Article 3 of the Saudi Financial Control Law

This Article answers the question: to whom does the Financial Control Law apply? It specifies two categories:

Category one: government entities

According to Article 1, these are ministries, government agencies, authorities, departments, public institutions, and agencies with independent public legal personality, included in the State's general budget.

Category two: non-government entities (not covered by category one), if they:

• receive direct support, a grant, or a subsidy from the State treasury, according to the controls and provisions set by the Implementing Regulations. Merely receiving support is not enough; the Regulations' controls on this must be consulted.
• or carry out works or purchases on behalf of a government entity.
• or collect the State's public revenues under a legal instrument or a contract with a government entity.

The importance of the second category is that the Law is not limited to government agencies, but extends to other entities connected with public funds through support, spending, or collection, such as associations that receive direct subsidies or companies that contract to collect government fees.

This is what the definition of entity in Article 1 means, as a government entity and any other entity under the provisions of this Article. The method of control for the two categories is not determined by this Article alone; Article 5 sets the four control methods, and the Ministry applies financial control to the entity under Article 4.

Anyone whose entity works with the government or receives support from it and who wants to know whether it is subject to the Law may consult a lawyer specializing in administrative matters.