The following words and phrases - wherever they appear in these regulations - shall have the meanings specified next to each, unless the context of the text requires otherwise:

• Authority: Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority.

• Council: Board of Directors of the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority.

• Governor: Governor of the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority.

• Systems and Regulations: Includes the Zakat Collection Law, Income Tax Law, Selective Goods Tax Law, Value Added Tax Law, Implementing Regulation for Real Estate Transactions Tax, Unified Customs Law for GCC countries and its implementing regulations and instructions issued regarding it, and any Zakat, tax, or customs systems or regulations issued later, including relevant international agreements and treaties to which the Kingdom is a party.

• Rules: Rules and procedures for the work of the Zakat, tax, and customs dispute settlement committees.

• Working Rules: Working rules of the Zakat, tax, and customs committees which detail the jurisdiction of the competent judicial authority in disputes arising from the application of the provisions of the systems and regulations.

• Dispute: Any dispute arising from a decision issued by the Authority under its statutory powers as stipulated in the systems and regulations, which imposes obligations on the taxpayer that must be settled legally, including amounts or rights owed to the taxpayer by the Authority, such as disputes over credit balances and refund requests.

• Committee: The internal committee or committees within the Authority responsible for settling disputes that arise between it and the taxpayers regarding the Authority's decisions in accordance with the provisions of these rules.

• Claim: A claim for dispute resolution submitted by the taxpayer or their agent or legal representative, including a request for the Authority to negotiate with the taxpayer to resolve the dispute.

• Taxpayer: The person - natural or legal - subject to Zakat, tax, or customs duties under the relevant systems, regulations, and instructions.

The purpose of these rules is to provide a regulatory framework that achieves the following:

• A- Implement best practices for resolving disputes through alternative methods and means.

• B- Reduce disputes and conflicts that may arise between the authority and the obligated parties and limit the flow of lawsuits and disputes to the competent judicial authority.

• C- Enhance trust and increase transparency between the authority and the obligated parties, while working to reduce the costs and burdens of disputes, thereby supporting business growth and encouraging investments.

• D- Collect public treasury dues and social security dues with the necessary speed and efficiency, and reduce the level of risks related to these dues, preventing the suspension of the regulatory and financial positions of the obligated parties for extended periods.

The formation of the Committee and the convening of its sessions shall take into account the following:

• A- A Committee or more shall be formed - by a decision from the Minister of Finance - consisting of a President and members with legal, accounting, and specialist expertise in the field of Zakat, tax, and customs. The decision of formation shall specify the qualitative scope of the disputes that the Committee is authorized to settle, and it may include a specification of the ceiling of the dispute that one of the Committees is authorized to handle and its authority to review decisions issued by another Committee.

• B- The sessions of the Committee shall be convened in the presence of the majority of the members, including the President or his representative, and the decisions of the Committee shall be issued by majority vote. In the event of a tie, the side that the President of the session voted for shall prevail.

• C- The Committee may issue its decisions by presenting them to the members for circulation, and in this case, the minutes must be circulated to all members.

• D- It is permissible to hold hearings, consider disputes, document actions, issue decisions, approve them, and vote on them using electronic means.

• E- The Committee shall have a secretariat responsible for preparing for the Committee's meetings, recording the deliberations, organizing the record of claims, preparing the minutes, correspondence, notifications, organizing its agenda and sessions, preparing reports, and performing the tasks assigned to it by the President of the Committee.

Subject to the provisions of Articles (5) and (8) of the Work Regulations, the procedures for resolving disputes shall be in accordance with the following provisions:

• A- The obligated party may submit a claim for dispute resolution to the Committee within (30) days from the day following the date of notification of the rejection of the appeal, its partial acceptance, or the passage of ninety days without a decision on the appeal, including the scope of the dispute, its subject, reasons, and supporting documents, prior to filing a lawsuit before the adjudication circuits.

• B- The Committee shall study the claim and notify the obligated party of its acceptance or rejection within a period not exceeding (10 days) from the date of its registration with them.

• C- If the Committee accepts the claim, it may schedule one or more sessions to hear or consider the dispute in the presence of the applicant or their legal representative, and it may complete what is necessary to consider the dispute by studying it documentarily and sending inquiries and requesting clarifications from the obligated party if the nature of the dispute does not require holding a hearing session.

• D- The Committee shall issue its decision on the claim within (60) days from the date of its acceptance, and it may extend this period for an additional (60) days with the consent of the obligated party. If the period specified in this paragraph passes without a decision on the dispute, it shall be considered as an implicit decision from the Committee rejecting the settlement.

• E- The obligated party may, within (30) days from the day following the date of notification of the rejection of the settlement, its partial acceptance, or the passage of the period specified in paragraph (4) of this article without a decision on the claim, submit their objection to the competent judicial authority in accordance with the provisions of the Work Regulations.

• F- The Committee may negotiate with the obligated party to settle the dispute at any stage of the consideration of the lawsuit before the adjudication committees or the appeal committees in tax, zakat, and customs violations and disputes, and the initiation of negotiations with the obligated party shall result in the suspension of the lawsuit, which shall be done by notifying the authority to the General Secretariat of the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Committees of the commencement of negotiations with the obligated party in accordance with a mechanism agreed upon between the authority and the secretariat.

No member of the Committee may consider, express an opinion, or make any decision regarding the settlement presented to him if there is an existing or potential conflict of interest, or a direct or indirect personal interest, whether material or moral, in the person or entity submitting the claim, or if he has a familial or marital relationship up to the fourth degree with the obligated party or any person with an interest in it; in such a way that this conflict of interest or interest affects the ability of the concerned member to perform his duties, express his opinion, and vote on decisions independently, objectively, and impartially. The member must take the following actions immediately upon becoming aware of this:

• A- Declare to the Chair of the Committee the conflict of interest so that the alternate member may replace him - if available - or a substitute member may be appointed if necessary.

