Last week, a client selling home gadgets got hit hard: out of 500 low-value parcels to Riyadh, ZATCA held 78. Reason? "Declared value mismatch." Basically, Saudi Customs is now cracking down on the loophole for duty-free shipments under SAR 1,000.
They started talking about this as early as April, but real action kicked off mid-May. From May 12, the random inspection rate at Riyadh and Jeddah ports jumped from under 5% to 35%. Once your parcel is flagged, you must provide platform sales screenshots, purchase invoices or payment proof to show the value is truly below SAR 1,000.
My take: many sellers used to declare 80% of the actual cost. Say cost is SAR 80, declare SAR 60. That no longer works. ZATCA now compares your declared price with the average market price for similar goods. Too low? Cargo held as "intentional under-declaration." The fine is 2x the value difference plus a 0.5% daily penalty. Example: declare 60, actual 100, difference 40, fine 80, plus 7-day hold penalty SAR 2.8, total SAR 82.8. That's before any spoilage or loss.
Think of it like a new speed camera on a crosswalk — you can still cross, but you have to actually slow down. So three practical tips: 1) Keep original price screenshots and purchase orders for all low-value orders, at least 6 months. 2) Don't declare below 90% of your purchase cost; 100% is safer. 3) If held, act fast — either hire a local customs broker in Saudi or use ZATCA's online dispute system with your evidence. Honestly, brokers now charge about SAR 30–50 per shipment, but that's better than fines.
Don't panic yet — so far only air express parcels are targeted, sea and bulk road cargo are left alone. But can you guarantee next month won't be different? Can your declarations pass a real review?