partner of an asset owned by the
partner in return for an interest in the company.
(b) The partner is deemed to take an interest in the
personal company equal to the difference between the fair
market value of the property contributed by him to the
company and the amount paid to him by the company . If a
personal company pays to the partner more than the fair
market value for the property transferred by the partner,
the partner is deemed to have received from the company a
distribution of profit equal to the excess amount.
Article 41: Transfer of Property to a Partner by a
Personal Company
(a) A personal company’s transfer of a non-cash asset to
a partner, including a transfer in termination of the
partner’s interest, is treated as a disposal of the
asset by the personal company, with gain or loss
recognition on the transfer date.
(b) The partner takes a cost base in the asset equal to
the fair market value of the asset.
(c) The partner is deemed to have received a distribution
of income from the personal company if he does not pay
fair market value for property transferred by the personal
company. If the amount of deemed distribution exceeds the
partner’s cost base in the partner’s personal company
interest, the partner is treated as having disposed of
part (or all) of the partner’s personal company
interest. If a distribution is in complete termination of
a partner’s interest, and the amount of the distribution
is less than the partner’s cost base, the excess cost
base is deductible as a loss from disposal of the
partner’s interest.
Article
42: Change in Membership of a Personal Company
(a) If the departure or the entry of a partner or partners
causes a reconstitution of a personal company, all the
personal company’s assets are deemed to be transferred
to a new personal company in return for shares.
(b) A reconstitution occurs when the entry or departure of
a partner or partners causes more than a 50 percent change
in the membership of the personal company as constituted
for the year preceding the entry or departure.
Article
43: General Provisions
(a) In the case of
a company limited by shares, the shares of the general
partners are taxed to them in the same manner as for a
personal company, and the general partners’ shares are
deducted in determining the tax base of the company. The
provisions of this Law applicable to personal companies
shall apply to general partners in companies limited by
shares.
(b) Where there has been a change of 50 percent or more in
the underlying ownership or control of a capital company,
no deduction for non-Saudi share is allowed under Article
21 of this Law in taxable years following the change.
Chapter
10 : NATURAL GAS INVESTMENT TAX
Article44
A
natural gas investment tax shall be imposed on every
natural on legal person, hereinafter refereed to as the
“taxpayer”, engaged in natural gas, natural gas
liquids, and gas condensates investment activities within
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its dedicated economic area
or its continental shelf.
Article45
(a)
The natural gas investment activities shall mean the
exploration, production, collection, treatment,
transportation, processing, and fractionation of natural
gas, natural gas liquids, and gas condensates.
(b) Transportation shall mean transporting natural gas
from treatment plants to processing and fractionation
plants or from any such plants to end user facilities, as
well as, transporting condensates.
(c) Gas condensates that naturally exist are defined as
“those hydrocarbons that exist in a single gaseous phase
in reservoirs, whose original temperature falls in the
range from the critical temperature to the cricondentherm
and which are produced from wells completed in gas
condensate reservoirs and become liquid at standard
conditions of temperature and pressure.”
Article46
The natural gas investment activities income is the gross
income derived from the sale, exchange or transfer of
natural gas, natural gas liquids, gas condensates, and
other products including sulfur, as well as any other
non-operational or incidental income derived within the
taxpayer’s primary activity, regardless of its type or
source, including income derived from the utilization of
available excess capacity in any facility that is subject
to the natural gas investment tax.
Article47
The natural gas investment tax basis is the gross revenues
mentioned in Article 46 of this Law, less the expenses
deductible under this Law. The amount of royalties and
surface rentals shall be considered as deductible
expenses.
