Article 5 of the Saudi Precious Metals and Gemstones Law

This article regulates the path of precious metals imported from abroad before they reach the market:

• The body that starts the procedure: the competent bodies in customs or the post.
• Notification: the sending takes place after notifying the person concerned.
• What the ruling covers: parcels containing bars or articles of precious metals and other items subject to the Law, imported for trade.
• The destination: the competent body at the Ministry of Commerce.
• The purpose: examining them, analyzing them and stamping them with the Kingdom's hallmark, or confirming that they bear a recognized hallmark.

Note that the text limits the ruling to items imported for trade, so it does not cover anything else.

This article in practice applies Article 4's prohibition on selling, displaying or possessing for sale bars and articles of precious metals unless they are stamped with the Kingdom's hallmark. Article 6 then explains what happens in the examination: bars and articles are presented to the competent body at the Ministry of Commerce for examination and hallmarking according to the legal karat standards, and if they are found to be below the minimum they are broken and returned to their owner, who may ask to re-export them to their source in their condition if they were imported. Anyone importing these items may consult a lawyer specializing in commercial cases.