In force Last amended 20/3/1443 AH
Saudi Implementing Regulations of the Bankruptcy Law
اللائحة التنفيذية لنظام الإفلاس
The Implementing Regulations of the Bankruptcy Law of Saudi Arabia. This page presents the official Arabic text of each article with plain-English explanations for residents and businesses.
- Articles
- 98
- In force
- 98
- Amended
- 1
- Issued
- 24/12/1439 AH
Issued by: قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم (622) بتاريخ 1439/12/24 هـ
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Implementing Regulations of the Bankruptcy Law by topic
Definitions and Final Provisions7 articlesOpening and Ending a Bankruptcy Procedure8 articlesNotification and Documents in Bankruptcy9 articlesBankruptcy Trustee and Experts10 articlesCreditors' Committee7 articlesCreditors' Claims and Rights10 articlesProtective Settlement17 articlesFinancial Reorganization13 articlesLiquidation of the Debtor's Assets15 articlesSmall Debtor Bankruptcy Procedures12 articlesAdministrative Liquidation5 articlesSet-Off and Priority of Debts9 articlesBankruptcy Committee and Bankruptcy Register10 articlesBankruptcy of a Deceased Debtor4 articles
Articles of the Saudi Implementing Regulations of the Bankruptcy Law
الفصل الأول: أحكام عامةArticles 1–3
- Article 1This article of the Regulations refers the meaning of its terms to Article 1 of the Bankruptcy Law, and defines three specific terms: bankruptcy procedure, information and documents, and rules for managing meetings.
- Article 2This article of the Regulations specifies what is a regulated entity: health and education companies meeting the competent authority's criteria, and payment systems and their operators and service providers.
- Article 3This article of the Regulations requires the debtor's directors or board members, before a voluntary liquidation item is put to a vote, to submit an auditor's report and a written declaration to the Ministry or the Capital Market Authority.
الفصل الثاني: أحكام مشتركة بين إجراءات الإفلاس: طلب افتتاح إجراء الإفلاسArticles 4–31
- Article 4A request to open a bankruptcy procedure goes to the court with the specified documents, the trustee submits the small debtor's or competent authority's decision for judicial deposit, and the court may order the debtor to provide documents.
- Article 5After registration of a request to open any liquidation procedure, the court may appoint a trustee to replace the debtor in managing its activity, or seize the debtor's assets.
- Article 6Notices are given by the debtor, trustee or Bankruptcy Committee in the specified form and announcements on the Committee's website; where notice is impossible, an announcement is made and notice takes effect from its date.
- Article 7This article of the Regulations requires the debtor and the trustee to document in writing all acts carried out in the bankruptcy procedure.
- Article 8This article of the Regulations allows notices and documents to be sent to the national address or electronically, treats notice to the chosen head of trustees as notice to the rest, and requires a meeting invitation to state the date, time and place.
- Article 9This article of the Regulations requires correspondence, notices, approvals, agreements, warnings, requests and any other document under the Bankruptcy Law or its Regulations to be in writing.
- Article 10This article of the Regulations gives the creditors' committee, creditor and debtor the right to inspect the procedure's information and documents held by the trustee or Bankruptcy Committee, unless declared confidential, with the right to object before the court.
- Article 11The trustee sells the bankruptcy estate's assets after the judgment or decision opening the liquidation procedure, or the liquidation procedure for small debtors, becomes final.
- Article 12Enforcement against the assets securing the debtor's debt during the period of suspension of claims is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws.
- Article 13The creditor submits his claim to the trustee or the Bankruptcy Committee within the period specified for submitting claims and in the specified form.
- Article 14The trustee or the Bankruptcy Committee reviews and verifies creditors' claims, then prepares a list of them with specified details and submits it to the court for approval within 14 days of the end of the claims submission period.
- Article 15The meeting management rules apply to any meeting of creditors or the creditors' committee held under the Bankruptcy Law or its Regulations, unless otherwise agreed.
- Article 16This article of the Regulations specifies the details the proposal must include, as the case may be, such as the debtor's financial position, assets and debts, the proposed settlement, classification of creditors and the plan's timetable.
- Article 17The meeting management rules apply to managing the vote on the proposal, the debtor or trustee prepares minutes of the voting meeting with specified details, then deposits the voting result with the court.
- Article 18This article of the Regulations requires that any document issued in the debtor's name state the type of procedure opened: the debtor does so in preventive settlement and financial restructuring, and the trustee or the Bankruptcy Committee in liquidation.
- Article 19The expenses of a bankruptcy procedure are paid from the bankruptcy estate's assets, unless transgression or negligence is proved.
