Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority

The Cryptographic Stamp Identifier is either not yet issued or has been revoked. On the FATOORAH portal > Onboarding, request a new CSID — it requires Nafath signature from the authorised signatory and an OTP sent to the registered TIN mobile. Once issued, install the certificate on every device that submits invoices; each device needs its own CSID.

Check three layers in order: SADAD payment status (must show 'paid' not 'pending'), GOSI clearance (unpaid social insurance blocks the certificate), and Najiz commercial registration validity (an expired CR blocks the certificate). Fix each layer and the certificate posts within 24 hours.

Open the declaration on FASAH and file an amendment with the corrected 12-digit HS code. ZATCA recalculates the duty automatically; pay any difference through the new SADAD reference. If the inspection finds the goods materially different from the declaration, expect a re-classification fine of 1% to 100% of the duty value depending on intent.

The closing balance of one return must match the opening of the next. The most common cause is a corrective journal posted to a prior period after the return was filed. Reopen the prior return through Voluntary Disclosure, reconcile to the trial balance, and refile both periods in sequence.

Settle the principal liability through SADAD; the SAMA freeze is lifted within 48 hours. For liabilities above SAR 50,000, file a payment-in-instalments request on the Taxpayer Portal before settlement to spread the load over up to 24 months — ZATCA approval usually arrives in 10 working days and lifts the Iqama block at the Muqeem layer.

The certificate is only generated after the monthly WHT return is filed and the deducted amount is settled. If the return is filed but the certificate is missing, confirm the supplier's name, country, and amount in the return match the underlying invoice; mismatches block certificate generation. Refile the return with the corrected lines if needed.

Late filing of a VAT return triggers a flat SAR 1,000 minimum penalty plus 5% per month on unpaid VAT, capped at 25% of the underlying amount. Late payment runs a separate 5%-per-month line on the unpaid principal. If your missed return falls inside the Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Financial Penalties Initiative window — currently extended to 30 June 2025 and likely to extend further into {year} — file the missing return on the Taxpayer Portal, pay the principal VAT through SADAD, and the late-filing and late-payment penalties are automatically waived. Penalties for VAT-field errors (incorrect input claims) are also covered, but the 50% evasion penalty is not. Check the amnesty status before filing — if it has lapsed, the cheapest route is voluntary disclosure before ZATCA opens an audit, which avoids the evasion-grade penalties.

The Zakat Certificate (Shahadat Al-Zakat) is issued automatically on the Taxpayer Portal once the most recent annual zakat return is filed and the assessed amount is settled through SADAD. For Saudi and GCC-owned entities the certificate is mandatory for Etimad supplier registration, government tender bids, final payments under existing government contracts, and the final exit visa of a Saudi shareholder. If the certificate is not appearing in your portal, three causes account for almost every case: the prior-year return is not filed, the SADAD payment is sitting in pending status, or the GOSI cross-check has flagged unpaid social insurance contributions. Settle each layer and the certificate is issued within 24 to 72 hours. Validity is one Hijri year from issue.

Wave 24 of the FATOORAH integration phase applies to VAT-registered taxpayers whose taxable turnover in any of 2022, 2023, or 2024 exceeded SAR 375,000. The integration deadline is 30 June 2026. The threshold check is on any one of the three years, not the latest — many SMEs that dropped below SAR 375,000 in 2024 still qualify if they crossed it in 2022 or 2023. Once notified by ZATCA you have 6 months to onboard a compliant solution, complete CSID issuance on the FATOORAH portal, and start clearing B2B invoices in real time and reporting B2C invoices within 24 hours. Wave 24 effectively brings every VAT-registered business into the integration regime, so plan procurement of a ZATCA-certified solution provider before the {year} rush.

A Saudi-registered entity owned partly by Saudi or GCC nationals and partly by non-GCC foreigners files both declarations on the same ZATCA portal in parallel. The Saudi and GCC ownership share pays zakat at 2.5% of the zakat base (net working capital and adjusted equity under ministerial decision 2216). The non-GCC ownership share pays corporate income tax at 20% of taxable profit. The split is by shareholding percentage and is calculated automatically once the shareholder register matches the Najiz commercial registration. Both declarations are due within 120 days of the financial year-end. Wholly Saudi or GCC-owned companies file only zakat; wholly foreign-owned (Premium Residency or MISA-licensed) companies file only income tax.

Mandatory registration is required only when taxable supplies cross SAR 375,000 in any rolling 12-month period. Voluntary registration is available from SAR 187,500. Below SAR 187,500 you are out of scope. Voluntary registration is worth considering if you make B2B sales — most VAT-registered buyers prefer suppliers who can issue a tax invoice they can recover input VAT against, and you become eligible to recover the 15% input VAT on your own purchases. The trade-off is the quarterly return-filing obligation and the FATOORAH integration that catches you in Wave 24 from 30 June 2026 onward. If you sell mainly to consumers (B2C), voluntary registration usually costs more than it saves.

