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Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi ecommerce regulations

Saudi Arabia is the Gulf's biggest ecommerce prize, and its rules are well documented. Register the right way first, then handle VAT, selling rules and product approvals.

12 guides

Setting up your business

Choose between a CR, MISA licence or freelance document, and stay clear of tasattur.

Regulations · Saudi Arabia

How to Register a Business in Saudi Arabia for Ecommerce (2026)

Saudi citizens register an online store with a commercial registration (CR) on the Saudi Business Center: SAR 500 for a sole establishment, issued online the same day. Add your store to the CR within 30 days, authenticate it on the Business Platform, then sort VAT and a business bank account. Foreign owners register with MISA first.

7 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

MISA Investment Registration: A 2026 Guide for Foreign Investors

MISA investment registration is the first step for a foreign owner who wants a Saudi company. You apply online at the Invest Saudi portal, MISA reviews a complete file in about 10 working days, and you then get a commercial registration (CR). Since February 2025 it's a registration, not a licence.

11 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi Freelance Document vs CR: Which Does Your Store Need?

The Freelance Document is a free licence for Saudi citizens that lets you run a small online store on Salla or Zid, authenticate it and take card payments. A CR (commercial registration) costs from SAR 500 and lets you hire, import stock in bulk, open a shop and sell on noon or Amazon.sa. Start freelance to test, switch to a CR to scale.

10 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi Anti-Concealment (Tasattur) Law: A Guide for Foreign Sellers

Tasattur (commercial concealment) means letting a non-Saudi run a business under a Saudi's licence, name or CR. The 2020 Anti-Concealment Law punishes it with up to 5 years in prison and SAR 5 million in fines. Foreign sellers have legal routes instead: marketplaces, importer-of-record partners, distributors or their own MISA-registered company.

10 min read

VAT and e-invoicing

Register for VAT, even from abroad, and issue invoices ZATCA accepts.

Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi VAT for Ecommerce Sellers: Register, Price and File

Saudi online stores charge 15% VAT. You must register with ZATCA once taxable sales pass SAR 375,000 a year, and you can opt in from SAR 187,500. Most stores file quarterly, by the last day of the month after each quarter, and deduct the VAT they pay on imports and platform fees.

7 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi VAT for Non-Resident Sellers: Registration, Filing & DDP

Non-resident sellers get no VAT threshold in Saudi Arabia. If you owe VAT on Saudi sales, for example from FBA, FBN or 3PL stock in the Kingdom, register with ZATCA within 30 days of your first sale. Parcels shipped from abroad pay 15% import VAT at the border instead.

10 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

ZATCA E-Invoicing (Fatoora) for Online Stores: Phase 2 & Wave 25

Every VAT-registered Saudi business must issue e-invoices through a compliant system (Phase 1), then connect that system to ZATCA's Fatoora platform by its wave date (Phase 2). The current wave, Wave 25, covers resident businesses with more than SAR 187,500 in taxable sales and must integrate by 1 February 2027.

7 min read

Rules for selling online

What the ecommerce law, consumer protection and data rules ask of your store.

Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi E-Commerce Law: What Online Sellers Must Do in 2026

Saudi Arabia's 2019 E-Commerce Law applies to every store selling to Saudi consumers, including stores abroad. Show who you are, give a full VAT-inclusive price before payment, send a detailed receipt, honour the 7-day cancellation right and the 15-day late-delivery rule, label ads and protect customer data. Fines reach SAR 1 million per violation.

9 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi Consumer Protection Rules for Online Stores (2026)

Saudi Arabia has no single consumer protection law in force yet. A draft is set to be issued during 2026. Today, online stores follow the E-Commerce Law plus Ministry of Commerce rules: VAT-inclusive prices, a licence for every sale, a written return policy, honest Arabic product information and a 30-day complaint reply, all backed by the Anti-Commercial Fraud Law.

7 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

Saudi PDPL Guide for Online Stores: What to Do in 2026

Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) has been fully enforced by SDAIA since 14 September 2024. It covers any store that handles data about people living in the Kingdom, even from abroad. Most stores comply with six steps: a clear privacy notice, opt-in marketing consent, a cookie banner, transfer safeguards for overseas tools, a 72-hour breach plan and a way to answer customer requests.

9 min read

Product approvals

Clear SABER, SASO and SFDA so your products can enter the Kingdom.

Regulations · Saudi Arabia

SASO and SABER Explained: Saudi Product Certificates in 2026

SASO is Saudi Arabia's product standards regulator. SABER is its online platform, where importers get a Product Certificate (PC, SAR 500) for each regulated product and a Shipment Certificate (SC, SAR 350, valid 90 days) for each shipment. Customs checks both automatically.

5 min read
Regulations · Saudi Arabia

SFDA Registration for Cosmetics, Food & Supplements in Saudi Arabia

The SFDA (Saudi Food and Drug Authority) approves anything people eat, put on their skin or take for health. Cosmetics are listed in its GHAD system, which is free and instant once your Saudi importer is licensed. Food is registered in FIRS, and supplements are classified first, then registered for SAR 5,000 per product.

10 min read