Law of Fees on Idle Lands issued by Royal Decree No. (M/4) dated 12/02/1437 AH, is a law focused on implementing fees on idle lands for the purpose of achieving balance in supply and demand and promoting fair competition and anti-monopoly. Therefore, this short article will provide brief information about the obligations of the responsible for the fees for idle lands, and the required procedures to be followed in order to avoid violating the law, and the process for objecting on a decision subjecting its land for fees.
For further clarification, the responsible for the fees has been identified by the law as “a natural or legal person under whose name a deed is registered for ownership of a land that is subject to the fees at the time of issuing a resolution in its regard, which include its heirs or successors.”
The Ministry of Housing issues an announcement regarding the lands that are subject to idle lands’ fees according to the timeframes of the program for applying fees on the lands, the announcement is associated with a layout that shows the specified geographic scope that is subject to the fees and is published in two daily newspapers and on the website of the Ministry of Housing.
The responsible for the fees shall, according to the announcement, proceed to the Ministry of Housing within six months from issuing the announcement, with the documents and information related to its lands as specified, and shall determine means of contact with him, including telephone contact numbers, national address and e-mail.
The responsible for the fees shall pay the fees for idle lands applied on him within a year from the date of subjecting the land to the fees unless an additional period is granted to him within which he shall develop the land or construct it. Whoever violates the provisions of Law of Fees on Idle Lands with a monetary fine that does not exceed the amount of the accrued fees, without prejudice to the payment of such fees.
The responsible for the fees is entitled to object on the resolutions issued regarding subjecting its land to fees for idle lands, or to object on the evaluation of the value of the land, and the objection shall be provided in writing to the committee formed by the Ministry of Housing, within (60) days from informing him of the resolution, and the committee shall decide on the objection within the exact period starting from the date of filing the objection, and if no decision is issued, it shall be considered as a rejection.