No. 30/3/2393
Date: 24/11/1376 AH
By the grace of Almighty God,
We, Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
In view of the exceptional circumstances in the international situation that have led to a shortage in the country’s foreign‑currency reserves,
And in view of the necessity of taking temporary exceptional measures to ensure the proper use of foreign currency in ways consistent with the general national interest, and with the desire to regulate import‑related currencies and facilitate matters for importers,
We hereby decree the following:
Article One
A committee shall be established in each of Jeddah, Riyadh, and Dammam.
Its task shall be to study import applications and issue import licenses in accordance with this system.
The Jeddah Committee shall handle applications from the Western Region, the Riyadh Committee from the Najd Region, and the Dammam Committee from the Eastern Region.
Article Two
Each committee mentioned in Article One shall be composed as follows:
- Two representatives (non‑merchants) appointed by the Prime Minister
- Two representatives from the Ministry of Finance and National Economy appointed by the Minister
- Two representatives from the Ministry of Commerce appointed by the Minister
- Two representatives of the merchants chosen by the merchants themselves
Each committee shall elect its chairman by secret ballot at its first meeting.
The chairmanship term shall be one year.
Each committee shall have a secretary appointed by the Minister of Finance and National Economy.
Committee decisions shall be made by majority vote; in case of a tie, the chairman has the casting vote.
The secretary has no voting rights.
The Minister of Finance and National Economy shall appoint the necessary number of staff required for the committees’ work.
Article Three
The Minister of Finance and National Economy shall determine in advance the minimum amount of foreign currency for which import licenses may be issued for each three‑month period.
He shall notify the committees at the beginning of Muharram, Rabi‘ II, Rajab, and Shawwal of each year of their respective allocations.
The total foreign‑currency allocation shall be distributed among the three committees based on official statistics and the emerging needs of each region.
Article Four
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) shall provide the foreign currencies allocated to each committee and shall arrange with the banks in each region to open letters of credit without delay for those granted import licenses.
The importer may choose any bank he wishes for opening the credit.
Article Five
The committees shall observe the following rules when receiving applications and issuing licenses:
- Import applications must be submitted on the designated forms, accompanied by documentation showing the applicant’s imports during the previous year, with details for each period mentioned in Article Three. Applications may be mailed by registered post or delivered by hand.
- Applications shall be recorded in serial order, and the applicant shall receive a registration number and date.
- Applications from merchants not registered in the commercial registry shall be rejected, except in areas where no registry office exists yet. This does not prevent issuing licenses to non‑merchants for personal‑use imports.
- Each committee shall distribute its allocated foreign currency among different goods based on the proportion imported during the corresponding period of previous years, using the average of the past three years as a guide. Adjustments may be made within reasonable limits based on official information, and the Minister of Finance must be notified immediately of such decisions.
- The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, and municipalities shall provide the committees every fifteen days with updated statistics on imported goods, market conditions, and any information needed for the committees’ work.
- Imported goods shall be divided into three priority groups:
Group 1: Foodstuffs, spices, livestock, medicines, and medical supplies
Group 2: Textiles, traditional clothing, construction materials, mineral oils, fuels, machinery, spare parts, and transport equipment (excluding small passenger cars with capacity over 7 persons)
Group 3: All other goods - Licenses for Group 1 goods shall be issued promptly, within three days of receiving the application.
- Equipment, raw materials, and goods approved by the Foreign Capital Investment Committee (Royal Order No. 21/1/2325 dated 20/9/1376) shall receive immediate import licenses without requiring foreign‑currency allocation.
- Import licenses shall be mailed by registered post within one week to applicants who do not collect them in person.
- Committees may issue trust‑import licenses, with the value counted against the allocated amounts, provided payment is settled within six months.
- Licenses may also be issued for imports against collection documents, with payment allowed upon arrival of the goods.
- Import licenses shall be valid for opening letters of credit for two months from the date of issuance; unused licenses shall be cancelled.
- Import licenses are non‑transferable.
- Banks and importers must notify the committee of the opening and settlement of letters of credit. For trust or collection imports, the importer must notify the committee within two months of the license date.
Article Six
Each committee shall meet daily during official working hours.
Article Seven
The Prime Minister and the Minister of Commerce shall implement the provisions pertaining to them, and the Minister of Finance and National Economy shall implement the remaining provisions of this system.
Article Eight
This system shall take effect from the date of its publication, and all conflicting regulations, statements, or instructions are hereby repealed.