In force
Saudi Commercial Books Law
نظام الدفاتر التجارية
The Commercial Books Law of Saudi Arabia. This page presents the official Arabic text of each article with plain-English explanations for residents and businesses.
- Articles
- 16
- In force
- 16
- Amended
- 0
- Issued
- 17/12/1409 AH
Issued by: مرسوم ملكي رقم م/61 بتاريخ 17 / 12 / 1409 · قرار مجلس الوزراء رقم 194 بتاريخ 23 / 11 / 1409
Each article shows the official Arabic text, which is the only legally binding version, followed by our plain-English explanation.
Browse Commercial Books Law by topic
Articles of the Saudi Commercial Books Law
- Article 1The article requires every merchant to keep regular commercial books in Arabic that show their financial position, at least the original journal, the inventory book and the general ledger, and exempts a merchant whose capital does not exceed SAR 100,000.
- Article 2The article allows establishments and companies that use computers for their accounts to record commercial books data on them, and leaves it to the Implementing Regulations to set rules ensuring the validity and integrity of the data.
- Article 3The article sets out what is entered in the original journal and how: financial operations day by day and personal withdrawals monthly, with auxiliary journals allowed but treated as original if their totals are not carried over.
- Article 4The article explains that the inventory book records the details of goods held at the end of the financial year, or a summary of them, and a copy of the annual statement of financial position if not recorded in another book.
- Article 5The article requires financial operations of the same nature to be carried over from the journal to the general ledger so that the result of each account can easily be drawn out separately at any time.
- Article 6The article requires the merchant to keep exact copies of all commercial correspondence and documents, outgoing and incoming, in a regular way that makes it easy to review entries and verify profits and losses.
- Article 7The article requires the commercial books provided for in the Law to follow the form set by the Ministry of Commerce and to have numbered pages.
- Article 8The article requires the merchant and their heirs to keep the books provided for in the Law, and the correspondence and documents referred to in Article 6, for at least 10 years.
- Article 9The article presumes that all entries in a merchant's books were made with the merchant's knowledge and consent, unless evidence proves otherwise.
- Article 10The article allows the competent judicial authority to order commercial books produced so that entries in dispute can be examined, and to treat the merchant's refusal to produce them as a presumption that the facts to be proved are correct.
- Article 11The article assigns the detection of violations of the Commercial Books Law and the decisions issued to implement it to employees appointed by decision of the Minister of Commerce.
- Article 12The article punishes every violation of the Commercial Books Law, or of the regulations and decisions issued to implement it, with a fine of not less than SAR 5,000 and not more than SAR 50,000.
- Article 13The article makes the Board of Grievances the body with jurisdiction to impose the penalties provided for in the Commercial Books Law.
- Article 14The article repeals Articles 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Commercial Court Law issued by Order No. 32 dated 15/1/1350 AH, and every provision that conflicts with the Commercial Books Law.
- Article 15The article requires the Minister of Commerce to issue the regulations and decisions needed to implement the Commercial Books Law.
- Article 16The article provides that the Commercial Books Law is published in the Official Gazette and takes effect six months after the date of its publication.