Outsourcing web development to India from Saudi Arabia

IST is 2h30m ahead of Saudi Arabia. Government ministries and financial institutions in Saudi Arabia work Sunday–Thursday, with Friday–Saturday as the weekend. Agree call times with your Indian team, taking the time difference and your own working week into account.

Saudi Arabia's Personal Data Protection Law applies to processing personal data in the Kingdom and to processing data of individuals residing in the Kingdom by a party outside it. The law is fully enforceable by the Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA).

Under Article 29 of Saudi Arabia's PDPL, a controller may transfer personal data outside the Kingdom only for listed purposes. The transfer must meet conditions covering national security, equivalent protection and limiting the data to the minimum needed, subject to exemptions set by regulation.

When a controller relies on an exemption from the adequate-protection and minimum-data conditions, the Saudi transfer regulation names standard contractual clauses, binding common rules and a certificate of accreditation as appropriate safeguards. It also requires a risk assessment before a transfer under one of those exemptions, or before sensitive data is transferred abroad on a continuous or widespread basis.

India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 has provisions for personal data of individuals outside India processed under a contract with a person outside India. Those provisions, including the exemption and cross-border transfer provisions, come into force on 13 May 2027. Under the exemption, most Data Fiduciary obligations and certain other provisions do not apply, but responsibility for compliance and reasonable security safeguards still do.

ZATCA's VAT guideline on professional services says that when a non-resident provider supplies services in Saudi Arabia to a VAT-registered client, the client accounts for VAT under the reverse charge mechanism and the provider does not charge VAT.

ZATCA's General Guideline for Withholding Tax says payments by a Saudi resident to a non-resident for technical and consulting services are subject to 5% withholding tax, regardless of where the service is performed. The payee may request a reduction or exemption under a double taxation agreement to which Saudi Arabia is a party.

In India, the export of goods or services is a zero-rated supply under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Act, 2017. A service qualifies as an export only when the specified conditions are met, including the supplier and recipient locations, place of supply, payment and the relationship between the parties.

Indian rules require an export-of-services invoice to carry the applicable export endorsement and give the recipient's name and address, the address of delivery and the country of destination. Saudi VAT Implementing Regulations require tax invoice details to be shown in Arabic; any other language on the invoice is a translation.

Agree payment arrangements with the supplier before work starts. Under India's Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, in force from 1 October 2026, an exporter must realise and repatriate the full value of exported services within nine months from the invoice date, or twelve months if the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees. The exporter can request more time from its Authorised Dealer bank.

India has ratified the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. It declared that it applies the Convention only to awards made in another contracting State and to differences considered commercial under its national law. UNCITRAL also lists India among the States that have adopted legislation based on or influenced by the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.

Arabic is the Kingdom's language. Include your language needs in the project brief.

• Agree call times that account for the time difference and your working week.
• Identify any personal data the Indian team will receive.
• Check the Saudi transfer conditions, safeguards and risk-assessment requirements.
• Check the VAT and withholding tax treatment of the services.
• Confirm invoice details and applicable language requirements.
• Agree payment arrangements with the supplier.
• Discuss how contract disputes will be handled.