Article 1 of the Saudi Finance Lease Law

This is the definitions article, and it is the reference for understanding the terms used throughout the Law, unless the context of a particular provision requires another meaning. The most important points it sets are:

• The lessor: a joint-stock company licensed specifically to engage in finance leasing, so it is not enough for someone to lease an asset by installments to be a lessor within the meaning of this Law.
• The lessee: the person who holds the benefit of the leased asset under the contract, that is, who uses the asset and benefits from it according to the contract.
• The leased asset: its scope is wide, covering anything that can be leased, including real estate, movables, benefits, services and intangible rights such as intellectual property rights.
• The producer is the person who produces the asset, and the supplier is the person who supplies it.
• Essential maintenance: the maintenance on which the survival of the asset itself depends according to custom, while operational maintenance is what the asset needs to continue its benefit according to custom. This distinction matters because it later determines who bears each kind of maintenance.
• The register of contracts: the register in which finance lease contracts concluded in or performed in the Kingdom, the sale contracts resulting from them, and any amendment to these contracts are recorded.

The article also explains that "the Authority" is the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority and "the Governor" is its governor, and that "the Regulations" are the Implementing Regulations of this Law. Article 2 builds on these definitions when it sets out what counts as a finance lease contract and the ways ownership of the leased asset passes to the lessee.