Article 7 of the Saudi White Land Fees Law

This article identifies the body that hears violations and objections under the White Land Fees Law and its regulations. The text shown is the version in force after its amendment by Royal Decree No. M/244 dated 7/11/1446 AH.

• Formation of the committee: One or more committees are formed by decision of the Minister, of at least three members, who must include a legal adviser and a specialist in the technical side.
• Its jurisdiction: Hearing violations of the provisions of the Law and regulations, applying penalties, hearing the objections submitted by those concerned, and issuing the necessary decisions.
• Challenging its decisions: The committee's decisions may be challenged before the competent administrative court. This article does not set a period for such a challenge.
• Rules of work: The committee's rules of work and procedures are issued by decision of the Minister; the article does not detail these procedures.

This article complements Article 6, which sets the penalty, a fine not exceeding the fee due together with requiring the violator to pay the fee, so the committee is the body that applies this penalty. It also complements Article 8, which gives the owner or one in a similar position the right to object in writing to this committee within 60 days of being notified of the decision, requires the committee to decide within 60 days of its submission, and treats the passing of that period without a decision as a decision of rejection.

Anyone against whom the committee has issued a decision and who wants to challenge it before the administrative court is best advised to consult a lawyer specialized in administrative and real estate cases.