New penalties from the General Authority for Statistics: fines of 500,000 riyals

In a decisive regulatory step aimed at enhancing the reliability of national data and protecting information privacy, the General Authority for Statistics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has approved a detailed schedule classifying violations and penalties for contravening the Statistics Law and its implementing regulations. This step comes within the framework of the Kingdom's efforts to develop its legislative framework in the data sector, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030, which relies fundamentally on the accuracy of statistical figures and indicators in policymaking and decision-making.

Details of financial and administrative penalties

The new schedule includes stringent penalties, including fines of up to 500,000 Saudi Riyals , in addition to deterrent administrative measures such as license suspension or permanent revocation. The authority based this classification on Article 17 of the Statistics Law, which empowers a specialized council to form review committees comprised of legal and statistical experts to ensure impartiality and fairness in assessing violations and determining the appropriate penalty for each individual case.

Serious violations and severe penalties

The regulations classified a number of actions as “serious offenses” that warrant the most severe penalties, most notably:

• Practicing business without a license: Anyone who engages in statistical work in a commercial manner without obtaining the necessary licenses, or continues to work after their license has been cancelled, faces a fine ranging between 100,000 and 500,000 riyals.
• Disclosure of secrets: The Authority has given the utmost importance to protecting the privacy of individuals and establishments, imposing fines of up to half a million riyals on anyone who discloses confidential statistical data or uses it for purposes other than those for which it was allocated, which enhances the confidence of society and the business sector in the national data system.
• Impersonation: The system considered impersonating statistics employees or exploiting the position to obtain data unlawfully as a crime that warrants the maximum penalty, in order to protect society from fraud or misleading exploitation.

Procedures for dealing with repeated violations

The regulations did not stop at imposing initial fines; they also increased penalties for repeat offenses, stipulating that the fine be doubled (up to the maximum limit set by law). As a strict administrative measure, violators are prohibited from applying for a new license until three full years have passed since the date of the revocation of their previous license, thus enforcing a long-term commitment to professional standards.

Obligations of establishments and individuals

To ensure the accurate and smooth flow of data, the regulations impose fines of up to 100,000 riyals on private establishments that refuse to provide the required data, or those that are late in submitting it, or those that provide data that does not meet quality standards. At the individual level, the authority has approved fines ranging from 500 to 5,000 riyals for those who refuse to cooperate in providing information for statistical purposes.

The regulations also provided legal protection for field census workers, classifying any attempt to obstruct their work or abuse them as a “moderate violation” that warrants a fine ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 riyals.

Legal guarantees and the right to appeal

Affirming the principles of transparency and fairness that the Kingdom upholds in its judicial and administrative systems, the new regulations guarantee the right of appeal for any party against whom a disciplinary decision has been issued. The affected party has the right to appeal to the Administrative Court within 60 days of being notified of the decision, thus ensuring that the Authority's decisions are subject to judicial review.

It is worth noting that these measures come at a time when the Saudi economy is experiencing rapid growth that requires accurate and transparent data to attract foreign and local investments, as reliable statistical data is the cornerstone for evaluating investment opportunities and measuring economic performance.