Open the FASAH dashboard inside the Taxpayer Portal and find the declaration by container number or bill of lading. The hold reason appears in the timeline. The four most common reasons are: HS code mismatch (the declared 12-digit code does not match the inspected goods — file an amendment with the correct code), missing certificate of origin (re-issue from the exporter's chamber of commerce, embassy-attested for non-GCC origins), duty not paid (a SADAD reference is generated on declaration; pay through your bank), or SFDA / SASO standards conformity certificate missing (for food, cosmetics, electronics — file the relevant Saber certificate through the linked Saber platform). Once cleared, the port releases the shipment within 24 hours.

After the monthly withholding tax return is filed and the deducted amount is settled through SADAD by the 10th of the following month, the Taxpayer Portal generates a downloadable WHT certificate per supplier. The certificate carries the foreign supplier's name, the gross amount, the WHT rate (5%, 15%, or 20%), and the deducted tax — the foreign supplier needs this to claim a foreign tax credit or treaty relief in their home country. Issue it within 30 days of payment. If you forgot to deduct WHT on the original invoice, you cannot retroactively shift the burden onto the supplier — the Saudi payer becomes liable for the full tax plus penalty under article 68 of the Income Tax Law.

Most entertainment, staff meals, and personal-use items are blocked from input VAT recovery under the VAT Implementing Regulations article 50. Specifically blocked: restaurant meals and entertainment for clients, hotel rooms for personal travel, private vehicle leases, household goods, and any expense without a valid tax invoice. Staff training, business travel airfare, business mobile phones, and office supplies are recoverable. The single most common audit adjustment ZATCA makes on input VAT is rejecting client-entertainment claims that should have been blocked at source. Build the recovery rules into your ERP at invoice booking time rather than relying on the year-end clean-up.

ZATCA allows two routes for correcting a filed VAT return. If the correction is below SAR 5,000 net VAT impact, adjust on the next return by adding a corrective line in the same VAT category — no separate filing required. If the impact exceeds SAR 5,000 or relates to an earlier year, file a Voluntary Disclosure through the Taxpayer Portal within 20 days of discovering the error. Voluntary disclosure before ZATCA opens an audit caps the penalty at the standard late-payment band (5% per month on unpaid VAT) and avoids the 50% evasion penalty. Keep the supporting workings — ZATCA can request the trial balance and the original supplier invoices that triggered the correction.

Excise applies at 100% on tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and energy drinks, and at 50% on sweetened drinks (including most soft drinks and flavoured juices with added sugar). The importer pays the excise on first import through a separate ZATCA filing — the customs declaration on FASAH calculates excise, customs duty (5% under GCC tariff), and 15% VAT on the duty- and excise-inclusive value. Local manufacturers pay on first release from the factory. Excise is passed through the supply chain on the commercial invoice but is not separately recoverable as input — it is a final tax. Excise returns are filed bi-monthly through the Taxpayer Portal.

Yes, under the Tax Collection Procedures issued in 2020 ZATCA can request SAMA to freeze the Saudi bank accounts of a taxpayer with confirmed unpaid tax liabilities, after a 20-day notice period. For sole-proprietor establishments the owner's personal accounts can also be frozen. The Iqama and final exit of the Saudi or expat owner can be flagged through Muqeem — the final exit screen returns a generic block until ZATCA confirms clearance. The fix is settling the principal (the freeze is lifted within 48 hours of SADAD confirmation) and, if applicable, filing a payment-in-instalments request through the Taxpayer Portal for liabilities above SAR 50,000.

Yes, services to a customer in another GCC state with a fully implemented VAT regime (Bahrain, UAE, Oman) are intra-GCC supplies but are currently treated as exports under transitional rules — zero-rated for Saudi VAT, with the customer accounting for VAT in their home country under reverse charge. The transitional rule applies until the GCC-wide electronic services system is fully operational, which has been pending since 2018. Issue a zero-rated tax invoice with the customer's foreign VAT number, document the export evidence (contract, payment received from overseas account, service delivery records), and claim input VAT on related costs. Services to Kuwait and Qatar (no VAT regime) are also zero-rated as exports.

The annual zakat return is due within 120 days of the financial year-end — so 30 April for taxpayers on a 31 December year-end. Late filing triggers a 1% per month penalty on the unpaid zakat capped at 25%, plus a 5% monthly late-payment penalty on the unpaid principal. The Zakat Certificate cannot be issued until the return is filed and settled, which blocks Etimad supplier status, government tender participation, and final exit for Saudi shareholders. If you have missed the deadline, file immediately through the Taxpayer Portal — the penalty amnesty has historically covered late zakat filings and is expected to be extended into {year}.