Article48
The natural gas investment tax rate for any taxable year
shall be determined on the basis of the internal rate of
return on the cumulative annual cash flows of the taxpayer
derived from natural gas investment activities. The tax
rate applicable to the taxpayer’s natural gas investment
tax basis will be in accordance with the following table:
|
Internal
rate of return(IRR)
|
Natural
Gas Investment Tax ( NGIT)
|
IRR
%
|
NGIT
%
|
IRR
%
|
NGIT
%
|
IRR
%
|
NGIT
%
|
|
8.0
or less
|
30.00
|
11.0
|
32.61
|
14.0
|
57.50
|
17.0
|
82.39
|
|
8.1
|
30.15
|
11.1
|
32.87
|
14.1
|
58.87
|
17.1
|
82.63
|
|
8.2
|
30.17
|
11.2
|
33.15
|
14.2
|
60.24
|
17.2
|
82.85
|
|
8.3
|
30.18
|
11.3
|
33.46
|
14.3
|
61.59
|
17.3
|
83.04
|
|
8.4
|
30.20
|
11.4
|
33.80
|
14.4
|
62.93
|
17.4
|
83.22
|
|
8.5
|
30.22
|
11.5
|
34.17
|
14.5
|
64.24
|
17.5
|
83.39
|
|
8.6
|
30.25
|
11.6
|
34.57
|
14.6
|
65.51
|
17.6
|
83.54
|
|
8.7
|
30.27
|
11.7
|
35.01
|
14.7
|
66.75
|
17.7
|
83.67
|
|
8.8
|
30.30
|
11.8
|
35.49
|
14.8
|
67.95
|
17.8
|
83.80
|
|
8.9
|
30.33
|
11.9
|
36.00
|
14.9
|
69.10
|
17.9
|
83.91
|
|
9.0
|
30.37
|
12.0
|
36.56
|
15.0
|
70.21
|
18.0
|
84.01
|
|
9.1
|
30.41
|
12.1
|
37.16
|
15.1
|
71.26
|
18.1
|
84.10
|
|
9.2
|
30.45
|
12.2
|
37.80
|
15.2
|
72.27
|
18.2
|
84.19
|
|
9.3
|
30.50
|
12.3
|
38.50
|
15.3
|
73.22
|
18.3
|
84.26
|
|
9.4
|
30.55
|
12.4
|
39.24
|
15.4
|
74.12
|
18.4
|
84.33
|
|
9.5
|
30.60
|
12.5
|
40.03
|
15.5
|
74.97
|
18.5
|
84.40
|
|
9.6
|
30.67
|
12.6
|
40.88
|
15.6
|
75.76
|
18.6
|
84.45
|
|
9.7
|
30.74
|
12.7
|
41.78
|
15.7
|
76.50
|
18.7
|
84.50
|
|
9.8
|
30.81
|
12.8
|
42.73
|
15.8
|
77.20
|
18.8
|
84.55
|
|
9.9
|
30.90
|
12.9
|
43.74
|
15.9
|
77.84
|
18.9
|
84.59
|
|
10.0
|
30.99
|
13
|
44.79
|
16.0
|
78.44
|
19.0
|
84.63
|
|
10.1
|
31.09
|
13.1
|
45.90
|
16.1
|
79.00
|
19.1
|
84.67
|
|
10.2
|
31.20
|
13.2
|
47.05
|
16.2
|
79.51
|
19.2
|
84.70
|
|
10.3
|
31.33
|
13.3
|
48.25
|
16.3
|
79.99
|
19.3
|
84.73
|
|
10.4
|
31.46
|
13.4
|
49.49
|
16.4
|
80.43
|
19.4
|
84.75
|
|
10.5
|
31.61
|
13.5
|
50.76
|
16.5
|
80.83
|
19.5
|
84.78
|
|
10.6
|
31.78
|
13.6
|
52.07
|
16.6
|
81.20
|
19.6
|
84.80
|
|
10.7
|
31.96
|
13.7
|
53.41
|
16.7
|
81.54
|
19.7
|
84.82
|
|
10.8
|
32.15
|
13.8
|
54.76
|
16.8
|
81.85
|
19.8
|
84.83
|
|
10.9
|
32.37
|
13.9
|
56.13
|
16.9
|
82.13
|
19.9
|
84.85
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20.0
or higher
|
85.00
|
Cumulative annual cash flows shall mean the aggregation of
the annual cash flows of the taxpayer subject to the
natural gas investment tax for each year starting from the
tax return of the first year of the taxpayer for which he
is subject to the natural gas investment tax to the year
that precedes the year in which the tax return is due for
presentation.
