Customs Smuggling Penalty in Saudi Arabia: Who Decides the Case

A traveller returning through a land border carries 7 kilograms of worked gold in his car without declaring it. The gold and the car are seized. Weeks later he is summoned in a customs smuggling case. His first questions: who will judge my case, and will I lose the car?

The direct answer: customs smuggling cases, customs violations, and objections to collection decisions, fines and refund refusals are heard today by the customs circuits of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Committees, not by the general courts. This is Article 3 of the Rules of Work of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Committees (Royal Order No. 25711 dated 8/4/1445H). Their decisions are appealed before the appellate circuits, and the appellate decision is final.

Which body hears customs smuggling cases today?

The Common Customs Law of the GCC States, applied by Council of Ministers Decision No. 241 dated 26/10/1423H, gives a first-level customs court jurisdiction over smuggling, violations and objections to collection and fine decisions (Article 162), with appeal to a special appellate body (Article 163). The same Cabinet decision kept the Saudi customs committees performing these tasks until they were re-formed.

Today these tasks belong to the customs circuits of the General Secretariat of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Committees. Article 3 of the Rules gives the first-level customs circuits jurisdiction, applying the Customs Law and its regulation, over:

• All customs smuggling crimes and acts treated as smuggling.
• All crimes and violations of the Law and its regulation.
• Objections to collection decisions under Article 147.
• Objections to fine decisions under Article 148.
• Objections to decisions refusing refund requests.

In appellate decisions published by the Secretariat, the Public Prosecution appears as the claimant in smuggling cases, and a smuggling case can only start on a written request from the Director General of Customs (Article 150). Drug smuggling is different: it falls under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law (Article 3) and goes to the criminal courts, not the customs circuits.

What is the penalty for customs smuggling?

Smuggling means bringing goods into or out of the country, or trying to, in breach of the law, without paying all or part of the customs duty, or against a ban or restriction (Article 142). Article 143 lists acts treated as smuggling, such as not declaring goods, hiding them, using false documents, or taking goods out of free zones or warehouses without completing procedures. Penalties under Article 145:

In addition, the smuggled goods are confiscated (or their value if not seized), and the means of transport and tools used are confiscated, except public transport unless prepared or hired for smuggling. Repeat offences may be punished with double the penalty. Customs fines and confiscations count as civil compensation to Customs and are not covered by general amnesty (Article 139).

Smuggling versus a customs violation

A customs violation, such as errors in the customs declaration, transit, warehouse or temporary admission breaches, is punished by a fine under the implementing regulation (Article 141). Customs imposes it by decision of the Director General or his delegate, payable within 15 days of notice (Article 148), and a grievance may be filed, as explained below (Article 149).

For criminal liability in smuggling, intent is required (Article 144). But civil liability for duties and fines arises from the material facts; good faith or ignorance is not a defence, except for someone who proves force majeure or that he did nothing that made up the violation (Article 154).

How do you challenge a customs fine or collection decision?

There are two stages: a grievance to ZATCA, then a case before the customs circuit.

Article 5 of the Committees' Rules of Work (Royal Order No. 25711 dated 8/4/1445H) allows anyone affected by a decision of the Authority to file a grievance "within sixty days from the day following the date he was notified". The Authority in the Rules is the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, so customs collection and fine decisions are included.

After the grievance, you have 30 days to ask for referral to the internal settlement committee or to file a case directly before the customs circuit. If settlement fails, you may object before the circuit within 30 days of being notified of the internal committee's decision or of the end of the settlement period.

Do not leave your grievance to the last day. A grievance does not stop collection unless you provide a guarantee, so the amount stays due while you wait, and acting early protects your position.

A company was notified of a decision to collect customs duty differences and filed a grievance with ZATCA 28 days after notice. ZATCA rejected it, and the company filed its case before the first-level customs committee 13 days after the rejection notice.

The first-level committee dismissed the case as filed out of time, but the Customs Appeal Committee in Riyadh overturned that decision in 2024, because the case was filed within thirty days of the rejection notice, as ZATCA's own notice stated.

The lesson: the deadline for the case runs from the rejection notice, so keep that notice and its date, and watch the deadline if ZATCA does not reply.

An increase in the declared value has its own route: a grievance before the valuation committee within 15 days of registering the declaration or of being told the assessed value, without prejudice to your right to go to court, as Article 61 states.

An objection does not stop collection of customs duties and fines unless you provide a bank or cash guarantee for the amount (Rules, Article 7(2); Customs Law, Article 147(b)). Customs may ask the authorities to ban the accused from travel if the seized goods do not cover the amounts due; the ban is lifted on a guarantee of equal value (Article 138).

Can a smuggling case be settled?

Yes. On your written request, the Director General or his delegate may conclude a settlement before the case is filed or during it and before the first-level judgment, instead of the Article 145 penalties (Article 151). The settlement is a fine within the limits of Article 152, with confiscation, release or re-export of the goods, and the case ends once the settlement is completed (Article 153).

Appeal and enforcement

A first-level customs decision is appealed within 30 days from the day after receipt through the GSTC electronic system (Rules, Article 34), and is final if the amounts do not exceed SAR 50,000 (Article 33). Appellate judgments are final (Customs Law, Article 164). Collection and fine decisions and judgments are enforced once final by all means of enforcement on the person's assets (Article 165).

In a decision published by the Secretariat, the first-level circuit convicted a traveller of smuggling worked gold, imposed a fine and confiscated the gold and the car. On appeal, the fine was set at twice the customs duties and the car confiscation was cancelled because it was not proven that the car had been prepared for smuggling. Small facts in the seizure report changed the result.

Practical steps for both sides

If you own the goods or are accused of smuggling:

• Get a copy of the seizure report, the list of seized items and their valuation at once.
• Collect purchase invoices, origin documents and anything that shows good faith or lack of knowledge.
• Consider a written settlement request before the first-level judgment.
• If fined, file a grievance with ZATCA on Fasah within 60 days without delay, keep the rejection notice and its date because the case deadline runs from it, and provide a guarantee if you want collection stopped.
• If the vehicle belongs to someone else, ask the owner to prove it was not prepared for smuggling.

If you are a carrier, customs broker or warehouse operator:

• Check customs declarations before filing; a broker is liable for violations in his declarations and for acts of his authorised staff (Article 157).
• Make the client responsible in your contract for the accuracy of the documents he gives you.
• Operators of public transport or public places are released if they prove lack of knowledge and no interest (Article 155); keep evidence of that.
• At the seizure, do not sign any written admission before you understand what is alleged.

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.

If your goods were seized or you received a customs fine or summons, send the report or decision on WhatsApp so we can review your deadlines and options with you.