ZATCA clarifies VAT mechanism for private educational services

Logo of Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA)

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) confirmed that the state will bear the value-added tax (VAT) on the private educational services provided for citizens. 

This will comprise tuition fees, including the value of textbooks sold by taxable private and international schools approved by the Ministry of Education, the authority said in a statement.  

This is in accordance with Royal Decree No. (A/86) dated Jan. 5, 2018, which calls for the state to bear VAT on citizens benefiting from the private education sector. 

The educational services covered by the Royal Decree include the ones provided by the private universities (for bachelor’s degrees) under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, in addition to the educational and training programs supervised by the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, which are equivalent to the corresponding and similar educational certificates covered by the Royal Decree, with more than two years of training. 

Based on that mechanism, VAT will not be collected for the educational services provided for citizens, after verifying that the beneficiary is the citizen covered by the royal order and the citizen data is included in the tax invoice issued, ZATCA explained.