Trading Company Setup in Saudi Arabia

For most service and industrial activities, an LLC has no statutory minimum capital. Trading is different. MISA attaches a materially higher capital commitment and multi-year investment undertakings to the wholly foreign-owned trading route. The threshold is set by MISA and can change, so we confirm the current figure for your activity and structure before anything is filed.

This is the fork in the road for product companies, and there are three common routes. The right one depends on how much control you need over pricing, stock and customers, and on the volume you expect in the first years.

A service license does not cover buying and selling goods. A services entity working alongside a Saudi distributor only works if the entity genuinely does not trade.

The Ministry of Commerce trade license covers wholesale, retail, import and export, and e-commerce. One company can hold several of these, but each has to be declared, and each brings its own follow-on registrations.

Retail adds a municipality (Balady) license for each store, tied to the premises and the activity. Several retail categories also carry Saudization mandates for specific roles, which affects how you staff a shop from day one.

Online stores are verified through the Business Platform run by the Saudi Business Center. The Ministry of Commerce moved e-commerce verification there from the old Maroof platform in 2023. Verification needs an active Commercial Registration and a commercial bank account linked to the store, not a personal account. ZATCA e-invoicing applies to your sales invoices.

Most delays for new traders happen at the port, not at the ministry. The registrations below are separate from the trade license, and each must be in place before the goods ship.

SABER is SASO's platform for registering products and conformity certificates. Products covered by a SASO technical regulation need a product certificate and a shipment certificate for each consignment. From 1 October 2026, products under ten technical regulations must also show the supplier's name and CR number on the label, so packaging artwork needs your Saudi details before production runs.

VAT is 15%, and registration is mandatory above SAR 375,000 in annual taxable supplies. VAT is also collected on imports at clearance. Corporate income tax is 20% on the share of profit attributable to foreign shareholders, with Zakat at 2.5% on Saudi and GCC shareholdings.

The recurring calendar is the same as any Saudi company: the annual MISA registration update, the CR annual confirmation, Chamber membership, municipality licenses for each store or warehouse, VAT returns, monthly GOSI contributions, and annual audited financial statements. Traders add product certificate renewals and SFDA registrations, which lapse on their own cycles.

The limited liability company (LLC) is the usual vehicle for a foreign-owned trader: one shareholder minimum, limited liability, and room to add shareholders later. A joint stock company or Simplified JSC fits when you plan to raise capital or issue shares.

Multinationals that also want to sell to government entities should look at the Regional Headquarters program alongside the trading entity, since government contracts with multinationals are tied to a Saudi RHQ.

Most of these surface after the company exists, when they are slower and more expensive to fix.