The internal rate of return is that discount rate that
causes the net present value of these cumulative annual
cash flows, discounted to the start of the year of the
first such cash flow, to be zero, and then rounded to the
nearest tenth of a percent.
Article 49
The annual cash flows shall be calculated by adjusting the
natural gas investment tax basis as follows:
(a) Adding back any operational losses carried from
previous years in accordance with the Ministerial
Council’s Decision number (3) dated 3/1/1421 (10 April
2000).
(b) Adding back non-cash items deducted for the purpose of
determining the taxpayer’s natural gas investment tax
basis.
(c) Adding back all financing fees and any other bank
service fees.
(d) Subtracting capitalized cash expenditures except
financing fees and any other bank service fees.
(e) Subtracting the natural gas investment tax and the
corporate income tax actually paid.
Article 50
(a) Income tax stipulated under Article 7(b) of this Law
shall be applied to natural gas investment tax base of a
taxpayer subject to natural gas investment tax.
(b) The tax amount paid by a taxpayer on natural gas
investment tax base in accordance with paragraph (a) of
this Article shall be credited against the natural gas
investment tax payable by the taxpayer.
Article 51
(a) For the purpose of determining the natural gas
investment tax, the taxpayer’s natural gas investment
tax basis for each gas exploration and production contract
or agreement with the Government shall be deemed
independent of the natural gas investment tax basis or any
other gas exploration and production contract or agreement
and such taxpayer shall file separate tax returns and
audited final accounts for the activities under each gas
exploration and production contract or agreement.
(b) A taxpayer’s natural gas investment tax basis shall
be independent of the tax basis for its other activities
that are not related to its natural gas investment
activity, and such taxpayer shall file tax returns and
audited final accounts for its natural gas investment tax
activity separate from its other activities.
Article 52
A taxpayer is subject to income tax stipulated under
Article 7(b) of this Law on the following:
(a) Income from the processing and fractionation of
natural gas in a permitted independent plant.
(b) Income derived from the transportation of natural gas
for third parties through a permitted independent
pipeline.
Article 53
The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to any
company engaged in the production of petroleum, or the
production of both petroleum and natural gas, with respect
to such company’s activities within its respective area
of operations or concession area, as that is delineated on
the effective date of this Law.
Article 54
The provision of Article 7 (c) of this Law shall not apply
to the gas investment tax basis for any taxpayer who is
subject to the gas investment tax.
Article 55
Where no provision is stated in this Chapter, the
provisions of Articles of other Chapters of this Law shall
apply.
Chapter
11 : GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 56: Administration of Tax
The Department is responsible for the administration,
examination, assessment, and collection of income tax.
Article 57: Registration
(a) Every person subject to tax in accordance with this
Law must register with the Department before the end of
its first fiscal year.
(b) The provisions of this Article do not apply to
taxpayers who are subject only to final withholding
provisions under Article 68 of this Law.
(c) Failure to register is subject to a penalty ranging
from 1000 to 10.000 Saudi riyals. The By-law specifies the
controls and exact amount of penalty on different types of
taxpayers.
Article
58: Accounts and Records
(a) A taxpayer, other than a non resident with no
permanent establishment in the Kingdom, must maintain in
Arabic commercial books and accounting records as may be
necessary for the accurate determination of the tax
payable by the taxpayer.
(b) The Department has the right not to allow a deduction
if the taxpayer is unable without reasonable excuse to
produce a receipt or other record of the transaction, or
to produce evidence relating to the circumstances giving
rise to the claim for the deduction.
Article 59: Secrecy of Information
(a) The Department and all its staff must keep secrecy of
information concerning taxpayers which they have received
in an official capacity, and may disclose the information
only to the following persons:
1. to employees of the Department in the
course, and for the purpose, of carrying out their duties
under tax law;
2. to employees of the Customs
Department, for the purpose of enforcing the customs laws;
3. to the General Audit Bureau, for the
purpose of auditing and reviewing the Department’s
operation as authorized.
