Can you delete a supplier invoice six years after you file a VAT return? For a Saudi business, the answer depends on what the invoice proves. Record keeping requirements under Saudi law set a 10-year minimum for covered commercial books and supporting documents. Ordinary VAT records have a six-year minimum, counted from the end of the tax period. One invoice can fall under both rules. Law of Commercial Books, Articles 6 and 8 · VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66.

Saudi record retention periods at a glance

Use the table to classify a file before setting its review date. If several duties cover the same document, work out when each one ends and keep the file through the latest applicable date.

Record	How long to keep it	What to check
Commercial books and related correspondence	At least 10 years	Include the documents that support entries in the books.
Ordinary VAT invoices and return evidence	At least 6 years	Count from the end of the relevant tax period.
VAT records for movable or intangible capital assets	Usually 11 years from acquisition	Check the asset’s adjustment period and documented useful life.
VAT records relating to real estate	At least 15 years	Include related invoices, accounting books and supporting documents.
Employee files and workplace registers	Maintain during employment. Review each record at exit.	Payroll evidence and personnel documents can have different retention duties.
Record of processing activities (RoPA)	Throughout processing and for 5 years afterward	Count from the end of each processing activity.
Regulated financial records	Generally 10 years under the rules below	The starting event depends on the transaction, account, relationship or call.

Which commercial records must a Saudi business keep for 10 years?

Article 1 of the Law of Commercial Books requires covered merchants to keep an Arabic journal, general ledger and inventory book. It exempts merchants with capital of SAR 100,000 or less from that specific bookkeeping duty. A merchant below the threshold still needs to assess its VAT and other recordkeeping obligations separately. Law of Commercial Books, Articles 1 and 8.

Article 6 also covers documents and correspondence a merchant sends or receives in the course of business. For example, if a supplier agrees by email to reduce a price, file that message with the credit note and ledger entry. Someone reviewing the account years later can then explain why the final payment differs from the original invoice. Law of Commercial Books, Article 6.

How long should you keep VAT invoices in Saudi Arabia?

For each VAT return, keep the evidence behind the figures. ZATCA’s May 2026 invoicing guide identifies sales and purchase invoices, contracts, bank statements, and import, export and shipping documents among the records it may request. ZATCA invoicing guide, section 8.

Example of the six-year VAT rule

Suppose a supplier invoice belongs to a VAT period ending on 31 March 2026. Keep the ordinary VAT record through 31 March 2032, even if the supplier issued it in January. Before disposal, check whether it also supports your commercial books or relates to a capital asset. Either can move the review date. VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66.

Equipment, software and real estate

A machine bought for long-term use can carry a different deadline from stock bought for resale. For movable and intangible capital assets, add five years to the applicable VAT adjustment period, starting at acquisition. The usual six-year adjustment gives 11 years. If the documented useful life is under six years, ZATCA’s guide specifies useful life plus five years. It separately sets a minimum of 15 years for real-estate VAT records. ZATCA capital assets guide · May 2026 invoicing guide, section 8.3.3.

Arabic invoices and electronic storage

Keep VAT records in Arabic. A tax invoice can also include an English translation. Article 66 allows physical retention or electronic access from a terminal in Saudi Arabia. For electronic storage, ZATCA’s May 2026 guide says resident taxpayers must have the relevant computer or server in the Kingdom. It describes a separate arrangement for a Saudi permanent establishment that uses a central system abroad and can access all relevant VAT entries from its Saudi workstation. ZATCA storage guidance · VAT Implementing Regulations, Article 66.

Ask your accounting provider to retrieve an Arabic invoice, its original supporting documents and the corresponding entry from your Saudi office. Document how staff enter and process transactions, retain original supporting evidence locally and use controls that prevent tampering. If e-invoicing rules apply, preserve the electronic invoices and related notes in the required format. For the steps that come before your first filing cycle, see Expandway’s Saudi VAT registration guide.

What should HR keep when an employee leaves?

Employers must maintain a work file for each employee. Include the employee’s details, address, contract and documents they provide. The workplace registers also cover wages, attendance, fines and training for Saudi workers. The medical examination register applies where workers face a risk of occupational disease. Labor Law Implementing Regulations, Article 5 (Arabic).

At exit, review the file in parts. For example, finance may still need a final wage payment as accounting evidence. HR should separately document why it needs each remaining personnel record, who may access it and when to review it for deletion. Check for unresolved wage claims before approving disposal.

How long must you keep a record of processing activities?

Under Saudi Arabia’s Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) implementing rules, a controller must maintain a written, current record of each processing activity. Keep it throughout the activity and for five years after the activity ends. Make it available to the competent authority on request. SDAIA’s guide to records of processing activities.

For example, if you retire a customer marketing programme, record when processing for that purpose ended. The five-year rule covers the register entry. Decide separately when to erase the customer contact data, based on its purpose and any legal duty to retain it. In the register, identify the controller, purpose, categories of people and data, recipients, overseas transfers, retention periods and security measures. Include the data protection officer’s details where required. SDAIA guidance on the register and data destruction.

Additional rules for banks and capital market institutions

Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Financial institutions must keep anti-money-laundering records for at least 10 years. Count a completed transaction from its conclusion. For a customer relationship file, use the applicable relationship-end or account-closure date. Follow any instruction to extend retention. Banks also have separate electronic archiving requirements after 10 years of paper storage, including annual reviews by internal audit and compliance. SAMA record keeping rules · SAMA bank archiving instructions.

Capital Market Authority (CMA). Capital market institutions generally keep required securities-business records for 10 years, unless the CMA sets a different period. They must organize records so they can reproduce them in print. For a securities-related telephone call, count 10 years from the call. Preserve a recording relevant to a client dispute or regulatory inquiry until the matter ends, even if the ordinary period has passed. CMA Capital Market Institutions Regulations.

Build a retention schedule your team can use

1. Start with one VAT period. Pick a sale, a supplier expense and an asset purchase. Trace each from its source document to the return.
2. Record the deadline and its starting event. Give each record type a row with its owner, legal source, storage location and earliest disposal review date.
3. Test retrieval. Ask someone who did not prepare the return to find the invoice, approval and ledger entry. Fix any gap they encounter.
4. Approve disposal. Check for open audits, claims and regulator instructions. Record who approved deletion or why the team extended retention.

Start with the last VAT return you filed. If your team can find the return but cannot produce the invoices behind it, use those gaps to set your priorities. Book a consultation with Expandway to discuss your Saudi bookkeeping, VAT records and next filing cycle.