Saudi Arabia’s Commission for Health Specialists has announced a new program for providing health services remotely.
The Commission said the program aims to train health specialists to diagnose patients remotely. They added that the application of remote health services helped to overcome the difficulties of treating old patients during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The program’s implementation will boost the performance of the health sector and save money and costs for patients.
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Saudi Arabia’s General Secretariat of Tax Committees has announced it has launched an electronic services guide. The guide includes 12 electronic services which have been linked to various integrated systems with it to verify data and information and ensure accuracy and reliability by collecting data and information from the source while saving time in importing the necessary documents and statutory requirements to boost its efforts in managing and addressing tax disputes efficiently and effectively and facilitate procedures.
This will enable customers to follow up on issues without having to visit its offices physically. Instead, they will be able to do so in a few easy steps through the General Secretariat of the Tax Committees website.
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Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development has announced that the first phase of the Professional Verification Scheme has been launched. It will verify the necessary skills employees need to carry out their jobs effectively. It will eventually be mandatory for all entities in the Kingdom.
It targets more than 1,000 specialized professions in 23 specialisms in line with the Saudi Standard Classification of Occupations. It is split into two parts. The first part covers examining professional workers in their countries before they arrive in the Kingdom and international examination centers. The second part relates to examining experienced workers currently in the Kingdom together with local examination centers.
Companies having 3,000 or more employees will be enrolled in the Program first. They will be followed by companies with between 500 and 2,999 employees and then entities with between 50 and 499 employees. It will then be followed by companies employing between six to 49 employees and then companies employing one to five employees.
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The Saudi Arabian authorities have confirmed the requirements for approving financing portfolios for micro-enterprises. The regulations governing the approval of financing portfolios for microfinance projects set out several conditions for approving financing portfolios. The first of these is that the entity and its subsidiaries have a valid official license from licensed government agencies and an approved organizational structure and published bylaws and have an integrated headquarters in the geographical scope where it provides its services.
It also states that the objectives or activities of the governor will include the provision of services for the development of microfinance projects. Therefore, it has to have a documented program and an integrated work mechanism with a transparent methodology. It includes qualified administrative and technical staff appropriately qualified for the size and nature of the services it will provide to the beneficiary, and it has all the means and tools which will facilitate the provision of its services and the absence of any financial obligations on it. In other words, it has to be financially solvent.
The Kingdom’s National Competitiveness Centre has launched a consultation on the draft regulation to approve financing portfolios for microfinance projects. It ends on 1 September 2021.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Commerce has announced it has approved the Implementing Regulations to the Accounting and Auditing Professions Law. The regulations state that the license will be granted to someone who holds a relevant university degree.
The applicant should pass a training program. The regulations also state that the license will last for three years for part-time accountants and auditors.
The General Secretariat of Tax Committees has launched an electronic edition of the tax regulations guidance. The electronic edition has been issued to create a comprehensive reference for all tax and zakat regulations.
The electronic edition aims to improve the processing times of tax disputes and raise public awareness about the tax regulations.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Social Insurance has announced a Decision has been issued by the Finance Minister and Chairman of the Authority approving an amendment to the registration and subscription regulation for the Social Insurance Law. The amendments will come into force on February 1, 2022.
Under the amendments, the period of time given to the employers to add subscribers becomes the end of the month of the joining and amending the period given to employers to remove the subscribers by the end of the month they are leaving.
Completing the registration of the non-Saudi subscribers and submitting their wages must also be done by the end of the month of their joining.
Nitaqat is an initiative launched by the Saudi Ministry of Human Recourses and Social Development(“HRSD”) to encourage the private sector to hire Saudi nationals, thus, decreasing Saudi unemployment and increasing the share of their participation in the labour market.
The initiative restricts certain positions in the private sector to be occupied only by Saudi nationals. Currently, there are five Zones; Red, Low Green, Medium Green, High Green, and Platinum. Nitaqat applies to all entities that have 6 employees and above.
HRSD would apply Nitaqat to place the Saudi entity into a zone based on the percentage of Saudization it holds. Each range has its privileges and limitations.
Since its application in 2011, Nitaqat has been subject to different changes and updates, the latest of which was in December 2021( the “Advanced Nitaqat”).
Nitaqat classifies entities by their sector, activities and number of employees using the International Classification Standard (“ISIC4”) over three years. By applying a specific equation using the Saudization percentage and number of employees, the entity will be able to know in which zone it falls for the first, second and third year onward.
While there is no specific minimum wage for a Saudi national generally under the Saudi Labour Law, the MHRSD would only count an employed Saudi national towards Nitaqat if his/her basic monthly salary is at least SAR 4,000, which was SAR 3000. However, those whose salaries are SAR 3000 and less than SAR 4000, including part-time workers shall be counted as ½ of the Saudi worker. In addition, flexible-hours workers shall be counted as 1/3 of the Saudi worker, provided the worker has completed not less than 168 hours in service. Handicapped worker will be considered as 4 workers, provided that his/her salary is not less than SAR 4,000.
