Government Relief Measures for KSA during COVID-19

The General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GZAT) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has announced a number of measures to assist businesses overcome the difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The due dates for filing tax returns that are due for periods ending between 18 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 have been extended for three (3) months. The concerned returns include those for:

Zakat and Corporate Income Tax
Withholding Tax
Value Added Tax
Excise Tax.

Accordingly, the above move will defer the payment dates of these taxes to GZAT thus relieving the pressure on corporations to secure and make these payments.

The following tax returns will be affected:

TAX	TAX RETURN PERIOD		DUE DATE	DEFERRED DUE DATE
Value Added Tax	1 January 2020	31 March 2020	30 April 2020	31 July 2020
Value Added Tax	1 February 2020	29 February 2020	31 March 2020	30 June 2020
Value Added Tax	1 March 2020	31 March 2020	30 April 2020	31 July 2020
Value Added Tax	1 April 2020	30 April 2020	31 May 2020	31 August 2020
Value Added Tax	1 May 2020	31 May 2020	30 June 2020	30 September 2020
Excise Tax	1 March 2020	30 April 2020	15 May 2020	15 August 2020
Withholding Tax	1 March 2020	31 March 2020	10 April 2020	10 July 2020
Withholding Tax	1 April 2020	30 April 2020	10 May 2020	10 August 2020
Withholding Tax	1 May 2020	31 May 2020	10 June 2020	10 September 2020
Zakat and Corporate Income Tax	1 January 2019	31 December 2019	30 April 2020	31 July 2020

Further measures introduced are as follows:

Fines resulting from delayed tax return submissions and tax payments have been suspended for the period from 18 March 2020 till 30 June 2020
Fines resulting from non-cooperation from a taxpayer and for examination by GZAT have been suspended for the period from 18 March 2020 till 30 June 2020
Fines for late payment of installments have been suspended for the period from 18 March 2020 till 30 June 2020
The submission of bank guarantees to GZAT has been suspended for the period from 18 March 2020 till 30 June 2020
Temporary deferment of Value Added Tax payments for the import of goods by a tax registrant for its economic activities that is payable to the Customs Authority in accordance with the applicable VAT Return for the period which relates to the import
Temporary deferral of Excise Tax payable to the Customs Authority on the import of goods subject to excise tax on condition of payment and the submission of a temporary declaration on the deferred due date
Deferral of the collection of customs duties for a period of thirty days upon submission of a suitable bank guarantee for the next three months
GZAT is to expedite all refund payments due to taxpayers

The above are a welcome alleviation of financial pressures on companies doing business in KSA during the COVID-19 restrictions. Should there be any matters relating to the above for which you require assistance, our Indirect Tax Department is available to answer your enquiries.

Authored byHead of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing,John Peacock

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Government Relief Measures for KSA during COVID-19

The General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GZAT) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has announced a number of measures to assist businesses overcome the difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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