On 10 September 2023, Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) issued a statement urging all taxpayers subject to tax laws to take advantage of the “Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Financial Penalties Initiative” that is ending on 31 December 2023.

The Authority has also clarified that the fines covered by the exemption decision, according to the Authority, include fines for late registration in all tax systems, late payment, late filing of returns fines in all tax systems, 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 in order to take advantage of it, a taxpayer had to be registered with the tax system and submit all previously unsubmitted returns to the Authority. As well as paying all the principal tax debt associated with the returns that will be submitted or modified to accurately disclose the outstanding tax liabilities, taxpayers have the option of requesting an installment payment plan from the Authority. 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.

The Authority 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, clarifying the conditions for benefiting from the exempt fines and the steps for installment financial dues, as well as introducing the field control violations.

The Authority has urged all taxpayers to benefit from the initiative during the allotted time, which ends at the end of December, and has also urged them to contact it if they have any inquiries via the unified call center number (19993), which is available 24/7, or through the X account (@Zatca_Care), e-mail (info@zatca.gov.sa), or instant conversations through the ZATCA’s website (zatca.gov.sa​).