07 July 2025 Saudi Arabia further extends tax amnesty initiative until 31 December 2025 - Saudi Arabia's Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced, on 27 June 2025, another six-month extension of the tax amnesty initiative, effective 1 July 2025.
- The tax amnesty initiative, which had previously been extended until 30 June 2025 and is now extended until 31 December 2025, is expected to provide relief to taxpayers who meet the qualifying requirements.
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On 27 June 2025, Saudi Arabia's Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) announced the Minister of Finance's decision to further extend the Cancellation of Fines and Exemption of Financial Penalties initiative for taxpayers subject to all tax laws for six months, until 31 December 2025. In March 2020, the ZATCA had introduced the tax amnesty initiative to alleviate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for businesses in the country. The purpose of the initiative was to provide relief to taxpayers from fines relating to tax returns, subject to certain conditions. This initiative has since been extended multiple times, with the latest extension being from 31 December 2024 to 30 June 2025. Highlights of the tax amnesty extension Exemption from unpaid fines is provided in the following cases: - Fines resulting from late registration under all tax laws and regulations
- Delayed-payment fines and overdue tax return submission fines under all tax laws and regulations
- Value-added tax (VAT) return correction penalties
- Fines for violations of VAT field detection and e-invoicing, based on Article 45 of the VAT Law
Exemption is also provided from late-payment fines in the ZATCA-approved installment plan for payments due after the end of the amnesty initiative. Eligibility for exemption To be eligible for exemption, taxpayers should fulfill certain conditions, including registering with the ZATCA, filing pending or corrected tax returns and paying the resulting principal amount or applying for installments after filing. The taxpayer will be exempt from late-filing fines relating to a return that was due to be filed with the ZATCA before the effective date of the extension, i.e., before 1 July 2025. Taxpayers will not be exempt from fines resulting from tax evasion violations. The further extension of the amnesty initiative until 31 December 2025 provides another opportunity for businesses and taxpayers to rectify any discrepancies or errors in their tax records and avoid late-payment fines. * * * * * * * * * * | Contact Information | For additional information concerning this Alert, please contact: Ernst & Young Professional Services (Professional LLC), Riyadh - Asim Sheikh, Global Compliance and Reporting | asim.sheikh@sa.ey.com
- Ahmed H. Akeel, Global Compliance and Reporting | ahmed.h.akeel@sa.ey.com
- Nitesh K. Jain, Global Compliance and Reporting | nitesh.jain@sa.ey.com
- Atif Khan, Global Compliance and Reporting | atif.khan@sa.ey.com
- Ahmed Mubarak, Global Compliance and Reporting | ahmed.mubarak@sa.ey.com
- Esraa Albuti, Global Compliance and Reporting | esraa.albuti@sa.ey.com
- Hosam Abdulkareem, International Tax and Transaction Services | hosam.abdulkareem@sa.ey.com
- Imran Iqbal, Global Compliance and Reporting | imran.iqbal@sa.ey.com
- Mirza Ashraf, Global Compliance and Reporting | mirza.ashraf@sa.ey.com
- Babar Ali, Global Compliance and Reporting | babar.ali@sa.ey.com
- Wissam Merhej, International Tax and Transaction Services | wissam.merhej@sa.ey.com
- Carl Suchtelen, Global Compliance and Reporting | carl.suchtelen@sa.ey.com
- Suleiman Mohammed, Global Compliance and Reporting | suleiman.mohammed@sa.ey.com
- Billy Thorne, International Tax and Transaction Services | billy.thorne@sa.ey.com
- Carsten Kuhlmann, International Tax and Transaction Services | carsten.kuhlmann3@sa.ey.com
- Ricardo M. Cruz, Saudi Arabia International Tax and Transaction Services and Transfer Pricing Leader | ricardo.m.cruz.sanchez@sa.ey.com
- Mohammed Bilal Akram, Indirect Tax | mohammedbilal.akram@sa.ey.com
- Peter Dylewski, Indirect Tax | peter.dylewski@sa.ey.com
Ernst & Young Professional Services (Professional LLC), Jeddah Ernst & Young Professional Services (Professional LLC), Al Khobar - Syed Farhan Zubair, Global Compliance and Reporting | farhan.zubair@sa.ey.com
- Ali K. Khamis, Global Compliance and Reporting | ali.k.khamis@sa.ey.com
- Patrick Oparah, International Tax and Transaction Services | patrick.oparah1@sa.ey.com
- Bilal Mian, Global Compliance and Reporting | bilal.mian@sa.ey.com
- Javed Aziz, Global Compliance and Reporting | javed.aziz@sa.ey.com
- Haytham Hassan, Global Compliance and Reporting | haytham.hassan@sa.ey.com
- Waqas Khan, International Tax and Transaction Services | waqas.khan@sa.ey.com
- Miranda Bass, International Tax and Transaction Services | miranda.baas@sa.ey.com
- Eman K Salem, International Tax and Transaction Services | eman.salem1@sa.ey.com
- Patrick D Santos, International Tax and Transaction Services | patrick.santos@sa.ey.com
EY Consulting LLC, Dubai Ernst & Young — Middle East, Bahrain Ernst & Young LLP (United States), Middle East Tax Desk, New York | Published by NTD’s Tax Technical Knowledge Services group; Carolyn Wright, legal editor |
Document ID: 2025-1390 |