The most important legal news in local newspapers
We in Ben Arafa Law Group Consulting & Legal Legitimacy L.L.C likes to provide you of the most important legal news in the local newspapers for this week, which related to your business and commercial, labor and procedural activities, and accordingly we provide you with the most important news as follows:
Termination of the private sector foreign labor charges
The KSA terminates the charges imposed on the foreign labor at licensed industrial facilities that is according to a cabinet decree upon a recommendation of the economic affairs and development council. The decree aims at supporting national industrial facilities, reinforcing their international competitive capacity, and relieving operative burdens of factories.
Legal consequences:
Decreasing the expenses of industrial labor
Increasing foreign investment attraction to the industrial sector
It requires updating contracts and internal rules of establishments to ensure compliance to the new system.
New system for property foreign ownership that shall be commenced from January 2026
The Kingdom shall commence enforcing the property ownership of foreigners from 1st January, 2006. The system shall allow non-Saudi residents to own on housing unit in most cities, with special exceptions in Mecca, Riyadh and Jeddah. It also allows foreign companies to own commercial, industrial and agricultural properties at the locations defined by the concerned authorities.
The system includes registration charges up to 5% of the property value, and sanctions that include fines up to 10 million riyals or the judicial sale of the property in a case of misleading information
Legal consequences:
A great transformation in the policy of foreigners’ ownership of properties that reinforces foreign investment in the Saudi real estate market, the necessity of updating real estate policies for foreign companies and investors before executing bargains
Application of a new selective tax system on sweetened beverages
Selective tax system shall be applied on sweetened beverages through a new graded form that depends on the sugar content per 100 millimeters, instead of the old system which is fixed on 50% of the price.
The system is applied in cooperation between tax authorities, ministry of industry, ministry of health, Zakat and Customs.
Legal consequences:
Beverage manufacturers and importers are required to update the product information and re-categorizing them according to the sugar content.
The new system aims at encouraging less sugar products and supporting public health policies.
Important updates to the labor law
Recent updates to the Saudi labor law for 2025 include:
Decreasing the period of litigation and the claims for wages and dues to three months unless there is fraud
A law is issued to oblige employers to file a detailed annual report about their undertakings with the Saudization ratio.
Strict new mechanisms are allocated for freelance contracts to ensure social and tax rights of employees.
Now, judgments of labor disputes settlement committee are enforceable directly through the enforcement courts without the necessity of waiting for years.
Legal consequences:
It reinforces rights of labors and decreases judicial delay.
It increases the compliance requirements for companies and decreases fraud in the Saudization system.
It provides legal explanation for applying new standards.
Saudi authorities announce amendments at the labor law that includes new financial sanctions on the businesses that violate operation rules, to include:
A fine up to 200,000 riyals is applied on the one who recruit people without a license.
A fine up to 250,000 riyals is applied on non-licenses recruiting services.
Fines from 10,000 to 20,000 riyals in a case an employer allows an employee to work at another region without a license.
Fines for non-compliance with maternity rights (for example, child care) from 1,000 to 3,000 riyals
Fines for not verifying internal investigations in misbehavior cases inside establishments
Legal consequences:
Reinforcing labor protection
Motivating companies to the compliance with recruiting and hiring procedures
Raising regulative responsibility of employers
“Legal Information”
Registration of property dealings at the property register is a binding condition to be enforceable at confronting others at the Saudi law, while no non-registered deal shall be alleged upon the application of the property registration law.
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