What are the fines for environmental violations in Saudi Arabia?

The Environmental Law allows one or more of three administrative penalties for any breach of the Law or its regulations. These are a fine of up to 20,000,000 riyals, suspension of the licence or permit for up to six months, or revocation.^{1Env Law Art. 38(1)}

Each executive regulation has its own violations table, and penalties are imposed from those tables. The Minister classifies violations taking into account their nature and gravity and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.^{2Env Law Art. 38(2)}

Who decides depends on the amount:

Committee decisions must be reasoned and passed by majority. The penalty tables set by the Minister take into account the nature and gravity of each violation and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances.^{6Env Law Art. 39(2), Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 4, First (2)}

The Permits regulation treats a violation as serious if it involves an Article 35 act of the Law, causes environmental degradation, or harms sensitive receptors or environmentally sensitive areas.^{7Permits reg. Art. 11(3)}

A serious violation gets a penalty proportional to the degree of damage, the size and importance of the damaged site and the economic and social consequences. A committee of experts formed by a decision of the NCEC CEO estimates that penalty.^{8Permits reg. Art. 11(1) and (2)}

The Aqueous Media, Soil and Rehabilitation regulations use the same three tests and the same expert committee.^{9Aqueous reg. Art. 9(3)}

The Air Quality regulation uses only the degradation and sensitive receptor tests.^{10Air reg. Art. 8(4)}

On 5 Sep 2024, 13 ministerial decisions (1446H) re-issued or amended the penalty tables of 13 executive regulations. The 12 tables printed in the gazette add a type of violation column, and the Vegetation decision adds definitions of serious and non-serious violations. The Permits, Aqueous Media, Noise, Soil, Rehabilitation and ODS tables class every row as serious, and the Air Quality table classes 36 of its 37 rows as serious. The Hunting, Wildlife, Protected Areas and Logging tables keep some rows non-serious or subject to a warning first. See the separate post on the 1446H decisions for what this does and does not change.^{11Decision 15029124 (1446H)}

The Audit regulation (1446H) and the Service Providers regulation (1446H) set serious violation fines by the degree of damage, the natural importance and area of the damaged site, the type of receptors affected and the economic and social effects. Both oblige the violator to correct the violation, repair the damage and pay compensation.^{12Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 8(2) and (3), SP reg. (1446H) Art. 12(2) and (3)}

The Emergency regulation adds a fourth test. A violation is also serious if the violator acted intentionally. A committee of specialists formed by the NCEC CEO estimates the fine.^{13Emergency reg. Art. 11(3) and (4)}

The Emergency regulation treats its Table 1 amounts as maximums. NCEC sets each fine by the nature and gravity of the violation and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and may issue one or more warnings before imposing a fine.^{14Emergency reg. Art. 11(1) and (6)}

The Marine regulation (1448H) also treats its table amounts as maximums. Non-serious violations cost individuals 25 percent of the Table 1 amount and businesses 25 to 100 percent by business size.^{15Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 8(1)(a) to (c) and Table 2}

The table below lists the highest fines and the fines most likely to arise on a typical project or facility, in riyals. Each row names the regulation table and row it comes from.^{16Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 4 First (1)}

Many rows count each requirement or notice separately. A permit with several unmet conditions therefore attracts one fine per condition.^{17Permits reg. Art. 11, Table 2 (2024), row 6}

Almost every row also obliges the violator to rectify the violation, repair the damage and pay compensation. Compensation is calculated separately from the fine.^{18Permits reg. Art. 11, Table 2 (2024)}

Yes. The Law gives the committees four extra powers beyond the basic fine:^{19Env Law Art. 38(3)(a) to (d)}

The 1446H Violations regulation no longer repeats the doubling rule, but it remains in the Environmental Law for a repeat within one year of the previous penalty decision becoming final.^{22Env Law Art. 38(3)(b)}

Compensation is paid within 90 days of notice. It covers direct losses and indirect losses such as government and private response costs, effects on public health, tourism and investment, societal anxiety and the cost of rehabilitation.^{23Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 5(2) and (6)}

If you carry out the rehabilitation yourself, its cost is deducted from the compensation.^{24Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 5(5)}

The competent authority calculates the compensation and may use experts and technical specialists from inside or outside the authority.^{25Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 5(4)}

Compensation collected is deposited in the Environment Fund. Money from selling seized items also goes to the Fund once the decision or judgment on them is final.^{26Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 5(7) and Art. 7, Second}

The 1448H marine regulation goes further for marine and coastal violations. A repeat of the same violation within one year doubles the penalty.^{27Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 8(1)(h)}

Four acts are crimes under Article 35 of the Law, investigated by the Public Prosecution and tried in court:^{28Env Law Art. 42}

These acts carry imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 30,000,000 riyals, or either penalty. Repeating certain vegetation and wildlife offences within one year is also a crime.^{30Env Law Art. 40}

Court referral does not prevent NCEC from also imposing the administrative penalties in its regulations.^{31Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 4 Third}

Several penalty tables also order referral to the Public Prosecution for false information. These include Permits Table 2 row 1, Audit Table 1 row 1, Rehab Table 1 row 1 and Service providers Table 1 rows 2 and 12.^{32Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 8, Table 1, row 1}

Fines imposed by the competent authority can be objected to before the Committee, under the rules and procedures for the work of the committees that review Environmental Law violations. The 1446H regulation itself sets no objection period.^{33Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 6, Env Law Art. 39(2)}

The 1446H regulation no longer says what happens if the Committee does not reply, so check the Committee rules.^{34Violations reg. (1446H) Art. 6}

Committee decisions can be challenged before the administrative court.^{35Env Law Art. 39(4)}

Objections to permit decisions follow a different route. They go to NCEC in writing within 15 working days, and late objections are not accepted.^{36Permits reg. Art. 10(1)}

It can. Under the Audit regulation, the competent authority may give the violator an opportunity or a grace period to correct the violation before the penalty is applied, where the violator disclosed it voluntarily or reported it itself. This is discretionary and follows controls approved by the Minister or the chairman of the board, as the case may be.^{37Audit reg. (1446H) Art. 8(4)}

The Marine regulation (1448H) contains the same rule for marine and coastal violations.^{38Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 8(1)(f)}

For non-serious violations in the marine Table 1, the Centre may also issue more than one warning, extend the period or postpone the fine where correcting the violation needs more time. This needs acceptable technical reasons and continuing corrective action. The regulation does not say which national centre this means.^{39Marine reg. (1448H) Art. 8(1)(g)}

These are the most common ways a fine becomes larger or harder to challenge: