During a remote meeting organized by the Asharqia Chamber:
Zakat and income: the exemption initiative of varying proportions and does not include tax evasion
The Deputy Governor of the General Authority for Zakat and Income for Operations, Hammoud bin Abdullah Al-Harbi, explained that the authority adopts an initiative to exempt some fines for delay or non-payment to support the private sector to cope with the burdens of the Coronavirus, with certain conditions, and to a varying degree, that does not include tax evasion even in any circumstance.
During the meeting organized by the Asharqia Chamber via videoconference Wednesday 10 / March / 2021 and managed by a member of the Chamber's Commercial Committee, Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al-Ansari, he said that the initiative to exempt from fines related to declarations that must be submitted and paid to the authority was launched within the framework of a package of initiatives to stimulate the economy launched by the rational government in March 2020 To support the private sector and enable it to overcome the financial and economic impacts resulting from the spread of the Corona pandemic, and the initiative was extended at the beginning of this year to the end of next June.
Al-Harbi stated that the Authority, through this initiative, exempts the taxpayer from paying fines for late payment or in submitting tax declarations, for the tax periods related to declarations that must be submitted or paid to the Authority before the date of January 21, 2021, on the condition that the principal of the due tax is paid to the Authority according to those tax periods.
He added that this exemption will be applied according to specific decreasing rates related to the periods during which the principal tax due to the authority is paid during the period of validity of the initiative. Fines are 100%, while 75% are paid if the original tax debt is paid during the period from 1 April to 31 May 2021, while the exemption percentage for fines included in the initiative is at 50% if the original tax debt is paid during the period from 1 June 30, 2021
He pointed out that this initiative includes some fines, and does not include some others, as either the fines included in the initiative are fines for late submission of tax declarations or payment and they include all types of taxes (value-added, selective goods, income, deduction), while the fines for amending and correcting declarations are specific, only with value-added tax.
As for the fines not covered by the initiative, they are the fines of "tax evasion and field control such as failure to issue a tax invoice or delay in registration, and any fines that were paid before the extension decision was issued which is January 21, 2021."
He said that the condition for exemption from fines according to the aforementioned percentages is to pay the principal tax debt owed for the periods included in the initiative before the end of the initiative period (June 30, 2021).
