Tourists may get VAT refund in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) is working on establishing a mechanism to refund value-added tax (VAT) to tourists, Arab News reported, citing a senior GAZT official.

However, the Kingdom, which will impose 5 percent VAT from January 2018, is unlikely to implement the refund system in early January, it added.

“According to executive regulations, it is possible for companies to return the VAT to tourists on products they are taking to their countries,” Hamoud Al-Harbi, director of the VAT operations center, GAZT, told the newspaper.

He added that the mechanism will be decided later, as GAZT is still working on the process, rules and payment. 

Expat tourists, residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, will not be included under the system of the returned VAT, the daily reported.