Last month, a home goods seller came to me, his shipment stuck at Riyadh airport. ZATCA found a 9% mismatch between his December 2025 customs declaration and his VAT return, fining him SAR 42,000 plus daily 1% penalties.
Since June 1, 2026, ZATCA's AI has been automatically cross-checking customs and tax data. To put it bluntly, if the declared customs value differs from the invoice you give to the buyer by even a few hundred SAR, the system catches it instantly.
Worst case I've seen: a seller deliberately under-declared goods by 30% to save import duties. ZATCA retrieved screenshots of his payment receipts and charged VAT on the full difference plus fines, nearly tripling the total cost.
Three practical tips for you. First, the customs value must match the price you collect from platforms like Noon or Amazon—don't try to save on both ends. Second, integrate with ZATCA's e-invoicing system (FATOORA) immediately; all B2B transactions now need real-time uploads. Third, audit your own VAT filings for the past year, especially for low-value items (under SAR 1,000). ZATCA can claw back up to five years.
Many small sellers still use manual bookkeeping and confuse FOB vs CIF pricing. My rule of thumb: overpay a bit on import duties rather than leave any inconsistency in your VAT records.
One last question: Can your Saudi VAT filings survive an AI cross-check?