Enforce a Banking, Finance or Insurance Committee Decision in KSA

After a year of hearings, the Banking Disputes Committee ordered the bank to refund you SAR 64,000. A month later, nothing has arrived. In another file you are the bank: the committee ordered a customer to pay a finance balance, and he does not answer. The question is the same in both cases: when can the decision be enforced, and who forces the other side to comply?

The direct answer: a decision is enforced once it is final, meaning 30 days have passed without appeal or the Appeal Committee has decided, unless it was given provisional enforcement. There are three routes: measures ordered by the Banking Disputes Committee itself, a notice to the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) if the party refusing is a bank or finance company, and an enforcement request at the Enforcement Court, which Royal Decree M/237 made responsible for enforcing quasi-judicial committee decisions.

The new Enforcement Law (published 1 May 2026) replaces the Enforcement Law of 1433H and takes effect 180 days after publication (Article 65), around 28 October 2026. This page explains the current position and what changes after that date.

When is a committee decision enforceable?

• Banking and finance committees: the decision becomes final and enforceable if no appeal is requested within 30 days of receiving it (Article 28 of each committee's rules), or when the Appeal Committee decides, since its decisions cannot be challenged before any other body (Article 36).
• Before that, a decision can be enforced if the circuit ordered provisional enforcement: when it rests on a judicial admission, an unchallenged document or a settlement, when a customer wins a finance case where his salary alone was the security, or when delay risks irreparable harm (Article 24). The Appeal Committee may stop provisional enforcement on the losing party's request (Article 35 banking, Article 32 finance).
• Insurance dispute committees: a primary decision is not enforceable until it becomes final, when the appeal period passes without appeal or the parties accept a settlement (Articles 28(2) and 33 of the insurance committees' rules).

If a decision was issued in absence and the losing party cannot be notified within 30 days, a public notice is published and he has 30 days to object; if he does not, the decision becomes enforceable (Article 30 of the banking and finance rules).

What can the Banking Disputes Committee do if its decision is ignored?

To compel compliance with final decisions, a circuit of the Banking Disputes Committee may order attachment of the losing party's bank and investment accounts, attachment of his receivables from government bodies, a ban on dealing with government bodies and banks, and a travel ban (Article 33). This power appears only in the banking rules; the finance committee's rules have no equivalent article.

If the bank itself refuses, the General Secretariat notifies SAMA to take action under its powers (Article 34 banking). The same applies when a finance company refuses a finance committee decision (Article 34 finance).

Can I enforce the committee decision at the Enforcement Court?

Yes. The decree issuing the 1433H Enforcement Law created enforcement circuits in the general courts to enforce decisions and orders of quasi-judicial committees under the Enforcement Law (Item 2 of Royal Decree M/53). Royal Decree M/237, which issued the new Enforcement Law, provides that enforcement courts enforce these committees' decisions and orders under the new law (Item 4). Where a government body is a party to a decision of an excepted quasi-judicial committee, enforcement belongs to the enforcement circuits of the Board of Grievances (Item 8).

1. Obtain the final decision and proof that it is final: the appeal period expired without appeal, or the Appeal Committee's decision.
2. File an enforcement request at the Enforcement Court with the decision, the amount awarded and your account details.
3. After the enforcement order is notified to the debtor, the payment period runs, followed by compulsory enforcement if he does not pay.

Mind the time limit: under the new law, an enforcement request is not accepted on an instrument that became due more than ten years earlier, without prejudice to other applicable rules (Article 11).

A customer held a final Banking Disputes Committee decision for SAR 64,000 and the bank did not transfer the money. He informed the General Secretariat of the refusal so that SAMA would be notified (Article 34), and at the same time filed an enforcement request at the Enforcement Court.

In the opposite direction, a finance company held a final finance committee decision for SAR 110,000 against a customer. The finance committee has no Article 33 powers, so the company filed at the Enforcement Court, and once the payment period passed without payment, attachment of the customer's assets began.

What changes with the new Enforcement Law?

The new Enforcement Law takes effect around 28 October 2026, and from then committee decisions are enforced under it (Item 4 of Royal Decree M/237). The main points for this topic:

• If 5 working days pass after the debtor is notified of the enforcement order without payment, compulsory enforcement starts at once: the credit bureau (such as SIMAH) is notified and his current and future assets, including receivables from public bodies, are attached; he gets 10 extra working days if he provides a sufficient bank guarantee (Article 18).
• The court may impose a fine of up to SAR 5,000 for each day enforcement remains incomplete, within a cap set by the regulations (Article 18).
• A travel ban is issued on the creditor's request, for up to 3 years, extendable on a new request to a maximum of 6 years (Article 19).
• Only one third of salary may be attached for ordinary debts and one half for maintenance (nafaqa) (Article 26).
• Detention is now limited to direct enforcement (doing or not doing an act), on the creditor's request after 30 working days, for up to 180 days (Article 37); money debts are collected by attaching and selling assets.

Practical steps for both sides

If the decision is in your favour:

• Count the appeal period from the date the other side received the decision, so you know when it becomes final.
• If the losing party is a bank or finance company, tell the General Secretariat so SAMA is notified.
• For a banking decision, ask the circuit for Article 33 measures if the final decision is ignored.
• Do not delay the enforcement request; delay does not help you, and the new law sets a time limit on instruments.

If the decision is against you:

• If provisional enforcement was ordered and your appeal grounds are strong, ask the Appeal Committee to stop it.
• Ask the circuit for time to pay, with reasons and proof of your ability to pay (Article 25 of the banking and finance rules).
• Once the decision is final, offer payment or a written schedule before attachment and daily fines start.
• After paying, get a clearance, ask for the enforcement request to be closed and your credit record updated.

If you hold a committee decision that has not been carried out, or you received an enforcement request on a decision you think is flawed, send us the decision and proof of notification on WhatsApp and we will explain the right next step.

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.