The previous Nitaqt classified organizations under 85 categories, which have been condensed to 33 activities and placed them in the same category with common characteristics.
| 1 | Agricultural production, animal production, its services and equestrian clubs | 2 | Mines, Energy and Services
|
| 3 | Industries | 4 | Contracting, construction, building and cleaning |
| 5 | Operation and maintenance | 6 | Wholesale and Retail |
| 7 | Health Services | 8 | Accommodation, Recreation and Tourism |
| 9 | Ground transportation and storage | 10 | Sea and Air transport |
| 11 | Financial Institutions | 12 | Business Services |
| 13 | Social Services | 14 | Recruitment services and security guards services. |
| 15 | Personal Services | 16 | Combined Entities. |
| 17 | Higher Education | 18 | Girls’ schools, Kindergartens and Nurseries |
| 19 | Boys’ Schools and boys’ and girls’ complexes | 20 | International Schools |
| 21 | Selling Fuel
|
22 | Women’s goods Sale and maintenance of mobile phones |
| 23 | Restaurants with services that do not include fast food | 24 | Fast food and Ice-cream Shops |
| 25 | Cafés | 26 | Catering |
| 27 | Communication solutions | 28 | IT Solutions |
| 29 | postal activities | 30 | IT Infrastructure |
| 31 | telecommunications infrastructure | 32 | Operation and maintenance of communications |
| 33 | Operation and maintenance of information technology |
To explain how the equation works, the table below shows the values that need to be used to generate the minimum classification for each zone, then the Saudizatin percentage will be compared to the result to allocate the entity in the relevant zone.
| Activity | Zone | Curve Fixed Value | Absolute Fixed Value for the 1st year | Absolute Fixed Value for the 2nd year | Absolute Fixed value for the 3rd year |
| Industries | Low Green | 1.68 | 14.08 | 20.08 | 25.08 |
| Medium Green | 1.87 | 16.87 | 22.87 | 27.87 | |
| High Green | 2.08 | 20.47 | 26.47 | 29.47 | |
| Platinum | 2.08 | 23.87 | 28.37 | 32.87 |
Below is an example of an activity and the Nitaqat zones for the first year on the assumption that the entity has 19 employees (7 Saudis and 12 non-Saudis):
7%19× 100 = 36.84
Curve Fixed Value * log(total number of employees) + absolute fixed value for the relevant year
Nitaqat Low Green Value: 1.68× log(19)+14.08= 16.22
Nitagate Medium Green Value: 1.87× log(19)+16.87= 19.26
Nitaqat High Green Value: 2.08× log(19)+20.47= 23.12
Nitaqat Platinium Value: 2.08× log(19)+23.87= 26.52
Accordingly, the entity will be placed by comparing the Saudization percentage with the results we reached above:
From 0% – 16.21 falls in Red Zone.
From 16.22 – 19.25 falls in Low Green Zone.
From 19.26 – 23.11 falls in Medium Green Zone.
From 23.12 up to 26.51 falls in High Green Zone.
From 26.52 up to 100 falls in the Platinium Zone.
As the Saudization percentage is: 36.84%, which exceed the minimum range of the Platinium Range (26.52), then the entity shall be placed in the Platinium Zone.
Premium Range Companies:
High Green Range Companies:
Mid Green Range Companies
Low Green Range Companies:
Red Range Companies:
Arbitration is becoming an increasingly popular way to resolve disputes in Saudi Arabia. The government has taken significant steps to encourage the use of arbitration, and recent developments in the law have made the process even more efficient and cost-effective. As a result, more businesses are turning to arbitration to resolve their disputes.
In 2014, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) was founded as the Kingdom’s first independent arbitration institution. They are a not-for-profit organization that administers Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures guided by Shariah principles.
Arbitration is used as a means to resolve disputes outside the courtroom. It’s a process in which two or more parties agree to have a neutral third party, called an arbitrator, preside over their case, and make a decision.
Arbitration is often seen as a faster and more cost-effective option than going to court. It allows both parties to agree upon an adjudicator of their own choosing, rather than a court-appointed judge. The arbitrator is often a highly accomplished legal professional or former business leader, who gives both parties the opportunity to present their case.
Although previously an uncommon choice in Saudi Arabia, the government has sought to increase the use of arbitration as a means to resolve disputes. In 2012, a royal decree was issued which set forth the legal framework for arbitration in Saudi Arabia. This new Law of Arbitration is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, which is the international standard for best practice in arbitration law.
The Law of Arbitration sets out the rules and procedures that must be followed in order to initiate and conclude an arbitration proceeding. It also establishes the legal rights and obligations of the parties involved in the arbitration process.
Arbitration in Saudi Arabia is a private process, meaning that the proceedings and the award remain confidential unless there is written consent from both parties to publish the details of the award granted.
In 2013, the Enforcement Law came into effect, which provides for the enforcement of arbitration awards in Saudi Arabia. This means that if one party does not comply with the award, the other party can take legal action to have it enforced.
Arbitration in Saudi Arabia is considerably cheaper than taking a case through the court and the SCCA has taken recent steps to make it even more affordable. In September 2021, they reduced arbitrator fees by 30% and the initial cost of starting proceedings by 50%.
Filing fees have now been eliminated entirely, and parties are simply required to pay a flat registration fee of SAR 5,000, which is later credited towards the administration fee. The SCCA has also introduced three arbitrator pricing tiers: minimum, maximum, and average. Fees are fixed on a case-by-case basis, depending on the complexity of the case and the time required by the arbitrators to hear and determine the case.
The Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) service also experienced a price reduction of 40%. This allows smaller businesses and entrepreneurs to have access to affordable arbitration, without the need to take their dispute to the courts.
Arbitration in Saudi Arabia is a relatively fast process in comparison to court proceedings. The time it takes to resolve a dispute through arbitration will depend on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case and the availability of the arbitrator.
Generally, arbitration proceedings will take between 6 and 12 months to complete. Once the arbitrator has made a decision, the award will be binding on the parties with a requirement to comply.
According to a recent statistical report by the SCCA, arbitration continues to be supported by the judiciary and is experiencing fast growth as an alternative to court litigation. Saudi courts are increasingly reluctant to set aside arbitration awards, demonstrating their strong support for the arbitration process. Between 2017 and 2020, 107 motions were initiated to set aside awards. Out of those 107, only 6% were accepted.
In light of this continued success, it is likely that arbitration will continue to grow in popularity in Saudi Arabia. Parties who are looking to resolve disputes quickly and cost-effectively should consider arbitration as an option.