RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority announced it has extended the deadline for an initiative to cancel fines and exempt taxpayers from financial penalties until June 30, 2024, the state-run SPA news agency reported on Friday.

ZATCA said that the deadline, which was previously Dec. 31, has been extended to enable taxpayers who meet the conditions to benefit from the initiative and to mitigate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other objectives.

The fines to be canceled include those for late registration in all tax systems, late payment, late submission of tax returns, correcting the return for value-added tax, field control violations related to the application of electronic invoicing provisions, and other general provisions for value-added tax.

ZATCA said that to benefit from the initiative, the taxpayer must be registered in the tax system, all required returns must be submitted to the authority, all taxes must be properly disclosed, and the entire principal of the tax debt related to the returns must be paid.

Taxpayers are eligible provided that they submit the application and correctly disclose the tax obligations due. It is also possible to submit a request to the authority to pay taxes in installments, provided that the request is submitted while the initiative is valid and that a commitment is made to pay all due installments within the deadline approved by the authority.

ZATCA confirmed that the initiative does not apply to fines related to tax evasion or those that were paid before the date the initiative took effect.

ZATCA called on taxpayers to review the details of the initiative through its simplified guide, which is available on its website.

The authority urged all taxpayers to take advantage of the extension of the deadline and to contact ZATCA with any inquiries.