Craft system: prohibiting the import of “counterfeit” and compulsory “registration”… and a one-year period for correction

The Council of Ministers approved the letter system and Handcrafts, in a decisive legislative step aimed at protecting the national identity and regulating the sector, while granting current craft practitioners a corrective period extending for a full year from the date of the system’s entry into force to settle their legal status.

The system assigned the Heritage Authority, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, the responsibility of regulating the entire sector, starting from preparing approved lists of crafts, all the way to establishing and managing the “National Register of Craftsmen,” which will be the central database for all practitioners.

According to the system, the Authority is responsible for setting precise standards for the quality of products, and drawing up the necessary policies for exporting Saudi crafts for global markets, and activating local and international marketing channels to ensure the availability of national products.

The regime stressed the prohibition of importing specific types of handicraft products or making imitations of them, in accordance with what will be determined by the executive regulations, in a protective measure aimed at strengthening the status of the authentic national product and preventing flooding of the market with commercial copies.

Obtaining a craft license

The new legislation obliges all craftsmen to register in the national registry As a basic and binding condition for obtaining a “craft licence”, it is not permissible to practice any commercial activity or mainly trade in handmade products without obtaining this license from the Authority.

The system defines craft as every activity that is based primarily on manual work and derives its designs from inherited cultural heritage, dividing it into two types; Productivity depends on converting raw materials into products, and services include repair, maintenance and restoration work.

With regard to international representation, the regime has established strict controls that prevent craftsmen from representing the Kingdom in foreign conferences and exhibitions unless specific conditions are met that guarantee the quality of representation and reflect the honorable image of the national heritage.

The regime did not neglect the aspect of motivation, as it approved granting incentive rewards to craftsmen, and working to establish integrated villages and craft complexes in cooperation with the public and private sectors, to be attractive environments for production. Under the system, the Authority encourages the establishment of specialized associations, and works to classify crafts within small enterprises in coordination with the competent authorities, to ensure that they receive the necessary support for business growth.

With regard to training and qualification, the Authority is responsible for preparing regulations for classifying craftsmen, designing industrial apprenticeship programs and transferring knowledge, to ensure the inheritance of manual skills and preserve them from extinction.

Deterrent penalties for violators

The system specifies deterrent penalties. For violators, specialized committees are responsible for looking into violations and imposing fines of up to 20,000 riyals, with powers that include deprivation of granted privileges, in whole or in part.

Administrative penalties amount to deleting the craftsman’s name from the national registry for a period not exceeding five years, or suspending the craftsman’s license for a period of one year, or canceling it permanently in cases that require this.

The system allows doubling the maximum limit of the financial fine in the event that the same violation is repeated within a period not exceeding five years. Three years from the issuance of the final decision confirming it, to ensure deterrence and compliance with regulations.

The system guarantees the right of grievance to anyone against whom a penalty decision has been issued, as he can resort to the Administrative Court to object, which enhances the principles of justice and transparency in the application of regulatory procedures.

The work of oversight and inspection is carried out by employees who have the capacity of judicial officers, and the Ministry has the right to seek assistance from the private sector to carry out oversight work in a way that does not conflict with the applicable regulations.

The Minister of Culture is scheduled to issue the executive regulations. Within 120 days from the publication of the system, provided that the system enters into actual implementation 120 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

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