Dr. Ibrahim M. Al Mufleh, Director General of the General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT), said that the Authority expanded the application of e-services over the previous fiscal year. All new taxpayers were registered via the Authority's website, and about 86% of the total tax returns were deposited via the website. The year also saw a contract signed with SAP to develop an automated Zakat and tax system; one of the best integrated solutions for management, calculation and collection of Zakat and tax resources.

The system makes it easy to connect with the relevant authorities including the easy connection with the financial statements e-filing national program “Qawaem” launched earlier this year to oblige the chartered accountants to e-file the financial statements, thereby enabling GAZT and other relevant authorities to access the financial statements online with no need for hard copies.

These efforts increased the revenues in the fiscal year 1435/1436 AH (2014G) by 11.5% compared to the last year, reaching more than SAR 28 billion, SAR 14.2 billion of which was in the form of Zakat for business activities. This amount was deposited as per usual to Social Security at the Ministry of Social Affairs. The tax revenues from foreign companies that do not operate in oil sector hit about SAR 14 billion.

The positive impact of SAP applications on GAZT revenues is expected to continue, as such applications are used for risk management and concealment reduction since they are connected with the governmental authorities and can therefore access data on imports, contracts, labor and unauthorized assets.