On 12 March 2024, the Saudi Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority (ZATCA) in a release urged all taxpayers to leverage from the “Cancellation of Fines and E-invoicing of Penalties Initiative.” This initiative will end on 30 June 2024.

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

The Initiative stipulated that for a taxpayer to benefit from the exemption, taxpayers had to be registered with the tax law and submit all previously unsubmitted returns to ZATCA, as well as paying all the principal tax debt associated with the outstanding returns.

Taxpayers can also request an installment plan from ZATCA as long as the application is submitted while the initiative is still in effect and all due installments are paid by the due dates specified in the Authority-approved installment plan. It is important 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 details of the initiative through the simplified guideline available on its website, which includes a detailed explanation of the most important aspects of the decision; such as the types of penalties that are included in the decision, the conditions for benefiting from the exempt fines and the steps for installment financial dues, and field control violations.

On 29 December 2023, Saudi Arabi’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced the extension of the “Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Penalties initiative until 30 June 2024.