Article 23 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law

المادة 23 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفصل الثالث: الأشياء والأموال

The article defines consumable things as those whose use, according to what they are prepared for, is limited to consuming or spending them, and treats everything prepared in stores for sale as consumable.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

الأشياء القابلة للاستهلاك هي التي ينحصر استعمالها -بحسب ما أُعدّت له- في استهلاكها أو إنفاقها، ويعد قابلًا للاستهلاك كل ما أعد في المتاجر للبيع.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 23 explained in plain English

This article specifies the meaning of consumable things and sets two criteria for them:

1- The original criterion (nature of use): Consumable things are those whose use is limited, according to what they are prepared for, to consuming or spending them. That is, benefiting from them happens only through the loss of the thing itself or its leaving its owner's hand, such as food that is consumed by eating it and money that is benefited from by spending it.

Note the qualification "according to what they are prepared for": what counts is the purpose for which the thing is prepared.

2- The deemed criterion (preparation for sale): Everything prepared in stores for sale is considered consumable. Goods displayed for sale in a store take this description even if by nature they are used repeatedly, because for the merchant their use is disposing of them by sale.

Its link to other articles: This article comes within the divisions of things and property. Article 22 divides things into immovables and movables and defines the immovable by destination, and Article 24 provides that public property is governed by the legal provisions specific to it. This article did not address the rules that follow from describing a thing as consumable.

To classify the things that are the object of a particular contract, it is advisable to consult a lawyer who specializes in civil or commercial cases.

Practical example

Ahmed owns a shop selling electrical appliances in Dammam. The refrigerators displayed in the shop for sale are consumable things under this article because they are prepared in a store for sale, even though a refrigerator is used for years. The refrigerator Ahmed uses in his own home, however, is not limited in use to being consumed or spent.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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