4. to the tax authorities of a foreign
country in accordance with an international treaty in
which the Kingdom is a party;
5. to law enforcement agencies, for the
purpose of the prosecution of a criminal tax offense;
6. to any judicial agency in the
Kingdom, upon its order in a proceeding to establish a
taxpayer's tax liability, in another administrative
proceeding, or in a criminal proceeding.
(b) A person receiving information under paragraph (a) of
this Article is required to maintain secrecy except to the
minimum extent necessary to achieve the object for which
disclosure is permitted.
(c) Information concerning a taxpayer may be disclosed to
another person with the taxpayer's written consent.
Chapter
12 : DECLARATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, OBJECTIONS and APPEALS
Article 60: Declarations
(a) Every taxpayer who is required to file a declaration
shall file a declaration in the prescribed form, using the
prescribed Taxpayer Identification Number, and pay the
amount shown thereon to the Department.
(b) The tax declaration must be filed and the tax paid on
or before the 120th day following the end of the taxable
year for which the declaration was made.
(c) The following taxpayers are required to file a tax
declaration:
(1) a resident capital company.
(2) a nonresident with a permanent
establishment in the Kingdom.
(3) a resident non-Saudi natural person
who does business.
(d) A taxpayer who ceases business activity is required to
notify the Department within 60 days of the date on which
activity was ceased. The taxpayer is also required to
present, within this 60-day period, a tax declaration for
the short taxable year ending with the date of cessation.
(e) In the case of a taxpayer whose income subject to tax
exceeds one million Saudi riyals, the declaration must be
certified as correct by a chartered accountant who is
licensed to practice in the Kingdom.
(f) An information declaration required to be filed by a
personal company under article (36) of this Law must be
filed on or before the 60th day following the end of the
personal company’s taxable year.
Article 61: Department’s Right to Information
(a) All persons and government agencies are required to
provide the Department with any information related to tax
if requested by the Department for purposes of taxation
according to this Law.
(b) The Department has the right to examine any
taxpayer’s books and records during working hours for
purposes of ascertaining the correctness of the
taxpayer’s tax liability.
(c) All persons and government agencies are required to
provide the Department with information on any contracts
they might conclude with private sector entities within 3
months of the date of conclusion of the contract. The
information shall include names and addresses of the two
parties, subject of contract, financial terms and starting
and completion dates. A person who fails to make the
report required by this paragraph, or who fails to inform
the Department of the date of cessation of work under the
contract, is jointly liable for any tax due on the
contract. The By-law specifies controls and procedures to
implement this obligation.
Article 62: Examination and assessment procedures
(a) The Department has the right to correct and adjust the
tax shown on the declaration to conform to the provisions
of this Law, or to assess tax where no return has been
filed.
(b) The Department must notify the taxpayer of tax
assessment under paragraph (a) of this Article and tax due
by registered letter or by other means that provide for a
receipt by the taxpayer of the notice.
(c) Subject to Article 65 of this Law, if it has become
clear to the Department that the tax it accepted before is
incorrect, the Department has the right to make an
additional assessment. The taxpayer shall be notified of
the additional assessment and the reasons for it, and
shall have the right to object as stipulated in the rules
for objection.
Article 63: Measures Against Tax Avoidance
(a) For the purposes of determining tax liability, the
Department has the right:
(1) to disregard a transaction that has
no tax effect; or
(2) to reclassify according to its
reality a transaction whose form does not reflect its
substance.
(b) If a taxpayer fails to make a timely filing of his
declaration, or keeps inaccurate accounts and records, or
does not keep accounts and records in the required form
and manner, the Department has the right to make an
assessment of tax payable based upon an estimate according
to the relevant facts and circumstances.
(c) In any transaction between related parties or parties
under common control, the Department may allocate income
or deductions between these parties as is necessary to
reflect the income that would have resulted from a
transaction between independent persons.
