VAT on Goods Imported into Saudi Arabia

The rate and the base

VAT applies to the import of goods into Saudi Arabia as an event in its own right, separate from any supply of those goods. The standard rate has been 15% since 1 July 2020, when it rose from 5%.

The base is the customs value plus the customs duty and any excise tax. So the tax stacks: get the tariff classification wrong and both the duty and the VAT are wrong by a compounding amount.

There is no low-value VAT relief for commercial imports the way there is for duty. The duty de minimis for personal and e-commerce consignments does not carry a matching VAT exemption — a parcel below the duty threshold is still a taxable import.

SOURCES · ZATCA, VAT Law and Implementing Regulations; ZATCA Guideline on Imports and Exports under VAT Provisions.

Who bears it, and who recovers it

VAT-registered business

Pays import VAT and, where the goods are used for its taxable economic activity, deducts it as input tax on its VAT return. Net cost is cash-flow, not tax.

Non-registered business or individual

Pays import VAT as a final cost, in the same way as VAT on a domestic retail purchase.

Importing without a licence

Where the person carrying out the importation does not hold an import licence, the procedures may be completed through an agent or representative, and VAT and customs duties are imposed accordingly.

Keep the approved final customs declaration. It is the evidence behind the input tax claim, and it is the document a ZATCA review will ask to see.

SOURCES · ZATCA Guideline on Imports and Exports under VAT Provisions; ZATCA Input Tax Deduction Guideline.

Accounting for import VAT on the return

The default is that a taxable person pays the VAT ZATCA calculates on the customs declaration at the time of import. ZATCA can, however, approve an application to account for the import VAT on the VAT return instead — in which case the amount is reported in the return rather than paid at the border, and appears in a different field of the return from VAT actually paid to ZATCA.

For a regular importer this is a working-capital change of some size: the VAT stops being cash out at the port and becomes a reporting entry. ZATCA may reject an application, and may revoke an existing authorisation.

SOURCES · ZATCA, Guideline on Imports and Exports under VAT Provisions (second edition, May 2026).

Suspension, zero-rating and the zones

VAT is suspended on the import of goods placed under a customs duty suspension arrangement, on the conditions set out in the Common Customs Law — and ZATCA may require a cash or bank guarantee for the VAT that becomes due if the goods are later released for home consumption. This is what makes temporary admission and bonded storage work as cash-flow instruments rather than merely as storage.

The 2025 amendments to the VAT Implementing Regulations added provisions on customs duty suspension and special economic zone transactions, providing for zero-rating in defined circumstances including re-exported goods and services added to them.

Suspension is not forgiveness. The tax is deferred against a condition — that the goods leave, or that they enter the market and are taxed then. Fail the condition and the liability crystallises, usually alongside a penalty.

SOURCES · ZATCA Guideline on Imports and Exports under VAT Provisions; ZATCA Board Resolution No. 01-06-24 amending the VAT Implementing Regulations, published 18 April 2025.

Excise, where it applies

Excise tax sits between the duty and the VAT for a narrow set of goods. Saudi Arabia followed the GCC decision to levy excise on cigarettes at 100%, on carbonated drinks at 50% and on energy drinks at 100%. Where excise applies it enters the VAT base, so the three taxes compound in sequence.

SOURCES · U.S. International Trade Administration, Saudi Arabia Country Commercial Guide — Import Tariffs, last published 11 May 2026.

Official sources

ZATCA — Guideline on Imports and Exports under VAT ↗

ZATCA’s own guideline on import VAT, suspension arrangements and accounting for import VAT on the return.

ZATCA — guidelines library ↗

The full set of published VAT, excise and customs guidelines.

RiyadhCargo.com is an independent news monitoring service. It is not a customs broker, freight forwarder, carrier or law firm, and nothing on this page is customs, tax or legal advice for a particular shipment. Procedures and rates change; the authorities named on this page are the only binding source. Check the current position with ZATCA or a licensed Saudi customs broker before you ship.

Frequently asked questions

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