The Ministry of Commerce has set January 19, 1437 AH, corresponding to November 1, 2015 AD, as the deadline for all companies and institutions required by law to file their financial statements through the “Qawa’im” program, This is to avoid the suspension of their commercial registrations and the imposition of penalties stipulated in the Companies Law in the event of failure to file their financial statements through the “Qawa’im” program or a delay exceeding the statutory period of six months from the end of the company’s or institution’s fiscal year.

The Ministry noted that the filing process is carried out through licensed accounting firms, and companies or institutions can check the status of their financial statement filings with the Ministry by visiting the “Qawa’im” program’s website.  The Ministry confirmed that since the launch of the “Qawa’im” program at the beginning of this year, the number of filings has been steadily increasing. The number of financial statements filed through the program has exceeded 13,000, and the Ministry handles them with strict confidentiality; no entity is authorized to review any company’s financial statements without the official consent of the business owner.

It is worth noting that the “Qawa’im” program is one of the initiatives of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants and the Zakat and Income Authority, aimed at converting paper financial statements into electronic format and filing them automatically, which enhances the credibility and transparency of financial statements for beneficiaries, in addition to expediting the provision of highly accurate information to relevant authorities such as the Zakat and Income Authority and others, and establishing a financial and economic information base to support national databases and information systems.