According to Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Badr Al-Khorayef, A working group with the Foreign Trade Authority (FTA) has been developed to deal with the impact of a rise in Value Added Tax (VAT) on industrial entities, said on Thursday.
He said that the hike in VAT will generate a problem while importing goods from the Gulf markets due to the difference in the VAT rate. Therefore, proactive action is needed by studying international practices before its implementation.
Mr. Al-Khorayef said that the Ministry is regularly working to assess and address all the difficulties faced by the industrial sector in various parts of the Kingdom. He added that that the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has provided the industrial sector several gains, including the need for industries to meet their needs in the health, medical and food domains.
He affirmed that the national industries have shown to be highly efficient during the crisis, the most significant of which is their reliable and excellent supplies.
Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Badr Al-Khorayef is seen during the webinar.
Al-Khorayef stated that the coronavirus crisis will lead to radical changes in various concepts of global trade, reshaping the world economy entirely, which will be positively revealed on the development of local industries in general.
He emphasized that the Kingdom is one of the best countries in the world in handling this change under the directions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.
He unveiled that there are plans to assign the Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) to control and quickly feel the pulse of industries most affected by the current conditions and are on the brink of bankruptcy or exit from the market. The purpose is to give them support. The minister pointed out that mergers and acquisitions are among the options granted to factories.
The Ministry of Industry is working in cooperation with the National Waste Management Center to examine the probability of recycling of paper and other products with the aim of improving their value economically and work on proposals and suggestions for drafting policies and legislation to stop the export, the minister added.