(d) A taxpayer is not permitted to deduct a loss on a
transaction involving the transfer of property between the
taxpayer and a related party. Unless otherwise provided,
the loss deduction is suspended until the related party
disposes of the property to an unrelated party.
(e) Where an individual taxpayer splits income with
another person, the Department may adjust the tax base of
the taxpayer and the other person to prevent any reduction
in tax payable as a result of income splitting.
(f) In this Article, income splitting means:
1. the transfer of income, directly or
indirectly, from one person to an associate; or
2. the transfer of property (including
money), directly or indirectly, from one person to an
associate with the result that the associate realizes
income from that property, where the reason or one of the
reasons for the transfer is to lower the total tax payable
upon the income of the transferor or the transferee.
(g) In determining whether the taxpayer is seeking to
split income, the Department may consider the value given
by the transferee.
Article 64: Related Persons and Persons Under Common
Control
(a) A natural person is considered related to any other
natural person who is a spouse or a brother-in-law, or a
relative to the fourth degree.
(b) A natural person and a company are considered related
persons in the following circumstances:
1. The personal company is one in which
the natural person is a partner who, either alone or
together with a related person or persons under this
Article, controls 50 percent or more of the rights to
income or capital of the personal company either directly
or indirectly through one or more subsidiaries of any type
of companies
2. The capital company is one in which
the natural person, either alone or together with a
related person or persons under this Article, controls 50
percent or more of the voting power or value in the
company, either directly or indirectly through one or more
subsidiaries of any type of companies
3. The trust that manages monies
consecrated for certain purposes is one under which the
natural person, either alone or together with a related
person or persons under this Article, benefits or is
capable of benefiting.
(c) Companies and trusts are considered to be under common
control if they are controlled 50 percent or more by the
same person or related persons under this Article as
follows:
1. With respect to personal companies,
control is the ownership of rights to income or capital of
the personal company, either directly or indirectly
through one or more subsidiaries of any type of companies.
2. With respect to capital companies,
control is the ownership of voting power or value in the
company, either directly or indirectly through one or more
subsidiaries of any type of companies.
3. With respect to trusts, that manage
monies consecrated for certain purposes, control is the
possession of a beneficial interest in the income or
assets of the trust.
Article 65: Period of Limitations
(a) The Department may, with a notice of justifications,
make or amend an assessment within five years of the end
of the filing period for the taxable year, or at any time
with the written consent of the taxpayer.
(b) The Department may make or amend an assessment within
ten years of the end of the filing period for the taxable
year if a required tax declaration was not filed or if the
tax declaration is found to be incomplete or incorrect
with the intent to evade tax.
(c) A taxpayer may request a refund of tax on the basis
that the taxpayer made an overpayment, at any time within
five years of the end of the taxable year.
Article 66: Objections and Appeals
(a) The taxpayer has the right to object to an assessment
within 60 days of receipt of the assessment letter. The
assessment will be final and the tax becomes payable if
the taxpayer agrees to the assessment or does not object
to it within the prescribed period.
(b) An objection is not considered valid unless the
taxpayer has paid the undisputed elements of the tax
assessment within the period for making the objection, or
has obtained an approval under Article 71 of this Law to
pay the tax in installments.
(c) The tax becomes payable after the issuance of the
resolution by the First Instance Committee. The tax is
final if not appealed within 60 days of receipt of the
mentioned resolution by either the taxpayer or the
Department
(d) Both the Department and the taxpayer have the right to
appeal the First Instance Committee resolution to the
Higher Appeal Committee within 60 days of receipt of the
resolution.
(e) The taxpayer who wants to appeal the First Instance
Committee resolution should appeal within the prescribed
period after payment of tax according to the resolution or
after submittal of an accepted bank guarantee of the
amount.
(f) The Higher Appeal Committee resolution becomes final
and binding unless it is appealed to the Bureau of
Grievances within 60 days of notice of the resolution.
