Article 271 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
المادة 271 من نظام المعاملات المدنية · الفرع الثاني: رفض الوفاء
The Article makes an offer followed by a valid deposit take the place of payment from the time of the offer, bars the debtor from withdrawing it, and makes the creditor bear the expenses of the offer and deposit.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
1- إذا تم العرض وأُتبع بالإيداع على الوجه الصحيح قام العرض مقام الوفاء وترتبت عليه جميع آثاره من وقت العرض، وليس للمدين الرجوع في الوفاء.
2- يتحمل الدائن نفقات العرض والإيداع.
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 271 explained in plain English
This Article deals with a debtor who wants to pay his debt and the creditor refuses to receive it. The Law allows the debtor to offer payment to the creditor and then deposit what is due, and the Article states the consequences.
The Article sets two rules:
- Offer with deposit takes the place of payment: If the offer is made and followed by deposit in the proper manner, this counts as payment and all the effects of payment follow, and these effects are counted from the time of the offer, not from the time of deposit. The debtor may not afterwards withdraw the payment.
- Expenses on the creditor: The creditor bears the expenses of the offer and deposit, not the debtor.
The essential condition here is that the offer and deposit be made in the proper manner; if that is not met, these effects do not follow.
Article 270 supplements this rule, as it mentions cases in which deposit or its equivalent suffices without need for an offer, such as the debtor not knowing the creditor's identity or domicile, the creditor lacking or having limited capacity with no representative to accept payment, the debt being disputed among several persons, or other serious reasons assessed by the court. Article 272 also provides that payment is made with the thing originally due, so what is offered should be the very thing due.
Anyone facing a creditor's refusal to receive payment or a dispute over the validity of the offer and deposit should consult a lawyer specializing in civil cases.
Practical example
Khalid rented equipment from an establishment in Jeddah, and when he wanted to pay the sum due, the establishment refused to receive it for no reason. Khalid offered the sum to it and then deposited it in the proper manner. This counts as payment from the date of the offer, Khalid may not recover the sum afterwards, and the establishment bears the expenses of the offer and deposit.
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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Frequently asked questions about Article 271 of the Saudi Civil Transactions Law
What do I do if the creditor refuses to receive the debt?
The Article allows the debtor to offer payment and then deposit what is due, and if this is done in the proper manner it takes the place of payment.
Who bears the costs of offering and depositing the debt?
The creditor bears the expenses of the offer and deposit, by the text of paragraph 2 of the Article.
Can the debtor recover the sum after depositing it?
No. If the offer is made and followed by deposit in the proper manner, the debtor may not withdraw the payment.
When do the effects of payment begin in an offer and deposit?
All the effects of payment follow from the time of the offer.
More articles on Performance of Debt and Set-Off
- Article 21
The article distinguishes fungible things, whose units are alike or close and can stand in for one another on performance, from non-fungible things, whose units differ in a way recognized by custom or whose like is rarely found.
1- الأشياء المثلية هي ما تتماثل آحادها أو تتقارب بحيث يمكن أن يقوم بعضها مقام بعض عند الوفاء بلا فرقٍ يُعتد به عرفًا. 2- الأشياء القيمية هي ما تتفاوت آحادها في
- Article 110
The article provides that a bilateral contract terminates automatically if performance becomes impossible for a reason beyond the debtor's control, and sets the rules for partial and temporary impossibility.
1- في العقود الملزمة للجانبين، إذا أصبح تنفيذ الالتزام مستحيلًا بسببٍ لا يد للمدين فيه، انقضى التزامه والالتزام المقابل له، وانفسخ العقد من تلقاء نفسه. 2- إذا ك
- Article 147
What a non-debtor paid cannot be recovered if, as a result, a good-faith creditor lost the debt instrument or its guarantees or abandoned his claim until its period expired, and the payer may have recourse against the original debtor.
لا محل لاسترداد غير المستحق إذا حصل الوفاء من غير المدين وترتب عليه أن الدائن وهو حسن النية قد تجرد من سند الدين أو مما حصل عليه من الضمانات أو ترك دعواه قِبَل
- Article 162
The article provides that an obligation that does not meet the conditions for compulsory enforcement remains owed on a moral basis (diyanah); if the debtor performs it voluntarily, the performance is valid and is neither a gift nor an undue payment.
إذا لم يستوف الالتزام الشروط النظامية لتنفيذه جبرًا يبقى قائمًا في ذمة المدين ديانةً، فإذا وفاه مختارًا كان وفاؤه صحيحًا ولا يُعدُّ تبرعًا ولا دفعًا لغير المستح
- Article 206
The article permits early performance by the person for whose benefit the term was set unless it harms the other party, treats the term as for the debtor's benefit in case of doubt, and returns the debt to deferred status if what was received early is claimed by another.
1- يجوز تعجيل الوفاء بالدين ممن كان الأجل لمصلحته ما لم يلحق التعجيل ضررًا بالطرف الآخر. 2- عند الشك في كون الأجل لمصلحة المدين أو الدائن فالأصل أن يُعدَّ لمصلح
- Article 207
The article provides that a deferred debt does not fall due on the creditor's death, and falls due on the debtor's death unless it is secured by security in kind, the heirs provide adequate security, or the creditor agrees it remains deferred.
لا يحل الدين المؤجل بموت الدائن، ويحل بموت المدين إلا إذا كان الدين موثَّقًا بضمانٍ عينيٍّ أو قدم الورثة ضمانًا كافيًا عينيًّا أو شخصيًّا أو وافق الدائن على بقا
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.