• B- If a conflict of interest arises with the Chair of the Committee, he must appoint someone to act on his behalf regarding the dispute related to the conflict of interest and take the necessary actions to complete the quorum of the Committee if required.

1- The Committee issues its decision on the dispute after reviewing all documents and papers related to the claim, and it documents the materials submitted by the obligated party and any other documents that the Committee deems important to document, to the extent necessary and sufficient to issue a settlement decision.

2- The decision is approved by all members of the Committee who participated in considering the dispute, and the minutes prepared for this purpose record the most important facts that were discussed, and the member who disagrees with the majority may express their opinion.

3- The Committee relies on the provisions of the laws, regulations, principles, and judicial precedents issued in the dispute presented to it - including the principles adopted by the competent Committee in the Authority - and it may be guided by the best international practices applicable to related treatments, taking into account the circumstances and conditions surrounding each claim.

4- The Committee may decide not to uphold the Authority's decision if it is proven to it that the Authority's decision does not meet the legal requirements stipulated in the laws and regulations.

5- The Committee may correct any purely clerical or mathematical errors that occur in its decision.

6- The minutes of the Committee, its deliberations, and its decisions are confidential, and neither the Authority nor the obligated party may rely on anything discussed regarding views or proposals presented to bridge the viewpoints of the specialized dispute resolution and appeal Committees.

7- The Committee may notify the obligated party of the rejection of the claim presented to it and consider it concluded without resolution if it becomes evident to it during the consideration of the dispute that it is not serious or that it has not complied with the requested documents or for any other substantive reasons that necessitate issuing a decision in this regard.

The Committee shall notify the obligated party of the decision reached regarding the settlement request, and shall specify in the decision the time period required for approval in accordance with the following provisions and procedures:

• A- In the event that the obligated party rejects the settlement decision or the specified period in the notification has expired without a response from the obligated party or their representative, the dispute shall be considered ongoing between the authority and the obligated party, and the authority's decision prior to the commencement of settlement procedures shall remain in effect, and the settlement request shall be deemed as if it never existed, and the procedures for resolving the dispute and considering it shall continue in accordance with the rules of work.

• B- The approval of the obligated party on the settlement decision shall be documented in writing or through means equivalent to writing via electronic notarization.

• C- With due regard to the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article Eight of the rules of work, the final settlement record shall be submitted to the governor for approval, and upon the approval of the record and the decision issued by the Committee and the necessary notarization regarding it on the authority's documents, those documents shall acquire the status of an enforcement document, and the mandatory collection and seizure procedures shall apply to the amounts subject to the settlement in accordance with the provisions of the regulations and rules.

• D- In the execution and collection of the amounts subject to the settlement, what has been agreed upon shall be taken into account in the event that the amounts are due on a specific date, and whether they will be due periodically, in which case the first installment shall be considered due without prejudice to what is stipulated in the regulations and rules regarding the provisions and procedures of installment payments.

1- The Committee, when conducting any discussions or negotiations with the obligated party, may do any of the following:

• A- Utilize all objective and recognized methods and means to achieve its objectives in resolving disputes through alternative methods.

• B- Seek the assistance of experts and specialists or qualified consulting entities to provide these specialist services whenever the presented case requires it.

• C- Consider the nature of discretionary and negotiable work related to the Committee's dealings with the obligated parties and what they present in terms of declarations or disclosures regarding their various positions and legal obligations.

• D- Resolve disputes through satisfactory settlements for both parties and waive any existing cases arising from those disputes.

• E- The Committee may rely on the information and documents provided during the stages of revision and objection regarding the presented dispute; it shall evaluate all actions taken prior to the emergence of the dispute, and it may issue its decision based on that or based on any additional information and documents it requests, and it may - if necessary - decide to return the case for revision and auditing again with the consent of the obligated party.

2- Without prejudice to what is stipulated in the laws, the members of the Committee shall exercise the necessary, reasonable, and customary care in issuing the settlement decision, and no member of the Committee shall be subject to any accountability for performing their duties in accordance with the provisions of the laws and regulations and what these rules stipulate unless it is proven - to the Council - according to objective procedures that there was bad faith or serious misconduct.

3- The Committee may organize the priority of claims according to a classification that takes into account several criteria, including: the importance of the claim, its complexities, its seniority, the value of the related obligations, and other objective considerations in this regard.

4- The Authority is responsible, according to the laws and regulations, for issuing decisions related to zakat, tax, and customs assessment, as it is the competent authority for assessing, collecting, and managing everything related to zakat, tax, and customs, and the Committee derives its powers in settling these positions and reviewing these decisions from the statutory jurisdiction of the Authority, and the Council alone has the authority to supervise and oversee these powers.

5- The notification of the Committee's decisions and claims is considered a product of its legal effects and a notification to the addressee according to the contact information recorded in the claim or if it is done through one of the means mentioned in Article Twelve of the Work Rules.

6- The provisions stipulated in Article Forty-Six of the Work Rules shall apply regarding the statutory periods.

7- The Committee's Secretariat shall prepare the minutes and procedural forms related to issuing decisions, claims, notifications, scheduling, and other matters required for its tasks and activities.

8- The Committee's Secretariat shall submit to the Governor at the end of each year a report that includes the results of its work, the difficulties it faced, its recommendations, and any proposals that include the development of its work procedures and improvement of its performance.

9- The Governor shall issue all necessary decisions to implement these rules.

These rules are issued and amended by a decision of the Council based on a proposal from the Governor, and they are published in the official gazette, and they come into effect from the date of their publication.