Article 16 of the Saudi Vehicle Inspection Regulation

This article sets the publication of the Regulation and the date it takes effect:

• Publication: The Regulation is published in the Official Gazette.
• Taking effect: It takes effect 180 days after the date of its publication.

The period between publication and taking effect, which is 180 days, gives the bodies concerned time to prepare before the provisions apply. These include the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization, which is competent to apply the Regulation, and existing inspection bodies, which need to learn the requirements the Regulation imposes and adjust their status accordingly.

During this period the Regulation remains published and known, but its provisions are not applied until it has passed. This differs from laws that take effect directly from the date of their publication. To know whether a particular event is subject to this Regulation, one looks at the date it occurred compared with the date of taking effect.

The text before us does not state the date of publication itself, so one refers for it to the Regulation's issuance data. From the date it takes effect, the Regulation replaces the 1431 AH regulation under Article 15.