Aqid ERPThe two penalties
Saudi VAT law has separate fines for filing the return late and for paying the tax late, and a business that does both can owe both. Late payment is 5% of the unpaid tax for each month, or part of a month, it stays unpaid. Late filing is a fine ZATCA sets between 5% and 25% of the tax the return should have declared.
The late-payment fine keeps growing until the tax is paid; the late-filing fine is set once. Neither replaces the tax itself, which is still due.
A worked example
A quarterly return showing SAR 40,000 of VAT, filed late and paid three months after the due date.
| Late payment: 40,000 × 5% × 3 months | 6,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Late filing, lowest: 40,000 × 5% | 2,000.00 |
| Late filing, highest: 40,000 × 25% | 10,000.00 |
| Tax still due | 40,000.00 |
Before relying on the figure
ZATCA has run fines-cancellation initiatives more than once, the last ending on 30 June 2026; check whether one applies now. Other fines — for errors in a return, for not issuing an e-invoice, for not registering — are separate and not computed here. A penalty notice can be objected to within the period the notice gives.