The cabinet of Saudi Arabia has extended the grace period offered to violators of the country’s anti-concealment law by an additional six months.
The period has been extended from August 23, 2021, to February 16, 2022.
The Ministry of Commerce has warned that strict mechanisms would be put in place, utilizing artificial intelligence, after the end of the corrective period to analyze and control the data of violators.
Punitive measures would include up to five years imprisonment or fines amounting to SR5 million (more than $1.3 million), or both.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Commerce Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi said his ministry had been examining corrections requisitions of establishments from all parties — Saudi or non-Saudi — since the beginning of the grace period which started 6 months ago.
Al-Qasabi, who is also chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the National Anti-Concealment Program, explained that several large and medium-sized enterprises, whose annual revenues exceeded SR6 billion ($1.6 billion), benefited from the initial corrective period.
He added that they had been given two options. One was to allow the entry of a non-Saudi partner into the business, while the other was to register the ownership of the facility in the name of a non-Saudi.
According to the National Anti-Concealment Program data, the correction requests received by the Ministry of Commerce included various economic activities.
These included, but were not limited to wholesale and retail trade, contracting, accommodation and food services, manufacturing industries, transport, and storage.
The applicants’ requests included the six correction options specified in the ministry’s regulations.
The program renewed its call on all those wishing to correct their status to take this opportunity to apply to the Ministry of Commerce with a request for correction before the February 16, 2022, deadline.