By Abdulrahman Al-Misbahi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Higher authorities recently approved the setting up of an integrated logistics zone at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, Okaz has learned.

The objective is to attract quality investments; carry out sorting, maintenance, repair, treatment, modification, development, assembling, storing, packing, repacking, wrapping, trading, distribution, using and importing of these goods, exporting or re-exporting them, and garbage and electronic waste recycling.

In addition to this, the Kingdom is also set to establish similar zones in the rest of the Kingdom’s airports under supervision of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

According to the regulation for integrated logistics zones, no Value Added Tax (VAT) will be levied on the goods in these zones as long as they are in customs pending status or if they are shifted temporarily between the main yard and the area allocated for the purposes of repair, maintenance and post-sale services.

The Zakat Authority is in the process of preparing income tax controls for publication so that they are made obligatory on firms with activities inside the zone.

No financial restrictions will be imposed on such firms when they take loans from overseas, retrieve capital, transfer returns or profit, or pay commissions or the like. Movable properties existent within the zone, including intellectual property rights, will not be subject to any restrictions on private property. Furthermore, they cannot be nationalized except according to a judicial verdict.

The regulation has granted the Ministry of Labor and Social Development powers to grant work visas necessary for achieving the investment goals in the zone.

In this regard, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor is set to lay down the necessary conditions and Saudization programs to be implemented in the zone so as to achieve the investment goals in the zone.