Saudi Arabia extends taxpayer penalty waiver for 6 months

The initiative includes exempting taxpayers from penalties related to late registration under all tax systems, late payment, and late filing of tax returns

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced the issuance of a decision by the Minister of Finance to extend the initiative to cancel fines and exempt taxpayers subject to all tax regulations from financial penalties for a period of six calendar months, effective as of today Jan. 1.

In an official statement, ZATCA clarified that the initiative includes exempting taxpayers from penalties related to late registration in all tax systems, late tax payments, and late filing of tax returns.

It also covers penalties for VAT return corrections, fines resulting from field inspection violations related to the application of electronic invoicing regulations, as well as other general VAT-related provisions.

To benefit from the initiative, taxpayers must be registered in the tax system, submit all tax returns required to be filed with the authority, and fully settle the principal amount of tax due related to outstanding tax returns.

Taxpayers may apply to the authority for an installment plan, provided that the request is submitted during the initiative’s validity period and that all installments are paid on time in accordance with the installment plan approved by ZATCA.

The authority emphasized that the initiative does not include fines related to tax evasion offenses, nor fines that were already paid prior to the effective date of this initiative.

ZATCA called on taxpayers to review the relevant details through the simplified guidance manual for the initiative, available on its official website. The manual provides a detailed explanation of the covered fines, exemption conditions, steps for installment requests, and illustrative examples of field control violations included in the waiver.