Article
67: Formation and Responsibilities of Objection and Appeal
Committees
(a) The Minister issues resolutions to form the First
Instance Committees for settlement of tax disputes.
(b)The Council of Ministers issues a resolution, based on
recommendations by the Minister, to from a Higher Appeal
Committee (HAC) to look into objections by taxpayers or
the Department to resolutions issued by 1st Instance
Committees.
(c) The By-law specifies authorities, responsibilities and
work procedures for First Instance Committees and Higher
Appeal Committee as well as members’ qualifications,
experience and remuneration.
Chapter
13 : COLLECTION OF TAX
Article 68: Withholding Tax
(a)
Any resident, whether or not that person is a taxpayer
under this Law, any permanent establishment of a
non-resident in the Kingdom, and any natural person who
makes a payment to a non-resident from a source in the
Kingdom shall withhold tax from such payment according to
the following rates:
|
(1)
|
Rent
|
5%
|
|
(2)
|
Royalty
|
15%
|
|
(3)
|
management
fee
|
20%
|
|
(4)
|
Payments
for air tickets, air freight and maritime
freight
|
5%
|
|
(5)
|
Payments
for international telecommunications services
|
5%
|
|
(6)
|
Any
other payments specified in the By-Law
|
Not
to exceed 15%
|
In the case of payments made by a natural person, the
withholding requirement under this Article applies to the
payments made in the course of the person’s business
activity.
(b) A person withholding tax under this Article shall
(1) register with and pay to the
Department the amount withheld during the first 10 days of
the month following the month of payment to the recipient.
(2) provide the recipient with a
certificate, stating the amount of the payment and the
amount of tax withheld;
(3) at the end of the tax year, provide
to the Department the name, address, and where appropriate
the recipient’s registration number(unique number), if
available, along with any additional information the
Department may require; and
(4) Maintain the records that are
required to ascertain the correctness of withheld tax as
required by the By-Law.
(c) A person required to withhold tax under this Article
is personally liable for the amount of tax outstanding and
any delay penalties in accordance with Article 77 (a) of
this Law if he
1. fails to withhold tax as required, or
2. having withheld tax, fails to pay the
tax to the Department as required,
3. fails to report such withholding
under subparagraph b(3) of this Article.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this Article, if tax
is not withheld as required by this Article, the recipient
remains liable to the Department for the tax and the
Department may recover the tax from him, his agent or
sponsor.
(e) Subject to paragraphs (f) and (g) of this Article,
where a payment is made to a non-resident and tax is
withheld under this article, that tax is a final tax and
no further tax liability shall be imposed in respect of
the income to which the tax relates; and no refund of tax
shall be made in respect of the payment.
(f) Where a payment to which this Article refers is made
to a non-resident which carries on business in the Kingdom
through a permanent establishment, and that payment is
directly connected with such business, that payment shall
be taxed as part of the tax base of the non-resident.
(g) If tax is withheld from a payment that is included in
the tax base of a taxpayer, the tax withheld shall be
credited against the taxpayer's liability in respect of
the tax base.
(h) For purposes of this Article and Article 5 of this
Law, services means anything done for consideration other
than purchase or sale of goods or other property.
Article 69: Tax Payment
A taxpayer must pay his due tax in accordance with the
declaration (return) within 120 days of the end of his tax
year.
Article 70: Advance Payments of Tax
(a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) of this Article, a
taxpayer who derives income in tax year is liable to make
three advance payments of tax on the last day of the
sixth, ninth and twelfth months of the tax year, the
amount of each payment being:
25% x (A – B) where :
A is equal to the
taxpayer’s tax for the preceding year in accordance with
the taxpayer’s return; and
B is equal to the
amount of such tax as was paid in the preceding year by
withholding at source under Article 68 of this Law.
(b) A taxpayer is not liable to make advance payments
under paragraph (a) of this Article if the amount of each
payment, calculated in accordance with paragraph (a)
above, would be less than 500.000 Saudi riyals.
