RIYADH — The General Authority for Zakat and Tax (GAZT) reminded businesses with annual supplies in excess of SR375,000 to expedite their registration in the VAT system before Dec. 20 in order to avoid penalties and fines.

The GCC member states had agreed in June 2016 to apply VAT across the region. In February 2017, the Kingdom passed the Unified Agreement for VAT and began applying the tax as of Jan. 1, 2018.

GAZT noted that the failure in registering for VAT by the deadline will result a number of fines and penalties, as well as the suspension of several government services.

In addition, GAZT stressed the importance of submitting all required documents and information and ensuring their accuracy to avoid tax evasion penalties.

GAZT invited businesses to visit the official VAT website (vat.gov.sa) to access a wide range of useful tools and guides to ensure total VAT readiness. Businesses may also contact GAZT through its call center hotline (19993) or Twitter account (@SaudiVAT) or email (vat@gazt.gov.sa) for all their VAT-related queries. — SG