The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) published a tax alert on the refund of Saudi Arabian VAT to non-residents who do not have a presence in the country but incurred VAT in relation to their economic activity. The alert is currently available in Arabic only.
The alert explained the eligibility and process of refund for non-residents who have been liable to pay VAT within Saudi Arabia for their economic activities.
We believe the alert could be viewed as a de facto announcement of ZATCA's readiness to start processing the refund of VAT to non-residents (subject to conditions) which is welcomed as a positive new development. It also provides some detail on ZATCA’s set of requirements for the refund to be processed.
The alert opens the door for obtaining a refund for non-residents. It would decrease the pressure on international business costs arising from the current practice of limitation of zero-rating of services provided to non-residents. Still, meeting the requirements would involve substantial preparation: such as substantiating economic activity to be performed outside Saudi Arabia only, proving reciprocity of the foreign legislation enabling Saudi businesses to refund similar VAT/GST in a respective foreign country, etc.
KPMG is ready to assist the businesses in recovering Saudi Arabian VAT; reducing their costs and enabling new transactional models.
Get in touch
Riyadh Office
Tariq Al Sunaid Head of Tax
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Ali Sainudheen Senior Director, Domestic Tax |
Salam Eido Senior Director, Domestic Tax
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Oleg Shmal Director, Head of Indirect Taxes |
Stefan El Khouri Senior Director, Head of Transfer Pricing
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Amr Alsaleh Director, Domestic Tax |
Jeddah Office
Faisal Tanvir Senior Director, Domestic Tax |
Muhammad Masood Director, Domestic Tax
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Fouad Yaman Director, Domestic Tax |
Khobar Office
Mohammad Kamran Sial Senior Director, Domestic Tax |
Mohamed Gouda Director, Domestic Tax
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Anil Bahl Director, Indirect Tax |