(c) The Department may reduce the amount of any advance
payments payable under this Article if it is satisfied
that the taxpayer’s income for the tax year, other than
income in respect of which tax is withheld at source under
article 68 of this Law, will be substantially less than
the amount of income for the preceding tax year.
(d) An advance payment of tax paid pursuant to this
Article is credited against the total tax assessed to the
taxpayer for the tax year to which the payment relates.
(e) The provisions of this Law relating to collection and
recovery of income tax apply to the collection and
recovery of any advance payment of tax.
Article 71 - Payment of Tax in Installments
(a) The Minister may, based on justified grounds, allow
payment of amounts payable by a taxpayer in installments
according to controls and terms specified in the By-law.
The Minister may delegate this authority or part of it to
the Director General of the Department. The Minister or
his delegate may revoke an installment arrangement if it
is found that the arrangement will injure the public
treasury.
(b) The allowance of payment of tax in installments under
this Article does not suspend the taxpayer’s liability
to pay the penalty for delay pursuant to Article 77 (a) of
this Law for the period of installments.
Article 72: Refund of Overpayment
In the case of an overpayment of tax, the taxpayer is
entitled to a refund of the excess amount together with
compensation at the rate of 1 percent for each 30 days,
beginning 30 days after the date the refund was requested
and continuing until the refund is paid to the taxpayer.
Article 73: Levy on the Taxpayer's Property
(a) If the taxpayer fails to pay a tax due by the date
prescribed by the Law, the Department has the right to
levy on the taxpayer's movable and immovable property as
allowed by Shariah (Jurisprudence). The Department
may proceed to a levy after 20 days of a receipt by the
taxpayer of the Department’s notice of its intention to
levy.
(b) A person (including banks or other financial
institutions) in possession of a property on which a levy
has been made must surrender the property to the
Department when it so demands.
(c) A bank or a financial institution must refrain from
allowing withdrawals or other payments from the taxpayer's
bank account after receiving notice of intention to levy
against that account.
(d) A person who fails to comply with a demand under
paragraph (b) or (c) of this Article is liable to the
Department in the amount of the value of the property in
its possession, but not in excess of the amount for the
collection of which the levy is made.
(e) Tools used in the taxpayer's trade, as well as the
taxpayer's personal effects and furnishings, are exempt
from levy, up to a value of 300,000 Saudi riyal.
Article 74: Sale of seized property
(a) The Department, through the competent authority, shall
sell property seized pursuant to a levy.
(b) The sales proceeds are applied first against the
expenses of the levy and sale, then against the liability
for tax and penalties. Any excess is returned to the
taxpayer.
(c) Pending the administrative or judicial review of the
assessment on the basis of which a levy has been made,
sale of the taxpayer's property is suspended, except for
1. property which is subject to
spoilage; and
2. property which the taxpayer directs
the Department to sell.
Article 75: Levy on Amounts Due to the Taxpayer
(a) Pursuant to a levy, the Department has the right to
issue a notice to third parties (including an employer,
banks or financial institutions) ordering direct payment
to the Department of any amount that the third party owes
the taxpayer on or after the date of receipt of the notice
of levy.
(b) A notice may be issued on the taxpayer's employer.
Such a notice may be specified as valid for a specified
period.
(c) The taxpayer’s living expenses and the monthly
payment for living expenses of dependents as stipulated by
provisions of other effective Laws are not subject to
seizure.
(d) A person complying with the requirements of this
Article or Articles 73 and 74 of this Law is, from the
time of compliance, discharged from any obligation to the
taxpayer or any other person to the extent of the value of
property under levy.
Chapter
14 : PENALTIES
Article 76: Penalty for failure to file
(a) In the case of failure to comply with Article 60 (a),
(b), (d) and (e) of this Law, there shall be a penalty
imposed on the taxpayer equal to 1 percent of his gross
receipts and not to exceed 20.000 Saudi riyal.
