Starting August 26.. 90-day deadline to regularize Gulf vehicle status in Saudi Arabia - Sarmad
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, represented by the General Directorate of Traffic, announced that the legal duration for Gulf-registered vehicles owned by a Saudi citizen or a non-Gulf resident in the Kingdom—or driven by an authorized agent on their behalf—to remain within the Kingdom is 90 days, whether consecutive or non-consecutive, within a 365-day period.
According to Al-Riyadh newspaper, the Authority clarified that this duration is calculated from the first day the vehicle enters the Kingdom through a customs border crossing, in accordance with the regulations governing the stay of Gulf vehicles in the Kingdom, which will take effect starting from August 26, 2026.
Regarding vehicles already present in the Kingdom before the effective date of these regulations, the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority and the Ministry of Interior have invited Saudi citizens and non-Gulf residents who own Gulf vehicles or are authorized to drive them to utilize a 90-day corrective grace period. This period begins on August 26, 2026, and ends on November 23, 2026, allowing them to regularize the status of their vehicles in compliance with legal procedures and requirements.
The Authority emphasized that owners of Gulf vehicles in the Kingdom, whether Saudi citizens or non-Gulf residents, or those authorized to drive them, can regularize their vehicles by exiting the Kingdom before the end of the corrective grace period, or by registering the vehicles to obtain Saudi license plates. This process requires appointing a customs broker to submit the customs declaration electronically via the Fasah platform, fulfilling all necessary requirements and conditions, and paying the applicable customs duties and taxes, without the need to return to the vehicle’s port of entry. The Authority noted that a directory of customs brokers is available on its website to facilitate the selection of a broker.
Furthermore, the Authority stated that owners of Gulf vehicles, whether Saudi citizens or non-Gulf residents, or those authorized to drive them, may apply for an extension of the vehicle’s stay for up to 30 days, calculated from the end of the legal duration. Such extension requests must be coordinated with the General Directorate of Traffic and can be submitted through the Absher platform.
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority has urged Saudi citizens and non-Gulf residents who own Gulf vehicles or are authorized to drive them to review the regulations governing the stay of vehicles registered in any Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country within the Kingdom. These regulations are available on the Customs Systems and Regulations page of the Authority’s website. For any inquiries, the public can contact the unified call center at 19993, available around the clock.
