What changed?
The prior customs-procedure and bonded-zone rules governed suspended-duty operations under the earlier procedural and licensing framework.
Governor Decision No. 1448-99-13 amends both frameworks, broadening and restructuring permitted bonded-zone activities while revising customs procedures and documentary requirements.
Practical consequence: Businesses should reassess licence category, operating scope and customs evidence requirements before relying on existing bonded-zone or suspended-duty processes.
Confirmed facts
Governor Decision No. 1448-99-13, dated 26 June 2026, approves amendments to the Rules Governing Customs Procedures and the Bonded/Deposit Zone Rules.
The Official Gazette publication states that the amendments take effect from the date of publication. The decision was published on 4 September 2026.
ZATCA separately published amendment materials for the customs-procedure rules and bonded-zone rules on its official website.
What changed
The customs-procedure amendments revise the treatment of suspended-duty areas and expressly incorporate VAT into relevant duty-free treatment concepts, while extending documentary requirements to additional areas such as logistics zones.
The amendments also permit CN22 and CN23 postal forms to function as customs declarations in specified cases and strengthen ZATCA's ability to request additional evidence, including invoice chains, contracts and payment documentation, based on risk criteria.
The bonded-zone amendments restructure licence categories and expressly permit specialized bonded zones to conduct e-commerce, maintenance, simple assembly, storage and handling, together with specified mixing and combination activities. Petroleum, petrochemical and certain bulk-liquid storage and related mixing activities remain associated with tank-zone licensing.