• The following words and phrases - wherever they appear in these rules - shall have the meanings indicated opposite each of them, unless the context requires otherwise:

  • 1- Law: Law of Civil Society Associations and Organizations, issued by Royal Decree No. (M/8) dated 19/2/1437 AH.

  • 2- Center: National Center for Non-Profit Sector Development.

  • 3- Rules: Rules of the Real Beneficiary of Associations and Civil Society Organizations.

  • 4- Real Beneficiary: A natural person or persons who own or exercise ultimate direct or indirect actual control over the association or civil society organization.

  • 5- Association: Civil Society Association.

  • 6- Organization: Civil Society Organization.

  • 7- Board of Directors: Board of Directors of the Civil Society Association.

  • 8- Board of Trustees: Board of Trustees of the Civil Society Organization.

  • 9- Executive Officer: The primary official responsible for the executive body, whether an Executive Director, General Manager, Secretary General, or otherwise.

  • 10- Disclosure Form: A form prepared by the Center for the purpose of collecting information about the real beneficiary of the association or organization.

  • 11- Real Beneficiary Register: An internal database at the Center in which the data of the real beneficiary is recorded.

  • 12- Competent Authorities: Administrative authorities or authorities competent to enforce laws or regulatory bodies.

These rules aim to:

1- Enhance the transparency of the non-profit sector.

2- Regulate the procedures for disclosing information about the beneficial owner and registering it in the beneficial owner register.

3- Enhance compliance with local and international requirements.

The rules apply to civil associations and institutions, including family and civil funds, in accordance with the provisions of the law.

1- The association or institution is obligated to collect sufficient, accurate, and updated information about its beneficial owner, and must retain and disclose it to the center, in accordance with what is specified in Article Six. The center shall record this information in the beneficial owner register.

2- The association or institution established before the issuance of these rules is obligated to disclose the beneficial owner information to the center within thirty (30) days from the effective date of the rules.

3- The association or institution established after the rules come into effect is obligated to disclose the beneficial owner information to the center as part of the establishment procedures.

4- In all cases, the association or institution that has previously disclosed the beneficial owner information to the center is obligated to notify the center of any changes to this information within ten (10) days of the change occurring.

A beneficial owner of the association or institution is any natural person who was:

1- A member of the board of directors of an association or a member of the board of trustees of an institution.

2- An executive officer of an association or institution or held leadership positions.

3- Any natural person not falling under paragraphs (1) or (2), who has the authority to appoint or dismiss the executive officer or holders of leadership positions in the association or institution, or who directly or indirectly exercises control over the general activities of the association or institution.

If a member of the board of directors or board of trustees is a legal entity, the beneficial owner in this case is the natural person who is considered the beneficial owner of the legal entity, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and regulations.

• The center shall establish the beneficial owner register, in which the data of the association and the institution, the data of the beneficial owner for each of them, and the date of registration - through the disclosure form - and any updates thereto shall be recorded, provided that the register includes at least the following data:

• 1- Data of the association or institution, particularly the following:

  • A- Name of the association or institution.

  • B- Its legal form.

  • C- Address of its main headquarters, registration number, classification, and the authority technically supervising it.

  • D- List of board of directors or board of trustees members and holders of leadership positions.

  • E- The basic regulation of the association or institution.

• 2- Data of the beneficial owner, which shall include the following for each beneficial owner separately:

  • A- Name of the beneficial owner and his identification number.

  • B- Place and date of birth.

  • C- National address.

  • D- Nationality.

  • E- Contact information.

  • F- The date on which he became a beneficial owner of the association or institution.

  • G- The reason for becoming a beneficial owner of the association or institution.

1- The executive officer of the association or institution shall be responsible for providing sufficient, accurate, and updated information about the beneficial owner, and must take all necessary procedures and measures to verify this before delivering it to the center.

2- The center has the right to request to view or record any documents or information about the beneficial owner from the association or institution, and the association or institution must respond to the request within a maximum period of (five) days from its date, and cooperate and coordinate with the center to identify the beneficial owner.

1- The association or institution is obligated to provide information about its ultimate beneficiary to the center through the disclosure form.

2- The association or institution must submit to the center a request to remove the name of the ultimate beneficiary whose status has ceased, including the reasons for the request, within ten (10) days from the date the ultimate beneficiary status ceased.

3- The association or institution must retain all records, documents, papers, and data related to its ultimate beneficiaries for no less than ten (10) years from the date of dissolution of the association or institution. Retention may be electronic, provided that the technical protection regulations approved by the competent authorities are adhered to.

4- The association or institution may request updated information from the ultimate beneficiary when necessary, and the beneficiary must provide it to the association or institution within five (5) days from the date of the request.

The center retains the beneficial owner's record data for a period of (ten) years from the date of the occurrence of any of the following:

A- The disappearance of the beneficial owner's status.

B- The dissolution or merger of the association or institution.

The center is obligated to provide access to the beneficial owner's information to the competent authorities in accordance with the relevant regulations.