Saudi Arabia
The Gulf's largest market, where the tax depends on who owns the shares rather than on what the company does
Saudi Arabia is the Gulf's largest economy, and Vision 2030 has turned it into the world's biggest construction site — infrastructure, healthcare, tourism, industry. For a European company it is a market of enormous demand with an administration that changes fast. The key peculiarity is fiscal: the rate depends on the ownership structure.
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Setting up a company
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Legal forms
- ·Minimum capital
- ·How long registration takes
- ·What to watch for
- ·Licences and permits
- ·Documents to incorporate
- ·What to watch for
Taxes
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Corporate income tax
- ·VAT
- ·Withholding tax — dividends
- ·VAT registration
- ·Payroll contributions
Visas and residence
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Short stay
- ·Work permit
Investment opportunities
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Where the capital goes
- ·Rules for a foreign investor
What it makes and needs
Construction technology and materials, medical technology and hospital equipment, water and desalination, energy including renewables, food, and education and entertainment technology.
Money and payments
The Saudi riyal (SAR), pegged to the US dollar. There are no exchange controls and profits are repatriated freely.
On public contracts and large projects payment terms are long and bank guarantees are standard — both a bid bond and a performance bond are required. A new supplier normally works on a letter of credit; open account comes after several deliveries.
Importing into their market
Imports are not governed by tariffs alone: SASO conformity is mandatory through the SABER system, where a certificate of conformity is issued for every consignment. Without it the goods do not move. Food and medicines additionally fall under the SFDA and halal requirements.
The GCC common tariff: usually 5 % of CIF value, but Saudi Arabia has raised duty on dozens of lines it intends to make domestically — for those lines the Saudi tariff applies, not the general GCC rule.
The importer must be on the commercial register and hold a valid import licence. The consignment needs an invoice, packing list, transport document, a certificate of origin and a certificate of conformity from SABER; the invoice and the certificate of origin are often required legalised.
Arabic labelling is mandatory for consumer goods and food; food requires both the production and expiry dates printed on the pack itself rather than on a sticker, and meat and poultry require a halal certificate from a recognised body.
Toys and low-voltage electrical appliances may be sold in the Gulf only with the G mark (Gulf Conformity Mark) under GSO technical regulations. Since 1 April 2017 it is shown as the GCTS tracking symbol: the G mark with a QR code. It is mandatory in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Yemen, and is issued by a GSO notified body.
Prepackaged food is labelled under GSO 9/2013: the information must be in Arabic, and another language may appear only alongside it with identical content. Halal food follows GSO 2055-1:2015 across the whole chain from receipt to storage; GSO published a draft of its new version on 17 February 2026.
Outlook
What to watch: budget execution and the oil price, on which the pace and re-sequencing of Vision 2030 projects directly depend; the progress of megaprojects such as NEOM, which have been repeatedly reassessed; and the widening of mandatory e-invoicing and SABER certification, which change a supplier's paperwork.
Practical matters
Arabic is the official language and is required in dealings with the authorities; commercial negotiation is normally in English. Contracts for a public contracting authority must be in Arabic and the Arabic text prevails.
The working week runs Sunday to Thursday and Friday is the day of prayer. During Ramadan working hours are shortened by law and decisions slow down; anyone who schedules a closing during Ramadan moves it.
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A visa, legalising a document, an invitation letter, the commercial attaché before a trade fair — these only go through a mission. Below are the official registers rather than transcribed addresses: missions move and consular hours change several times a year, so a link to the register stays current where a transcript would not.
Where a country has no mission in Bratislava or Prague it is usually accredited from Vienna, Berlin or Warsaw — the register says which.
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