​The Saudi Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced the extension of the Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Financial Penalties Initiative for taxpayers subject to all tax laws for six months until 31 December, 2024.

ZATCA stated that the extension of the initiative is motivated by its desire to help taxpayers who meet the requirements benefit from it to meet the initiative’s objectives, notably reducing the adverse economic impact on businesses of the Covid-19 pandemic.

ZATCA has also stated that the fines covered by the exemption decision include fines for late registration in all tax laws, late payment, late filing of returns in all tax laws, and fines to correct VAT returns, as well as fines for violations of field control related to applying the e-invoicing regulations and other general VAT provisions.

In order to benefit from the Initiative, the taxpayer must be registered at the tax law and submit all previously non-submitted returns to ZATCA. The taxpayer must also pay all the principal tax debt associated with the returns that will be submitted or modified to accurately disclose the outstanding tax liabilities.

Taxpayers can request an instalment payment plan from ZATCA as long as the application is submitted while the initiative is still in effect and all due instalments are paid by the due dates specified in the Authority-approved instalment plan.

It is essential to note that the Initiative excludes penalties related to tax evasion violations and fines paid before the Initiative’s effective date.

ZATCA has invited taxpayers to view the Initiative details in the simplified guideline that is available on its website. The Guideline includes a detailed explanation of the most important aspects of the decision, such as the types of penalties that are included in the decision, clarifying the conditions for benefiting from the exempt fines and the steps for instalment financial dues, as well as introducing the field control violations.