Saudi Arabia applies the Gulf Cooperation Council's integrated customs tariff, and computers and most other IT equipment come in duty-free. What takes planning is conformity: electrical and electronic products need a SABER certificate before shipment, laptops, desktop computers and displays are certified through national recognition of an IECEE certificate, and from 1 November 2026 new certificates for phones, tablets, routers and cellular and Wi‑Fi devices follow a new standard. Here is what a company in Saudi Arabia pays and prepares when it buys equipment from a Chinese factory — checked against official sources in October 2026.
Duty: 0% for computers, 5% for lithium batteries and most displays
Saudi Arabia applies the GCC integrated customs tariff, with duty as a percentage of the customs value. In the integrated tariff of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), checked in October 2026, computers and their units (heading 8471), monitors designed for computers (8528.52), static converters such as inverters, chargers and UPS units (8504.40), industrial robots (8479.50) and other machines not specified elsewhere (8479.89) are duty-free. Lithium-ion batteries (8507.60), other monitors and displays (8528.59) and television sets (8528.72) pay 5%.
Saudi Arabia takes part in the WTO Information Technology Agreement, which is why most computer equipment carries no duty. Rates do change, and the code decides the rate — an interactive panel with a built-in computer may be classified as a computer or as a display. Check the current rate for your exact 12-digit code in the ZATCA tariff before ordering — the full code also decides which certificates and approvals apply. For example, code 8479.89.99.9999 is flagged for SABER certification plus Ministry of Interior approval for import and export, while industrial robots under 8479.50 need only SABER.
VAT 15%, paid at customs
Imports pay 15% VAT. The base is the customs value plus excise tax, customs duty and other charges, excluding VAT, and the VAT is paid together with the duty on the customs declaration before the goods are released (ZATCA guideline on imports and exports under VAT, May 2026). Example: lithium batteries with a customs value of SAR 37,500 (US$10,000 at the official rate of 3.75 riyals per dollar) pay SAR 1,875 duty and SAR 5,906.25 VAT. A company registered for VAT normally deducts the import VAT on its VAT return; its tax number must appear on the customs declaration.
Commercial registration, FASAH and a customs broker
Only a person licensed to import can bring goods into the Kingdom; for a company that means a commercial registration (CR), whose number also identifies the importer for VAT on the customs declaration. Before the first shipment the importer registers on FASAH, the national trade platform, with its CR number, and can authorise a licensed customs broker there — for a specific port, for imports, exports or both, for one shipment or several.
Customs value starts from the transaction value — the price paid or payable to the factory — so the invoice, the payment and the declaration must match: the same supplier, amounts and currency. The riyal has been pegged at 3.75 per US dollar since 1986 (Saudi Central Bank), and Chinese factories are usually paid by bank transfer in US dollars.
SABER: one certificate for the product, one for each shipment
Electrical and electronic products sold in Saudi Arabia must meet the technical regulations of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), and compliance is handled on SABER, SASO's online platform. The importer registers the product in SABER by its customs code or name; a SASO-accepted conformity assessment body reviews the technical file and test reports and issues a certificate of conformity for the product — normally a single certificate covering every regulation that applies to it. Since 1 October 2025 every customs declaration needs a SABER shipment certificate, even for products without a technical regulation: before each consignment is shipped, the importer requests it in SABER with the invoice data, quantities and country of shipment; it is valid for 90 days and costs SAR 350 plus VAT.
Almost all electrical equipment — including UPS units, inverters and most robots — must meet SASO's restriction of hazardous substances in electrical equipment (RoHS): IT and telecommunication equipment since 31 December 2022, all categories since 26 December 2023; batteries are exempt. Robots also fall under SASO's machinery safety regulation, UPS units and general-purpose inverters under the GCC low-voltage regulation (solar inverters also under SASO's technical regulation for solar photovoltaic systems), and lithium batteries under SASO's electric batteries regulation. The technical file includes test reports from laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, the supplier's declaration of conformity, a risk assessment, the certificate of origin and the list of applied standards (SASO guide to the RoHS regulation).
Computers, displays and radio devices: the SASO regulation for ICT devices
SASO's technical regulation for communication and information technology devices, published in the official gazette on 16 August 2024 and applied since February 2025, sets the requirements for this equipment. The certificate of conformity follows scheme type 1a of ISO/IEC 17067 (type approval), and the technical file must include the supplier's declaration of conformity, a risk assessment, photos, the software that affects compliance, the supported frequency bands with maximum output power, and the encryption used. Laptops, tablets and desktop computers, televisions and displays, with their chargers, are certified through national recognition of an IECEE CB test certificate or the Saudi Quality Mark, which covers the whole regulation; for laptops, tablets and some other computers (8471.41.90) SABER also requires a conformity certificate from the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST).
Radio requirements — for radio modules and for short-range devices such as Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth — are among the standards listed in the same regulation, so equipment with radio modules is assessed against them within its SABER certificate. The standard for specific ICT equipment — mobile phones, tablets and mobile computers, routers, other devices with a cellular connection and Wi‑Fi distribution devices such as access points and repeaters — is changing: from 1 November 2026 new certificates are issued only under SASO 3114:2026, and certificates issued under the old standard SASO CITC GEN-002 lapse by 31 March 2027 (SABER notice). Since 1 April 2026 laptops must also charge through a USB Type‑C port with a USB‑C cable, and support USB Power Delivery when charging above 5 V, 3 A or 15 W.
Arabic labelling and records
Product information must be in Arabic; another language may be added, but the Arabic text prevails. The product must clearly show the supplier's name and details, the trademark, the manufacturer's name and details, the model, the country of origin and usage warnings; radio devices must state their frequency bands and maximum output power for each band. The supplier must keep records of whom it bought the devices from and whom it supplied them to for at least ten years. Single-phase household-type plugs (up to 13 A, 250 V) must follow SASO 2203 — the British-type plug with a fuse of at most 13 A — so order power cords for the Saudi market.
Lithium batteries: shipping as dangerous goods
Batteries and devices with batteries travel as dangerous goods. The batteries must have passed the UN 38.3 tests, and the factory must make the test summary available — the carrier or forwarder may ask for it; forwarders usually also ask for a safety data sheet, although IATA rules do not require one. By air, lithium-ion batteries shipped on their own travel on cargo aircraft only, and those shipped on their own or packed with (not inside) equipment must as a rule be at no more than 30% state of charge.
Documents for the shipment
Commercial invoice; packing list; bill of lading or air waybill; certificate of origin; the customs declaration filed in FASAH at least 48 hours before arrival; the SABER certificate of conformity for the product and the shipment certificate for this consignment; the IECEE recognition for laptops, computers and displays; Arabic labels; for batteries — the UN 38.3 test summary and, if the forwarder asks, a safety data sheet.
How we help
We match the model to your task, check the tariff code against the factory's technical data, request before production the test reports and IECEE certificates a SASO-accepted certification body needs, and check that the documents and Arabic labels match the goods. Your customs broker in Saudi Arabia clears the cargo; we prepare everything it needs.
Rules and rates were checked in October 2026 against official sources — SASO's technical regulations and guides, SABER notices, ZATCA guidelines and the ZATCA integrated tariff — and re-checked on 24 October 2026; they can change. Confirm them with your customs broker and certification body before shipping.