This Law aims to regulate the provision of services to domestic pilgrims to assist them in performing Hajj with ease and convenience.

Services provided to domestic pilgrims shall be rendered by sole proprietorships and companies pursuant to licenses issued in accordance with this Law. The Implementing Regulations of this Law shall specify the conditions required for the license and the licensee.

Services provided to domestic pilgrims may not be rendered by private establishments providing services to pilgrims from outside the Kingdom or by their shareholders or employees, nor may such services be rendered by Arbab Al-Tawaif, including agents, guides, and zamazemah, or by their employees or offices.

Sole proprietorships and companies licensed to provide services to domestic pilgrims shall comply with the following:

• 1. Provide the financial, administrative, and operational resources necessary for offering such services prior to commencement thereof.

• 2. Offer the services at prices commensurate with the level at which such services are provided, including transportation, accommodation, catering, and care, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations of this Law.

• 3. The owner of the sole proprietorship must personally manage the provision of services to domestic pilgrims, and he may, if necessary and subject to the approval of the Ministry of Hajj, delegate such duty to the manager of the sole proprietorship whose name is recorded in the Commercial Register, provided that the manager meets the conditions required of the sole proprietorship owner. Such delegation shall not relieve the owner of his contractual obligations.

• 4. The general manager of the company whose name is recorded in the Commercial Register must personally manage the provision of services to domestic pilgrims, and he must meet the conditions required of a sole proprietorship owner. Such duty may, if necessary and subject to the approval of the Ministry of Hajj, be delegated to one of the partners of the company, provided that the partner meets the conditions required of the general manager of the company.

• 5. Employ only Saudi nationals to carry out administrative work and conclude contracts with pilgrims.

Applications to obtain or renew licenses for the provision of services to domestic pilgrims shall be submitted to the Ministry of Hajj. A committee shall be formed by the Ministry to review and decide on such applications, and to determine the number of pilgrims that the applicant for the license or license renewal may serve in accordance with the Implementing Regulations and in light of the applicant’s financial, administrative, and operational resources as well as his performance in previous years. Such committee shall meet as necessary.

The Ministry of Hajj shall issue licenses after the Minister of Hajj approves the decisions of the committee provided for in Article 5 of this Law. The license shall be valid for five Hajj seasons and may be renewed in accordance with the provisions of this Law. The license shall state the name of the licensee, his primary address, and the number of pilgrims he is licensed to provide services to. The licensee must use the name stated in the license in signboards, advertisements, publications, and the like.

The licensee may open branches in the Kingdom’s cities and counties pursuant to subsidiary commercial registrations issued upon the approval of the Ministry of Hajj. The licensee may not, however, conclude contracts with pilgrims in excess of the number of pilgrims he is licensed to provide services to.

The licensee shall submit to the Ministry of Hajj, within the deadlines set thereby, an application for seasonal approval for the provision of services to domestic pilgrims, and shall submit a bank guarantee valid for one year in the name of the Ministry, the amount of which is not less than three hundred riyals and not more than six hundred riyals for each pilgrim the licensee is licensed to serve, in accordance with the Implementing Regulations. Such guarantee shall be released no later than the end of the month of Safar of the year following its submission, unless the committee provided for in Article 19 of this Law decides not to release the guarantee.

The licensee must submit to the Ministry of Hajj a complete list of the actual number of pilgrims with whom he has concluded contracts, including their names, nationalities, addresses, and Hajj permit numbers, along with copies of the contracts, no later than the seventh of the month of Thul-Hijjah.