Saudi warns VAT deadline for businesses with SAR375,000+ in revenue fast approaching

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Zakat and Income Tax on Tuesday warned companies with revenues exceeding SAR375,000 that they have less than 10 days to register for value added tax (VAT).

The kingdom introduced the 5 per cent VAT rate on January 1 but it only applied to businesses with revenues exceeding SAR1m in its first year.

From January 1, 2019, those with revenues of between SAR375,000 ($99,960) and SAR1m ($266,560) will also be subject to the tax.

Read: Saudi companies urged to file VAT returns by month-end

Businesses have until December 20 to sign up or they risk penalties including the suspension of some government services and fines ranging from 5 to 25 per cent of the tax owed.

Read more: VAT violators in Saudi face SAR10,000 fine

“The General Authority for Zakat and Income (ZAKA) stressed the need for establishments to submit their documents and tax information properly, because the submission of incorrect information for the purpose of tax evasion would expose the violating entity to a set of penalties,” according to a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency.

Information on how to register for the tax can be found on the VAT.GOV.SA website.

Authorities said in September they had recorded 187 violations of VAT rules by schools, training institutes and bookstores following inspections.

Read: Saudi records 187 VAT violations among schools, bookstores