On 30 November 2022, Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced the extension of tax penalty relief measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, the taxpayers can be exempted from fines and financial penalties for additional six months from 1 December 2022 to 31 May 2023. The ZATCA also issued an updated version of the Simplified Guide on Exemption of Penalties Initiative. The Guide is part of incentive initiatives taken by ZATCA to mitigate the financial implications resulting from COVID-19 that affected the establishment.
Exemption from unpaid fines, including:
- from late registration fines in all tax systems;
- from fines for late payment and late filing of declarations in all tax systems;
- from the value-added tax return correction fine; and
- from fines for field control violations of VAT and electronic billing.
Types of taxes included in the initiative:
- Value-added tax (VAT);
- Withholding tax;
- Excise tax;
- Income tax; and
- Real estate transaction tax (RETT).