- Article 20This article of the Regulations governs the request to end a bankruptcy procedure: attaching documents, prior notice and its content, objection before the court within 14 days, and the request to end on completion of the plan.
- Article 21A natural-person debtor who has not been discharged from a remaining debt must notify creditors if he starts a profit-making activity within 24 months of ending liquidation, and apply to distribute any money that comes to him.
- Article 22The trustee begins work from the date the bankruptcy procedure opens unless the judgment sets another date; a judgment appointing several trustees states their tasks, and the trustee hands the debtor what he holds once the procedure ends.
- Article 23This article regulates the removal and withdrawal of the trustee: notice to the court of a license being struck off or suspended, a request to withdraw for a legitimate reason, filing the decisions, appointing a replacement, and handover within 14 days.
- Article 24A creditors' committee is formed by court decision with at least 3 members; the article sets out who may request it, the nomination periods and conditions, and the procedure and effect of the formation decision.
- Article 25This article sets out four cases in which a creditors' committee member's membership ends, and requires the trustee to notify the court, which may appoint a replacement.
- Article 26This article sets out the creditors' committee's tasks in representing the creditors, including approving the sale of any asset worth more than a quarter of the bankruptcy estate's assets, and lets its chair set the time and place of meetings.
- Article 27The chair runs the creditors' committee's meetings, a meeting is valid only if a majority of members attend, decisions pass by a majority of those present, and meetings may be held by modern technology with minutes recorded.
- Article 28Any reasonable expenses a creditors' committee member incurs to attend the committee's meetings are paid from the bankruptcy estate's assets.
- Article 29Membership of the creditors' committee does not stop a member from dealing with the debtor, as long as the dealing is in good faith and at fair value.
- Article 30During the stay of claims, the court considers a creditor's request when it finds its own property with the debtor, and orders its return where the property is unchanged, no part of the price was received, and the request is made within 5 days.
- Article 31This article sets out when the court approves putting a proposal to amend the plan to creditors and owners for a vote, including a material circumstance, a request within 14 days, and the possible stay of claims.
الفصل الثالث: إجراء التسوية الوقائية: تأشير الأمين على المقترحArticles 32–41
- Article 32This article requires the preventive settlement proposal to be endorsed by a trustee listed on the trustees' list as meeting the required information and documents.
- Article 33This article requires the debtor to notify creditors of the preventive settlement opening judgment within 7 days, and gives an unlisted creditor 14 days to ask for its claim to be included.
- Article 34This article requires the debtor to file the court's decision approving or extending a stay of claims with the Bankruptcy Register as soon as it is issued.
- Article 35This article requires that the application submitted under paragraphs (1) and (3) of Article 21 of the Bankruptcy Law be accompanied by the information and documents specified for that purpose.
- Article 36This article clarifies that exercising due diligence for the debtor to perform contractual obligations arising after preventive settlement opens includes providing a guarantee from the debtor or from a third party.
- Article 37This article regulates the debtor's request to terminate its contracts with the request to open preventive settlement, by a report from a listed trustee, with notice to the contracting party of the hearing and the decision.
- Article 38This article allows the debtor to ask to amend the preventive settlement proposal for an acceptable reason, and requires it to notify creditors of the amendment and the voting date within 5 days.
- Article 39This article limits the right to vote on the proposal to a creditor or owner whose statutory or contractual rights the proposal affects.
- Article 40This article gives the court power to take what it considers appropriate if the debtor does not file the result of the vote on the proposal under paragraph (4) of Article 31 of the Law.
- Article 41This article requires the debtor to submit the request to ratify the proposal to the court, accompanied by the information and documents specified for that purpose.
الفصل الرابع: إجراء إعادة التنظيم الماليArticles 42–47
- Article 42This article exempts the debtor, its owners, managers and auditor from the Companies Law provisions on reaching the specified loss level if the financial reorganization request is registered in time.
- Article 43This article allows someone who owns assets in the debtor's possession or held by it to ask the court to recover them, with the specified information and documents.
- Article 44This article requires the trustee to allow a creditor to inspect the list of claims approved by the court.
- Article 45This article requires the trustee to attach a report on the proposal when filing it, and the debtor to notify affected creditors and owners of the voting date once the trustee approves.
- Article 46This article sets the quorum of the owners' meeting and their approval majority for the proposal, the creditors' vote, filing the result, and what the trustee does if the creditors' vote is impossible.
- Article 47This article requires the debtor to prepare a report every 3 months on the progress of implementing the plan and the management of its activity and give it to the trustee, and specifies its content.
