Article 39 of the Saudi Municipalities Law

This article sets how the municipality's money is collected, covering three types:

• The municipality's resources in general.
• Fines.
• Penalties.

The rule is that all of them are collected under the regulations and instructions in force; that is, the municipality does not collect its money in a way it chooses freely, but is bound by the regulations and instructions in effect.

This article does not itself state the methods or dates of collection, or the procedures followed with someone who is late in paying, but refers to the regulations and instructions for that. Anyone who wants to know how a municipal fine is claimed or how to pay it should refer to those regulations and instructions.

The benefit of this article for an individual is that it ties collection to the regulations, so an offender or a debtor of the municipality can expect to be treated under published rules.

Before it comes Article 38, which requires the head of the municipality to submit the final account to the municipal council within two months at most of the end of the fiscal year. It is followed by Article 40, which provides that the procedures for spending the municipality's money and collecting its revenues, and for managing the affairs of its employees, staff and workers, are organized by regulations that take into account the nature of the municipalities' work and are approved by the Council of Ministers.