80,000 Saudi businesses register for VAT

RIYADH: The General Authority of Zakat & Tax (GAZT) has called on all establishments operating in the Kingdom with an annual income exceeding SR1 million ($266,680) to register for the value added tax (VAT) before Dec. 20, 2017. The number of registered establishments so far exceeds more than 80,000.
The GAZT confirmed that the failure to register for the VAT on time will expose the establishment to a fine of SR10,000, in addition to other penalties related to non-compliance of tax returns and non-payment of tax on time.
The authority reiterated that establishments with annual revenues between SR375,000 and SR1,000,000 were granted a deadline of Dec. 20, 2018 for tax registration.
Registration for establishments with annual revenues of between SR187,500 and SAR375,000 is optional, while establishments with annual revenues of SR187,500 are exempt from registration.
The GAZT said that most of the establishments are ready to apply the VAT on Jan. 1, 2018, in terms of training employees, complying with the VAT and executive regulations, harmonization of accounting and IT systems associated with tax operations, and managing records to save documents on the specified form.