الفصل الخامس: إجراء التصفية: طلب السدادArticles 48–56
- Article 48This article requires that a creditor's payment request to the debtor under paragraph (2/c) of Article 93 of the Law be dated and state the amount of the debt and its cause.
- Article 49This article requires a debtor who requests liquidation to notify its creditors of the request and hearing date within 7 days of registering it, and allows a creditor to object at least 5 days before the hearing.
- Article 50This article regulates the trustee's request to the court to specify which bankruptcy estate assets must be announced before sale, and the criteria taken into account.
- Article 51This article prevents the trustee from selling any bankruptcy estate asset that is the subject of a dispute except with the court's approval.
- Article 52The opening of the liquidation procedure does not affect any discount due to the debtor before the opening, even if the parties agreed otherwise.
- Article 53This article requires the trustee's request to terminate workers' contracts to state its reasons and give a detailed statement, and requires pay of workers who continue after the liquidation opens to be paid as soon as due.
- Article 54This article specifies what the decision to distribute to creditors in liquidation must contain, and allows the trustee to ask the court to amend it.
- Article 55This article requires the trustee to return what remains of the proceeds of selling the bankruptcy estate's assets, after the creditors have received their rights, to a natural-person debtor or to the owners of a legal-person debtor.
- Article 56This article allows the trustee, at the debtor's request, to ask the court to postpone ending the liquidation for an acceptable reason, such as bringing a claim against a third party.
الفصل السادس: إجراء التسوية الوقائية لصغار المدينين: إنهاء العقودArticles 57–61
- Article 57This article regulates a small debtor's request to terminate its contracts in preventive settlement for small debtors: its timing, the trustee's report and notice to the contracting party.
- Article 58This article requires the small debtor to notify the creditors identified in the proposal of the voting date, with a copy of the proposal or evidence that it is available electronically.
- Article 59This article requires the small debtor to attach the information and documents specified for that purpose to the request for a stay of claims.
- Article 60This article requires the small debtor to file the decision approving a stay of claims or extending it with the Bankruptcy Register as soon as it is issued, and to announce it within 5 days.
- Article 61This article requires the small debtor to file with the Bankruptcy Register, within 5 days, what proves that the result of the vote was filed with the court, and to announce that the plan has taken effect within 5 days.
الفصل السابع: إجراء إعادة التنظيم المالي لصغار المدينين: افتتاح الإجراءArticles 62–66
- Article 62This article explains how financial reorganization for small debtors opens: the decision in the specified form, the trustee's check of the conditions, and the court's time limits on filing or a creditor's request.
- Article 63This article requires the trustee to file the judgment opening financial reorganization for small debtors, or the decision accepting the judicial filing, with the Bankruptcy Register within 5 days of the opening.
- Article 64The small debtor, with the trustee's help, prepares the proposal within 30 days of the end of the period for submitting claims, and the court may extend this by up to 30 days at the trustee's request.
- Article 65This article requires the trustee, when filing the proposal with the court, to attach a report giving his opinion on the possibility of the creditors approving it and on its feasibility.
- Article 66This article requires the trustee to file with the Bankruptcy Register, within 5 days of the end of the vote, what proves the vote result was filed with the court, and to announce that the plan has taken effect within 5 days.
الفصل الثامن: إجراء التصفية لصغار المدينين طلب افتتاح الإجراءArticles 67–67
الفصل التاسع: إجراء التصفية الإداريةArticles 68–72
- Article 68This article allows the Bankruptcy Committee to use whomever it sees fit to carry out the work of the administrative liquidation procedure.
- Article 69This article requires the Bankruptcy Committee, in administrative liquidation, to prepare an inventory list of the bankruptcy estate's assets that includes their estimated value.
- Article 70This article identifies two cases in which the proceeds of selling bankruptcy estate assets are not worthwhile: the estimated cost of sale equals or exceeds the asset's value, or the sale cannot be made within a reasonable time.
- Article 71If selling the bankruptcy estate's assets yields proceeds sufficient for the expenses of liquidation or small debtors' liquidation, they are distributed starting with the Bankruptcy Committee's fees and expenses, then to the creditors.
- Article 72This article requires the Bankruptcy Committee to file the decision ending administrative liquidation with the court and to file proof of the ending in the Bankruptcy Register and the Commercial Register within 5 days, and limits removing the debtor's name to a natural person.
الفصل العاشر: المقاصة والديون التبادليةArticles 73–75
- Article 73Automatic set-off based on a debt assignment that arose after the application to open any of the liquidation procedures was submitted is not permitted.