(b) In the case of failure to file the declaration within
the prescribed time, a penalty is imposed in lieu of the
penalty stipulated under paragraph (a) of this article
whenever the penalty under paragraph (a) is less than the
penalty under this paragraph and will be as follows:
1. 5% of the underpayment of tax if the
delay is for up to 30 days after the due date;
2. 10% of the underpayment of tax if the
delay is more than 30 and no more than 90 days after the
due date;
3. 20% of the underpayment of tax if the
delay is more than 90 and no more than 365 days after the
due date;
4. 25% of the underpayment of tax if the
delay is more than 365 days after the due date.
(c) The underpayment of tax is the difference between the
amount of tax determined to be due under this Law and the
amount of tax that has been paid on or before the due date
as prescribed in Article 60 (b) of this Law.
Article 77: Penalties for delay and for fraud
(a) In addition to the penalties stipulated in Article 76
and in paragraph (b) of this Article, the taxpayer will be
required to pay a penalty for delay of 1 percent for each
30 days of the delay on unpaid tax, including delay in
paying over tax required to be withheld, and advance
installments of tax, measured from the due date of the tax
until the time the tax is paid.
(b) In addition to the penalties stipulated in Article 76
and in paragraph (a) of this Article, a penalty is imposed
in the amount of 25% of the difference in tax resulting
from misrepresentation or fraud committed by the taxpayer
or its chartered accountant with the intention to evade
taxes, and in particular for the following offences:
1. submitting books, records, accounts
or documents that are not true and do not reflect the true
status of the taxpayer;
2. filing a return on a basis that the
taxpayer has no books and records and including
information that contradicts what the taxpayer’s books
and records show;
3. filing artificial or fake invoices or
other documents or changing invoices (sale or purchase) or
other documents with the intention to understate profits
or overstate losses;
4. failing to report an activity or
activities that are taxable;
5. damaging or hiding of books, records
or documents before the Department examines them.
Article 78: Obligations of the Accounting Profession
Subject to the Kingdom’s Chartered Accountants Code, the
Department has the right to judicially pursue any
chartered accountant who is proven to have certified or
presented statements that are not true or in violation of
recognized accounting principles with the intention to
help the taxpayer evade all or part of his tax.
Chapter
15 : AUTHORITIES OF THE MINISTER
Article 79: Authority of the Minister
The Minister has the following authorities:
(a) Issuance of By-laws of this Law.
(b) Issuing instructions and taking measures necessary to
put this Law into effect.
(c) Changing depreciation groups and rates of Article (17)
of this Law.
(d) Writing off amounts of taxes and penalties that have
been determined to be un-collectable. The By-law specifies
cases that are not collectable.
(e) Giving awards based on recommendations by the
Department’s Director General to employees for
outstanding performance. The By-law specifies conditions
and controls for such awards.
Chapter
16 : CONCLUDING PROVISIONS
Article 80: Effective Date
1. This Law will be published in the official gazette and
be effective after 90 days of the date of publication.
2. This Law applies to tax years beginning after the
effective date of this Law. Tax years starting on or
before the effective date of this Law will be subject to
the provisions of tax laws in effect prior to this Law.
3. This Law repeals the Income Tax Regulations issued
under Royal Decree no. 3321, dated 21/ 1/1370 H [2
November 1950]. and amendments, and the Additional Income
Tax on Companies engaged in production of oil and
hydrocarbons issued under Royal Decree no. 7634, dated 16/
3/ 1370 H and amendments, and the Natural Gas Investment
Tax Law issued under Royal Decree no. M/37, dated 25th
Jumada II, 1424 (23rd August 2003).
4. Withholding provisions of Article 68 of this Law will
be effective as of the effective date of this Law.
Article 81: Transitional provisions
1. In the case of an asset that was acquired by a taxpayer
in a taxable year prior to the entry into force of this
Law, the amount to be included in the appropriate group is
the cost of the asset, less any depreciation deduction
previously claimed in respect of the asset.
2. Operational losses incurred before the entry into force
of Council of Ministers’ resolution number 3, dated
5/01/1421 H. can not be carried over.
3. Operational losses incurred during a tax holiday can
not be carried over.