Overview

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority of Saudi Arabia (ZATCA) has extended the waiver of the Fines and Penalties Initiative, which expired on 31 May 2023, in accordance with a Ministerial Resolution dated 14 July 2023. The initiative is extended during the period from 1 June 2023 until 31 December 2023.

Applicability:

The tax amnesty extension is applicable to penalties relating to Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Withholding Tax (WHT), Value-added Tax (VAT), Excise tax and Real Estate Transaction Tax (RETT).

Following is the detail of fines to which this amnesty extension initiative applies:

  • Late registration fines.
  • Payment delay fines and fines related to delay in filing tax returns.
  • VAT returns amendment fines.
  • VAT field detection and E-invoicing regulations violations fines.

It is important to highlight that the above incentives are applicable for the amendments of any tax returns, either made by the taxpayer under the tax amnesty initiative or by ZATCA through assessments or reassessments.

Fines exclusion from tax amnesty:

Tax amnesty initiative excludes the following fines:

  • Fines paid before the effective date of the initial amnesty initiative on 1 June 2022.
  • Tax evasion fines.
  • Fines associated with returns due after 1 June 2023.

Mandatory requirements:

To benefit from this tax amnesty, the following are the mandatory requirements:

  • Registration of business with ZATCA for the applicable taxes.
  • Submission of outstanding returns along with payment of due tax liability or applying for an installment plan.

Note: It is important to note that taxpayers have the right to make payment of due taxes in installments according to an installment plan approved by ZATCA, and the taxpayers will benefit from a waiver of late payment penalties for the installments due after the end of December 2023. 

How can KPMG support ?

We consider the extension of the amnesty initiative as an opportunity for your business to ensure compliance with tax laws and regulations.

Our tax team will be available to support your business in the below activities to avail the benefits of this amnesty.

  • Review of the assessments raised by ZATCA to evaluate the benefit of availing the amnesty.
  • Health check review for your submitted tax returns.
  • Review and submission of any outstanding returns.
  • Review and submission of amended returns, where needed.
  • Assist in the submission of the installment plan with ZATCA.

For any additional information with respect to this alert, please contact our tax team as follows:  

Riyadh Office

Tareq Al Sunaid

Head of Tax

E: talsunaid@kpmg.com

Ali Sainudheen

Senior Director, Domestic Tax

E: asainudheen@kpmg.com

Salam Eido

Senior Director, Head of Tax and Zakat - Riyadh

E: seido@kpmg.com

 

Oleg Shmal

Director, Head of Indirect Taxes

E: oshmal@kpmg.com

Stefan El Khouri

Senior Director, Head of Transfer Pricing

E: selkhouri@kpmg.com

 

Amr Alsaleh

Director, Domestic Tax

E: amralsaleh@kpmg.com

Jeddah Office

Faisal Tanvir

Senior Director, Head of Tax - Jeddah

E: ftanvir@kpmg.com

Muhammad Masood                                

Director, Domestic Tax                                  

E: muhammadmasood@kpmg.com

 

Fouad Yaman

Director, Domestic Tax

E: fyaman@kpmg.com

Anan Sijini

Director, Domestic Tax

E: asijini@kpmg.com

Khobar Office

Mohammad Kamran Sial

Senior Director, Head of Tax - Khobar

E: ksial@kpmg.com

Mohamed Gouda

Director, Domestic Tax

E: mohamedgouda@kpmg.com

 

Anil Bahl

Director, Indirect Tax

E: anilbahl@kpmg.com