Anti-Concealment Law. Royal Decree No. M/22 dated 4/5/1425H (corresponding to 22/6/2004AD)

Transcription

1 Anti-Concealment Law Royal Decree No. M/22 dated 4/5/1425H (corresponding to 22/6/2004AD) WITH THE HELP OF ALMIGHTY ALLAH, WE, FAHD IBN ABDULAZIZ AL-SAUD, KING OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA, Upon the Article (70th) of the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia, issued upon the Royal Decree No. (A/90) dated 27/8/1412H (corresponding to 2/3/1992AD), Upon the Article (20th) of the Law of the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia, issued upon the Royal Decree No. (A/13) dated 3/3/1414H (corresponding to 21/8/1993AD), Upon the Article (18th) of the Law of Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia Majlis Ash Shura issued upon the Royal Decree No. (A/90) dated 27/8/1412H (corresponding to 2/3/1992AD), After reviewing Majlis Ash Shura Resolution No. (68/64) dated 13/1/1424H (corresponding to 16/3/2003AD) of Majlis Ash Shura, And after reviewing the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia Resolution No. (119) dated 12/4/1425H (corresponding to 31/5/2004AD), DO HEREBY DECREE THE FOLLOWING: First: The approval of the Anti-Concealment Law with the attached form. Second: His Excellency Deputy Prime Minister and Ministers shall take this Decree into action - each under his jurisdiction-. Fahd ibn Abdulaziz

2 Resolution No. (119) dated 12/4/1425H (corresponding to 31/5/2004AD) THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF SAUDI ARABIA, After reviewing the message No. 7/b/8084 dated 22/2/1424H (corresponding to 24/4/2003AD) coming from the Diwan of the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, including the telegram No. 16/4485 dated 15-16/1/1422H (corresponding to 9-10/4/2001AD) sent by His Royal Highness Minister of Interior concerning the Anti-Concealment Law as well as the telegram No. 719/M dated 28/9/1420H (corresponding to 5/1/2000AD) sent by His Excellency Minister of Commerce and Industry concerning the commercial concealment phenomenon and practice of trade by foreigners, After reviewing the Anti-Concealment Law issued upon the Royal Decree No. (M/49) dated 16/10/1409H (corresponding to 22/5/1989AD), After reviewing the minutes No. (282) dated 18/8/1421H (corresponding to 14/11/2000AD) as well as minutes No. (7) dated 7/1/1422H (corresponding to 1/4/2001AD) and minutes No. (365) dated 20/11/1424H (corresponding to 12/1/2004AD) prepared in the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers, After reviewing Majlis Ash Shura Resolution No. (68/64) dated 13/1/1424H (corresponding to 16/3/2003AD), After reviewing the recommendation No. (260) dated 12/4/1425H (corresponding to 31/5/2004AD) submitted by the General Committee of the Council of Ministers, HEREBY DECREES THE FOLLOWING: The approval of the Anti-Concealment Law with the attached form. A royal decree draft was already prepared implying that, and its form is attached hereto. Prime Minister

3 Anti-Concealment Law Article 1 A non-saudi may not, under any circumstances, engage or invest in any activity unlicensed under the Foreign Investment Law or under any other laws, regulations or decisions. In applying this Law, any person enabling a non-saudi to invest or engage in any activity he is prohibited from investing or engaging in, shall be deemed to be committing an act of concealment, whether by way of using his name, license, commercial register or by any other means. Article 2 a. In applying the provisions of this Law, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall have jurisdiction to inspect and inquire about violations, receive reports and record violations. b. The Minister of Commerce and Industry shall issue a decision naming the judiciary officers. The Implementing Regulations shall include the criteria for selecting said officers and the procedures they shall follow in discharging their duties. c. The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution shall have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute violations of the provisions of this Law. d. The Board of Grievances shall have jurisdiction to review and decide violations of the provisions of this Law. Article 3 Any authority issuing licenses for engaging in any activity shall monitor the licensed enterprises and stores to ensure their compliance with this Law and notify the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of any concealment violation discovered. Article 4 a) Without prejudice to any severer penalty provided for in any other law, a violator of the provisions of Article (1) of this Law shall be subject to

4 imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years and a fine not exceeding SR 1 million, or to either penalty. b) In case of multiple violators, stores and enterprises, the fine stated in the previous paragraph shall be increased accordingly. c) The wording of the sentence shall be published in one or more local newspapers at the expense of the violator. Article 5 The Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution may request the imposition of a travel ban on any person found to be implicated in the act of concealment until a final judgment is given regarding the case. If convicted, the non-saudi shall be deported from the Kingdom, after executing the sentence and paying due taxes, fees and any other liabilities. He may not be allowed to return to the Kingdom for work again. Article 6 a) Conviction for violating the provisions of this Law shall entail striking off the commercial register or the sub-register related to the activity subject of the violation, revoking the license, liquidating the relevant business subject of the violation and preventing the violator from engaging in the same activity for a period not exceeding five years. b) Zakat, taxes, fees or any other liabilities not collected due to concealment shall be jointly collected from both the concealing and concealed parties. Article 7 The Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall take the measures deemed adequate to encourage and urge citizens and expatriates to participate in curtailing concealment acts and report them. Article 8 The Ministry of Commerce and Industry shall, in cooperation with relevant authorities, continuously raise public awareness of the bad effects of concealment

5 and illustrate its violation of applicable laws as well as penalties imposed upon violators. Article 9 Upon a decision issued by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, a financial reward not exceeding thirty percent (30%) of the fine imposed and collected under this Law shall be granted to any person if he provides admissible evidence and a final judgment of conviction is passed, provided that said person is neither a concealing nor a concealed party. In case of multiple informants, the reward shall be equally divided. Article 10 Without prejudice to any severer penalty provided for in other laws, any person falsely reporting, in bad faith, an incident punishable under this Law shall be referred to the competent court to consider imposing a ta'zir (discretionary) punishment upon him. The defendant may claim damages for any harm inflicted thereupon. Article 11 Without prejudice to any severer penalty provided for in other laws, any person who prevents or obstructs by any means the officers responsible for enforcing the provisions of this Law from discharging their duties shall be subject to a fine not exceeding SR 100 thousand (one hundred thousand riyals). Article 12 Pursuant to a resolution issued by the Council of Ministers, based upon a recommendation submitted by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, rules may be set for offering financial incentives to employees working on the implementation of the provisions of this Law who exert outstanding efforts in detecting violations. Article 13 The Minister of Commerce and Industry, upon agreement with the Minister of Interior, shall issue the Implementing Regulation of this Law within 180 days from the date of its issuance.

6 Article 14 This Law shall take place of the Anti-Concealment Law issued upon the Royal Decree No. (M/49) dated 16/10/1409H (corresponding to 22/5/1989AD). It shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall become effective after 180 days from the date of its publication. Any provision in conflict therewith shall be deemed null and void.