GTL Summary:

This Article prescribes Withholding Tax (WHT) rates on payments to non-residents: 20% for management fees, 15% for royalties and other payments, and 5% for technical services, rent, airline tickets, and dividends. It provides definitions for these categories and exclusions for specific international telecom services. The Article mandates strict compliance, requiring monthly withholding statements, annual information reporting, and the maintenance of detailed records for at least ten years.

Document Type: ERS - Executive Regulations
Law: Income Tax Law (Royal Decree No M/1 - 21 Feb 2004)
Decision Number: executive-regulations-1535-article-63
Year: 2019
Country: πŸ‡ΈπŸ‡¦ KSA
Official Name: Article 63 - Withholding Tax
Last updated at: 2026-02-23 12:13:39 UTC

Article 63 - Withholding Tax

  1. [A non-resident][48] shall be subject to tax on any amount received from any source in the Kingdom, and the tax shall be withheld from the gross amount at the following rates:

    Type of paymentRate

    Management fees

    20%

    [Royalty or proceeds][49]

    15%

    [Technical or consulting services or international telephone communication services, rent, airline tickets or air or sea freight, distributed profits, loan returns, insurance or reinsurance premiums] [50]

    5%

    Other payments

    15%

  2. "Management fees" means payments made under management services contracts, such as hotel management contracts, ship management contracts, etc.

  3. "Technical and consulting services' means any kind of technical, scientific or technological services, including studies and research in different fields, surveying work of a scientific, geological or industrial nature, consultancy or supervisory services, or any kind of engineering services including related designs.

  4. Payments for airline tickets or air or sea freight mean: Any payments for the purchase of international travel tickets [departing from the Kingdom] [50a] , or air or sea freight costs paid to air or sea transport companies or their agents or representatives in the Kingdom. [This does not include amounts paid for shipping goods from abroad to the Kingdom's ports.][50b]

  5. International telephone communication services mean: Any amounts paid to a non-resident entity for services related to the provision of international telephone communication service from the Kingdom. [Amounts paid for the use of an international telecommunication company's network by a local telecommunication company to pass, transfer, or connect calls made by a subscriber in the Kingdom when requesting any international call, and amounts paid to international telecommunication companies for international roaming services, are not subject to withholding tax.] [50c]

  6. "Dividend distribution" means any distribution by a resident company to a non- resident shareholder, and any profits transferred from a permanent establishment to related parties; subject to the following:

    1. Dividends by companies engaged in natural gas investment, oil and hydrocarbons are not subject to withholding tax.

    2. A partial or full liquidation of a company is deemed a dividend distribution to the extent that it exceeds the paid-in capital.

    3. The distributed company's subjection to income tax shall not preclude imposition of withholding tax on its dividends.

  7. "Other payments" means payments from a source in the Kingdom to a non-resident for services other than services mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article.

  8. A withholding tax shall be imposed at the rates specified in paragraph (1) of this Article on the full amount paid to the non-resident, regardless of expenses incurred to generate the income, and notwithstanding full or partial allowance/disallowance as a deduction of such payment; it shall also be imposed on payments attributed to contracts concluded before the effective date of the Income Tax Law.

  9. The person liable for withholding tax must comply with the following:

    1. Submission of a monthly withholding statement in accordance with the form prescribed by the Authority during the first 10 days of the month following the month in which payment was made to the recipient.

    2. Submission of information relating to the withholding transactions carried out by the taxpayer on an annual basis, according to the form prescribed by the Authority, within a period not exceeding 120 days of the end of the fiscal year, except for partnerships, which must submit the form within 60 days from the end of their fiscal year.

    3. Maintenance of relevant records to verify compliance with the withholding provisions. Such records shall at a minimum include the name and address of the recipient, type and amount of payment and the amount withheld. These records shall be retained for at least ten years after the date of payment. If the the case is still under consideration by the Authority or by any other competent Committees, the records should be kept until the consideration is over or a final decision is issued.

Footnotes

[48]Amended by MR No. 1/1748 dated 20/2/1427H (20/3/2006). The said amendment deleted the following words in Article 63(1):

'….does not have a permanent establishment'

[49]Amended by Ministerial Resolution No. 25 dated 08/01/1445 (26/07/2023). Prior to the amendment, the entry in the table read as follows:

'Royalties, payments made to the Head Office or an Associated company against technical or consultancy services or international telecommunication services'

The above clause was earlier amended by Ministerial Resolution No. 1776 dated 18/5/1435H (19/3/2014). Prior to the amendment, the entry in the table read as follows:

Royalties or proceeds; payments for services to a head-office or related company'

[50]Amended by Ministerial Resolution No. 25 dated 08/01/1445 (26/07/2023). Prior to the amendment, the entry in the table read as follows:

'Payments made for technical or consultancy services or international telecommunication services (other than those paid to the Head Office or an Associated company), rent, airline tickets, air or sea freight, dividend distribution, loans fee [interest], and insurance or reinsurance premiums.'

The above clause was earlier amended by Ministerial Resolution No. 1776 dated 18/5/1435H (19/3/2014). Prior to the amendment, the entry in the table read as follows:

Payments for rent; payments for technical and consulting services; payments for air tickets, air freight and maritime freight; payments for international telecommunications services; dividends; loan charges; insurance or reinsurance premiums'

[50a]Inserted by Ministerial Resolution No. 25 dated 08/01/1445 (26/07/2023)

[50b]Inserted by Ministerial Resolution No. 1709/185 dated 23/07/1426 (28/08/2005)

[50c]Inserted by Ministerial Resolution No. 484 dated 15/04/1444 (9/11/2022), effective to amounts paid on or after 24/04/1444 (18/11/2022).

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