Monsha'at Estrdad: who can get government fees refunded, and how to apply before 31 December 2026

Estrdad is a Monsha'at initiative that pays back government fees that micro, small and medium businesses already paid, under set conditions. Its official guide calls it the initiative to return paid government fees. The goal is to lower the cost of starting a business and help young companies keep going.

Three periods matter. The eligibility period covers businesses that started trading in the fiscal years 2024 to 2026. The registration period, when you can sign up for the initiative, runs until 31 December 2026. The payout period runs until 2028, following the payment schedule Monsha'at announces to eligible businesses through the portal.

The guide adds that 2027 and 2028 are only for finishing payments to businesses already registered. No new businesses join in those years. It also says payouts stop at the end of the period or earlier if the money set aside for the initiative runs out. So a supply business that qualifies should not wait for the last week of December.

The guide lists ten conditions. Your CR must be valid, your Monsha'at enterprise size certificate must be valid, and your activity licence must be valid if your activity needs one. The business must be fully owned by Saudis, except for activities in groups A and B of the guide's annex.

The business must not be more than three years old, and its start date must not be before 1 January 2024. The guide uses the registration of the first worker as the start of activity. The business must meet the Saudization rates that HRSD sets in the Nitaqat Al-Mutawar program.

For companies, at least 60% of the shares must be owned by micro, small or medium businesses or by individuals. A sole establishment (مؤسسة) is accepted only if its activity needs an economic activity licence. Finally, registration closes on 31 December 2026, and all registration and refund requests are submitted online through the channels Monsha'at sets. The size certificate itself is free on the Monsha'at portal and is valid for one year.

The guide lists ten refundable fees. They are: publishing the company's articles of association once; issuing and renewing the CR; converting a sole establishment into a company; the chamber of commerce subscription and its renewal; municipal licences for the business premises; the Saudi Post subscription; registering one trademark; 80% of the expat levy for a foreign worker without dependents, each year, within the worker cap; issuing and renewing economic activity licences; and registering one patent.

Two notes in the guide matter for your file. You may be asked for proof that you paid the fee, so keep receipts and SADAD records for each payment. And the initiative does not cover fees you were already exempted from under another government program, so you cannot claim the same fee twice.

For a supply company, the largest item is often the expat levy, because it is paid every year for each foreign worker. The CR, chamber and licence fees are smaller but add up over three years.

The expat levy refund is not open-ended. The guide applies a preference rule that sets how many workers' levy is refunded each year. It depends on three things: the legal form (sole establishment or company), the activity group in annex 1 of the guide (A, B or C), and whether the activity needs an economic activity licence.

If the activity needs a licence, both establishments and companies can recover the levy for up to 30 workers in group A, 25 in group B and 20 in group C. If the activity does not need a licence, only companies qualify, with caps of 25, 20 and 15 workers. A sole establishment whose activity needs no licence gets no levy refund.

Many supply activities sit in group C, which includes wholesale trade, building construction and the repair and installation of machinery. Many manufacturing activities sit in group A. Check your exact activity against the annex in the official guide before you count on a number.

Registration and refund requests are made online on the Estrdad portal (estrdad.monshaat.gov.sa), through the channels Monsha'at sets. Before you start, renew anything that has lapsed: the CR, the size certificate and any activity licence must be valid on the day you apply. Check your Nitaqat status on Qiwa and fix it first if you are below the required rate.

Then gather proof of each fee you paid, with dates and amounts. Make sure the start date in government records, the first registered worker, falls on or after 1 January 2024.

Be careful with the data you submit. The guide says that if a business gives misleading information or documents, hides material information, or loses one of the conditions, Monsha'at may remove it from the initiative, ask it to pay back amounts paid without right, or suspend the request and refer it to the competent authorities. Monsha'at also monitors beneficiaries and may check data with other government bodies. For help, Monsha'at lists 8003018888 and [email protected].

ENTEK has no part in Estrdad. It is not a Monsha'at partner, it does not apply for refunds, and it does not issue or check the size certificate, the CR or any Saudization certificate. This page is an explainer only. For your own case, check with Monsha'at through the Estrdad portal or its contact center.

What ENTEK does is closer to the day-to-day work of a young supply business. You can open an account yourself, with email verification and two-factor authentication. You keep a verified company profile with CR and VAT numbers, certifications, key personnel and official stamp, so the papers you renewed for Estrdad also sit in one place for buyers on ENTEK.

There is a Free plan to start, with 1 store, 10 RFQs and 10 users. Paid plans are Basic, Advanced and Premium. None of this affects your eligibility for Estrdad or any other government program.