- Article 74This article makes the competent authority responsible for issuing the rules on multilateral set-off between regulated entities that carry on a financial activity.
- Article 75Automatic set-off takes place according to the exchange rates at the Saudi Central Bank on the date the procedure opens.
الفصل الحادي عشر: أولوية الديونArticles 76–78
- Article 76This article makes the order of debts within each priority listed in Article 196 of the Bankruptcy Law follow their order in the relevant laws.
- Article 77Debts of the debtor necessary for continuing its activity that arise after the bankruptcy procedure opens are counted as expenses during the procedure and paid according to paragraph (e) of Article 196 of the Law.
- Article 78This article orders the payment of dues before ending preventive settlement and financial reorganization and their small-debtor equivalents: the trustee's or expert's fees, then financing, then expenses of continuing the activity.
الفصل الثاني عشر: ترتيبات الضمانات والمقاصة المرتبطة بالمعاملات الماليةArticles 79–79
الفصل الثالث عشر: حق الاعتراض على الأحكام والقراراتArticles 80–80
الفصل الرابع عشر: أحكام خاصة بالمدين المتوفى: وفاة المدين بعد افتتاح أي من إجراءات التسوية الوقائيةArticles 81–84
- Article 81If the debtor dies during preventive settlement or preventive settlement for small debtors, the court may, at the request of his heirs or creditors, appoint a temporary trustee from the trustees' list to manage his affairs.
- Article 82At the request of an heir or creditor, the court sets a date for a meeting of the deceased debtor's heirs and creditors within 30 days, extendable by another 30 days; the applicant announces it within 5 days.
- Article 83If a bankrupt or distressed debtor dies before a bankruptcy application, the heirs may, after agreeing with the creditors to form a company and transfer the estate's assets to it, apply to open the appropriate procedure for it.
- Article 84Sets what happens to money that comes to a deceased debtor's estate: it is paid to the company formed, or to the creditors according to their shares and priorities after liquidation.
الفصل الخامس عشر: لجنة الإفلاسArticles 85–88
- Article 85Sets the powers of the Bankruptcy Committee to issue rules on the bankruptcy register and the register referred to in Article 204 of the Law, on licensing, work, conduct and nomination of trustees and experts, and on inspection and verification.
- Article 86Staff of the General Secretariat of the Bankruptcy Committee named by its decision carry out inspection, verification and seizure and may request any necessary document; the Committee may request the penalty in Article 207 of the Law.
- Article 87Subjects the staff of the General Secretariat of the Bankruptcy Committee to the Labor Law and the Social Insurance Law.
- Article 88The Bankruptcy Committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Justice, specifies the information and documents provided for in the Law and the Regulations; they are published in the Official Gazette and take effect from publication.
الفصل السادس عشر: سجل الإفلاسArticles 89–90
- Article 89Makes filing in the bankruptcy register electronic on the specified form and open to the public on the Bankruptcy Committee's website, and requires every filer to update what he filed when it changes.
- Article 90The register provided for in Article 204 of the Law is made available on the Bankruptcy Committee's website after the penalty judgment becomes final, limited to the name, type of penalty and its duration.
الفصل السابع عشر: الأمناء والخبراء: الترخيص للأمناء والخبراءArticles 91–94
- Article 91Refers the conditions for licensing trustees and experts to the licensing rules, and sets when a name is removed from the list, the penalties for breach, and that suspension and removal decisions take effect from notification.
- Article 92Requires trustees and experts to comply with the Bankruptcy Law, the Regulations, the rules issued by the Bankruptcy Committee, and all relevant laws, regulations and rules in force.
- Article 93Allows the Bankruptcy Committee to approve professional bodies to license trustees or experts on three conditions, and to cancel the approval of a body that does not meet the specified conditions.
- Article 94Provides that the trustee and the expert are entitled to fees for performing the tasks assigned to them in the bankruptcy procedure, under the rules on fees of trustees and experts.
الفصل الثامن عشر: أحكام ختاميةArticles 95–98
- Article 95Allows the transactions provided for in the Bankruptcy Law or its Implementing Regulations to be carried out electronically.
- Article 96Allows the private sector to be used in carrying out support services for applying the provisions of the Bankruptcy Law and its Implementing Regulations.
- Article 97Specifies the bodies that issue the rules on cross-border bankruptcy, running meetings, procedures in bankruptcy cases, and fees of trustees and experts.
- Article 98Provides for publishing the Regulations and the rules issued under them in the Official Gazette, with each taking effect from the date of its publication.