Article 11 of the Saudi Real Estate Transaction Tax Law
المادة 11 من نظام ضريبة التصرفات العقارية
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.
Official text (Arabic)
This article has not been amended since the law was issued.
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، والمتعلقة بتطبيق أحكام النظام واللائحة، ولا يجوز لهم الكشف عن تلك المعلومات إلا في الحالات التي تحددها اللائحة، ووفقاً للضوابط والشروط الواردة فيها.
2- على كل من يتلقى المعلومات أو يطلع عليها - وفقاً للفقرة (1) من هذه المادة - استخدامها فقط للأغراض التي تلقى لأجلها تلك المعلومات أو اطلع عليها.
3- عدا الحالات التي تنص عليها اللائحة، لا يجوز للشخص الذي تلقى أو اطلع على المعلومات المتعلقة بتطبيق أحكام النظام واللائحة الإفصاح عنها لأي شخص آخر، وعليه إعادة المستندات المتعلقة بهذه المعلومات إلى الهيئة فور انتهاء الحاجة إليها.
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 11 explained in plain English
This article protects the confidentiality of information that reaches the Authority through applying the Law, and contains three provisions:
- The duty of confidentiality: the Authority's employees and everyone working for it or in its interest must keep confidential the information they received or learned of through their work that relates to applying the Law and the Regulations. They may not disclose it except in the cases the Regulations specify and in accordance with their rules and conditions, without prejudice to the relevant legal provisions.
- Restriction on use: whoever receives this information or learns of it under paragraph (1) must use it only for the purposes for which they received it.
- No disclosure to others, and returning documents: except in the cases the Regulations provide for, whoever received or learned of information relating to applying the Law and the Regulations may not disclose it to any other person, and must return the documents relating to it to the Authority as soon as they are no longer needed.
This article comes in return for the broad power Article 10 gives the Authority to request any information available with any person: whoever provides their information to the Authority knows it is protected by the duty of confidentiality. It is also linked to Article 12, which refers to the Regulations for setting the rules, procedures, forms and documents necessary to implement the Law.
The text does not specify the permitted cases of disclosure but leaves them to the Regulations. Anyone who believes their information was disclosed without justification should consult a lawyer who specializes in real estate and tax cases.
Practical example
Mohammed submitted to the Authority documents on the sale of a building he owns in Makkah. The Authority employee who saw them may not tell anyone about them or use them for anything other than applying the Law, except in the cases the Regulations specify, and whoever received the documents must return them to the Authority as soon as they are no longer needed.
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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Frequently asked questions about Article 11 of the Saudi Real Estate Transaction Tax Law
Is property sale information held by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority confidential?
Yes. The Authority's employees and those working for it or in its interest must keep it confidential, and it may not be disclosed except in the cases the Regulations specify.
Can the information be used for another purpose?
No. Whoever receives or learns of the information must use it only for the purposes for which they received it.
What must someone who received documents from the Authority do once they no longer need them?
They must return the documents relating to the information to the Authority as soon as they are no longer needed.
More articles on Notaries' Obligations and Confidentiality
- Article 10
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.
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
- 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.