Banking Disputes Committee Saudi Arabia: File a Case and Appeal

You took a personal finance of SAR 250,000 and later found SAR 26,000 of "insurance and admin fees" in your statement that nobody explained. You complained to the bank, then to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), and the complaint was closed without a refund. The next step is not the general court. It is a committee with its own procedure and deadlines.

The direct answer: your dispute with a bank goes to the Banking Disputes Committee (Lajnat al-Munaza'at al-Masrifiyya). Its decisions can be appealed to the Appeal Committee for Banking Disputes and Violations, whose decision is final. You file with the General Secretariat of the committees, and you may file in the circuit that covers your place of residence. The claim cannot be heard after five years from the due date or from when you learned of the facts, unless you have an accepted excuse, and an appeal must be requested within 30 days of receiving the decision.

What is the legal basis of the Banking Disputes Committee?

The committee was created by High Order No. 729/8 dated 10/7/1407H and reorganised by Royal Order No. 37441 dated 11/8/1433H, which also created the Appeal Committee. It works under rules issued by Royal Order No. 712 dated 4/1/1438H. These rules give it jurisdiction over original banking disputes and disputes that are banking disputes by connection, without conflicting with the jurisdiction of other judicial bodies (Article 2). A "banking entity" means any entity licensed for banking business in the Kingdom, and also a foreign entity licensed in another country (Article 1).

The Payments and Payment Services Law added payment-system disputes, heard by one or more special circuits of the committee (Item 2 of Royal Decree M/26 of 1443H and Article 14 of the Law). The Appeal Committee hears objections against decisions of the Banking Disputes Committee and of the committee for violations of the Banking Control Law (Article 3).

What does the Banking Disputes Committee not hear?

• A dispute with a licensed finance company or finance lessor that is not a bank: the Finance Disputes Committee hears it.
• A dispute over an insurance contract, even if the bank sold it to you: the insurance dispute committees hear it (Article 20 of the Cooperative Insurance Companies Control Law).
• A claim about ownership of real estate or a right in rem over it: the general courts hear it (Article 31(a) of the Law of Procedure before Sharia Courts).
• Disputes over securities investments through brokers: the Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes hears them.
• Fraud by a third party who took your money: this is a criminal complaint; any dispute with the bank itself stays with the committee.

Where do I file: Riyadh, Jeddah or Dammam?

Under the territorial jurisdiction rules for the banking and finance committees, a case between a customer and a bank goes to the circuit covering the claimant's residence when the bank is the defendant, and the defendant's residence when the bank is the claimant (Item 1). So you sue the bank in your region, and the bank must sue you in your region too.

Steps to file a case at the Banking Disputes Committee

1. Complain to the bank, then to SAMA, and keep the complaint numbers and replies. The rules do not require this, but a written reply defines the dispute and strengthens your file.
2. Prepare a statement of claim that meets the requirements of the Law of Procedure before Sharia Courts: your details, the bank's details, the facts and a specific amount. It may be filed electronically through the Secretariat's channels, and the case counts as registered from the filing date (Article 5).
3. Attach the contract and the terms and conditions at the time you signed, account statements, correspondence, and a power of attorney if someone files for you.
4. Check your address: the address in your contract with the bank is treated as your address for notices, and you may choose another one and inform the Secretariat (Article 11).
5. Follow notification: the bank must be notified within 30 days of registration (Article 10), and the Secretariat's official FAQ says the defendant gets eight working days to reply.
6. Attend on time: a party who is 30 minutes late is treated as absent (Article 16), and the claimant's absence can lead to the case being struck off, with 30 days to ask to resume it (Articles 14 and 15).

All means of proof are accepted, including email, recorded calls and text messages (Article 19). If an expert is appointed, the circuit decides who pays the fee; failure to pay can be treated as abandoning the case if the decision depends on the report (Article 20).

What is the time limit for a banking claim?

The committee cannot hear a claim after five years from the due date of the amount claimed, or from the date the claimant learned of the facts, unless the claimant has an excuse the committee accepts (Article 21). The due date is set by the agreements, previous dealings, regulations or custom (Article 23). Time spent on a case that was struck off or abandoned is not counted in the five years (Article 22).

In the finance example, the customer learned of the deductions in March 2026 when he asked for an early-settlement statement, so his period runs to at least March 2031.

He lives in Al-Khobar, so he filed in the Dammam circuit, claimed SAR 26,000 and attached the contract, the repayment schedule and the replies of the bank and SAMA. The decision refunded part of the amount, and he requested an appeal within 30 days of receiving the decision.

How do I appeal a Banking Disputes Committee decision?

The decision must state that each party may request an appeal within 30 days and that it becomes final and enforceable after that (Article 28(1)). Time runs from the date you receive a copy and sign the record, or from the date set for collection if you do not attend (Article 28(2)); official Eid holidays are not counted (Article 31). If the decision was issued in absence and the party cannot be notified within 30 days, a public notice is published and the party has 30 days from it to object (Article 30).

Some decisions are reviewed on the papers only, such as small claims and decisions based on settlement (Article 32). Decisions of the Appeal Committee cannot be challenged before any other body (Article 36).

The circuit may order provisional enforcement in some cases, for example a decision for a customer in a finance case where his salary alone was the security (Article 24), and may give the losing party time to pay on a reasoned request (Article 25). If a final decision is not carried out, the circuit may order attachment of bank and investment accounts and government receivables, a ban on dealing with government bodies and banks, and a travel ban (Article 33). If the bank itself refuses, SAMA is notified to act (Article 34).

Practical steps for both sides

If you are the customer:

• Calculate your claim in riyals and show its basis in the contract before you file.
• Ask the bank for the terms and conditions you actually signed, not only the current version.
• File in your region's circuit and do not wait until the five years are almost over.
• If your salary alone secured the finance and you win, ask for provisional enforcement.
• Write down the date you received the decision; the appeal period runs from it.

If you are a bank:

• Sue the customer in the circuit of his residence, or expect a jurisdiction objection.
• Provide the documents the Secretariat requests on time; delay counts against you.
• Review the file early; settlement is cheaper than a decision with provisional enforcement.
• Carry out final decisions voluntarily; refusal is reported to SAMA.

If you have a dispute with a bank and want to know whether it is worth a case and how to frame the requests, send us the contract, statements and the bank's replies on WhatsApp and we will go through the file with you.

This is general information based on the official Arabic texts of Saudi laws, which prevail over any translation. It is not legal advice for your specific case.