Problems relating to Trade and Investment on Saudi Arabia

23. Inefficient administrative procedures, regimes and practices
Issue	Issue details	Requests	Reference

(1) Difficulty in Acquisition of Authentication on Official Documents

- Official documents addressed to Turkey, Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc. require authentication at Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Notary Public, Saudi Arabia Embassy in Japan (SAEJ), etc. Procedures at SAEJ are extremely inconvenient, taking a long time from application to receipt (as its authentication is not issued on the spot of filing application), with the application accepted only during the morning hours and the authentication issued only during the afternoon hours.

- It is requested that GOSA and GOJ review the scheme and employment of the authentication requirement.

(2) Rigorous Law on Protection of Distributors

- Due to the rigorous law on protection of distributors, it is extremely difficult to rescind, or to change distributorship agreement, etc.

- It is requested that GOSA gets the law amended to facilitate change of distributors.

(3) Abrupt Amendment of Energy Efficiency Regulations

- Due to the shortage in grace period on the amended energy efficiency regulation from the announcement (in April) to implementation (in September), product development cannot meet the deadline. While a member firm is now engaged in development of products corresponding to the amended regulation, it takes much time between starting production and exporting such products--For more than half a year, member firm's subsidiary is unable to import and sell the products.

- It is requested that GOSA releases information on energy efficiency restrictions, etc. in advance, envisaging 2-3 years lead-time.

(4) Inefficiency in Administrative Procedures

- Frequent changes take place on regulations. Moreover, they are frequently ambiguous so that wide interpretative variations occur among administrative officers, so that the method once approved by the former officer gets rejected by another, while yet another officer ferret out minutest errors and omissions with a magnifying glass, halting the procedures in a certain case.
- Inefficiency permeates throughout in the ministries and agencies so that GSA requires accompaniment of pre-registered local nationals, acceptance of reservation for appointment possible only by Internet, etc.
One good example for improvement occurred at the airport immigration where previously a long line of people waiting in queue used to form all the time. It has been dramatically improved by the GSA's exertion of real effort. There are other big rooms left open for enhancing efficiency/ productivity. It reflects the result of the administration's effort for improvement by grasping the core problems, and giving directions for improvement top-down. It is considered so doing will bring about higher efficiency/productivity. The room capable of improvement is wide and deep.

- It is requested that GSA educates its governmental employees so that they thoroughly understand the implementing rules and regulations.
- It is requested that GSA makes efforts for improvement: TOP grasps what the issues are, gives the methods for improvement TOP DOWN. Substantial improvements should be forthcoming.

<<BACK