Article 10 of the Saudi Real Estate Transaction Tax Law
المادة 10 من نظام ضريبة التصرفات العقارية
The article gives the Authority the right to request any available information from any person to apply the Law, and binds everyone authorized to document real estate dispositions to the relevant provisions of the Law and Regulations.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
1- دون إخلال بالنصوص النظامية ذات الصلة، للهيئة - لأغراض تطبيق أحكام النظام واللائحة - طلب أي معلومة متاحة لدى أي شخص. وعلى كل من تُطلب منه المعلومة تقديمها إلى الهيئة في المواعيد التي تحددها.
2- على كل شخص يُخوَّل صلاحية توثيق التصرفات العقارية - وفقاً للأنظمة السارية في المملكة - الالتزام بالأحكام ذات الصلة المنصوص عليها في النظام واللائحة؛ بما يكفل احتساب الضريبة المستحقة وتحصيلها بكفاية عالية.
This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers
Article 10 explained in plain English
This article contains two provisions that serve calculating and collecting the tax:
- The Authority's right to request information: for the purposes of applying the Law and the Regulations, the Authority may request any information available with any person, and whoever is asked for the information must provide it to the Authority by the deadlines it sets. This is without prejudice to the relevant legal provisions, meaning the right is exercised with regard to other laws. A person, under Article 1, includes a natural person, a public or private legal person and any other entity.
- The obligation of those who document: every person authorized to document real estate dispositions under the laws in force in the Kingdom must comply with the relevant provisions in the Law and the Regulations, so as to ensure that the due tax is calculated and collected with high efficiency. The text does not detail these provisions but refers to the Law and the Regulations.
This broad power to gather information is matched by a safeguard in Article 11, which obliges the Authority's employees and everyone working for it or in its interest to keep confidential the information they receive through their work, and bars disclosing it except in the cases the Regulations specify. It is also linked to Article 9 on tax refunds, as the Authority may need information to verify entitlement to a refund.
Anyone who receives a request for information from the Authority and has reservations about its scope can consult a lawyer who specializes in real estate and tax cases.
Practical example
The Authority asked a real estate brokerage company in Riyadh for details of a land sale it had brokered, and set a deadline for providing them. The company must provide the information available to it by the deadline the Authority set, and this information remains protected by the duty of confidentiality imposed on the Authority's employees.
Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.
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Lawyers who handle this kind of case
Dr. Ali Al-Rubaie Law Office and Ittihad Al-Asr Legal Company
Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Qarawi Law and Notary Office, Riyadh
Frequently asked questions about Article 10 of the Saudi Real Estate Transaction Tax Law
Can the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority request information about a property sale from someone who is not a party to it?
Yes. For the purposes of applying the Law and the Regulations, the Authority may request any information available with any person, without prejudice to the relevant legal provisions.
How long do I have to provide the information to the Authority?
Whoever is asked for the information must provide it by the deadlines the Authority sets.
What is the role of the notary or documenter in the real estate transaction tax?
They must comply with the relevant provisions in the Law and the Regulations so as to ensure that the due tax is calculated and collected with high efficiency.
More articles on Notaries' Obligations and Confidentiality
- Article 11
The article obliges the Authority's staff and those working for it to keep information on applying the Law confidential, limits its use to its purposes, and bars disclosure except in cases the Regulations specify.
1- دون إخلال بالنصوص النظامية ذات الصلة، على موظفي الهيئة وجميع العاملين لديها أو لمصلحتها المحافظة على سرية المعلومات التي تلقوها أو اطلعوا عليها بحكم عملهم، و
- Article 12
The article refers to the Implementing Regulations the controls, procedures, forms and documents needed to apply the Law, including registering transactions, correcting their data, examining them, notifying decisions and keeping records.
دون إخلال باختصاصات الجهات الأخرى وبما تقضي به أحكام النظام وغيره من الأنظمة الأخرى ذات العلاقة، تحدد اللائحة الضوابط والإجراءات والنماذج والمستندات اللازمة لتن
- Article 13
The article requires the Authority to issue guides and tax bulletins, allows it to issue clarifying decisions on tax treatment on request or on its own initiative and to publish them, and binds it to the Law and the Implementing Regulations.
1- تُصدر الهيئة ما يلزم من أدلة إرشادية ونشرات ضريبية؛ لمساعدة أطراف التصرفات العقارية على الوفاء بواجباتهم، وتقوية درجة التزامهم الطوعي. 2- للهيئة أن تصدر قرار
- Article 19
The article allows the Authority to coordinate with government bodies, and bars anyone authorized to notarize from notarizing a real estate transaction whose tax was unpaid at the date of notarization, without prejudice to Article 5(2).
1- للهيئة التنسيق مع الجهات الحكومية في كل ما له علاقة بتنفيذ أحكام النظام واللائحة. 2- دون إخلال بحكم الفقرة (2) من المادة (الخامسة) من النظام، يجب على كل شخص
The texts are reproduced from the official website of the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers for reference; where they differ, the officially published Arabic text prevails. This content is not legal advice.