Refund Lead Auditor

About the Role

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) is seeking a Refund Lead Auditor to join their team in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This full-time role is for an experienced professional capable of conducting work with general directions, focusing on developing solutions to challenges requiring analysis and addressing escalated issues. The position involves complex operational activities, including researching industries for revenue benchmarking and developing audit reports within established policies and procedures.

Refund Planning Responsibilities

• Review and study refund policies to stay current on refund limit utilization, risk control authorizations, and applicable margins, ensuring adherence to ZATCA’s rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Develop and update assessment templates and audit tools in accordance with operational procedures and policies to facilitate customer request analysis and timely evaluation.
• Keep abreast of the latest developments, news, and updates by industry type and sector (*, business and insurance, telecommunication, consumer goods) to incorporate new tax practices adopted by taxpayers and businesses into assessments and audit reviews.
• Maintain and update refund manuals, eligibility criteria, legal requirements, and supporting documents by taxpayer type, integrating them into computer-aided audit tools to facilitate audit assessment and review.

Refund Operations and Case Management

• Consolidate, categorize, and prioritize refund requests and schedules, sorting them by tax/industry type and ensuring dispatch to relevant audit teams for assessment and review.
• Review refund applications and requests, examine the validity of legal documents presented by taxpayers, and ensure completeness of supporting documents prior to case assessment and evaluation.
• Gather necessary data for desk audits, communicate with relevant stakeholders (account managers, taxpayers, banks, audit bureau, government entities) to obtain information and clarifications, and consult with the legal function for contractual structures to safeguard applicant legitimacy.
• Research public news, articles, databases, and shared channels to investigate and understand taxpayers’ business activity, including structure, size, process, and jurisdictions.
• Study and assess taxpayers’ financial status, income statements, financial strength and capabilities, and revenue streams to compare with benchmarks and similar industries, deciding on the appropriate assessment approach (actual, estimated, reduced assessments).
• Inspect and investigate taxpayers’ declarations, pinpoint high-risk and speculative issues, detect non-compliant cases, and communicate with internal stakeholders to avoid potential risks, including tax evasion.
• Consolidate legal and financial observations, study, and evaluate them against pre-approved eligibility criteria and refund requirements to recommend approval/rejection decisions in line with applicable policies and procedures.
• Manage the development of audit reports, including tax assessments (actual/reduced/estimated assessments), to identify taxpayers’ refund amounts.
• Develop lists of compliant taxpayers with accepted refunds and related amounts, submitting them to internal committees to secure necessary approvals for payment release/transfer.
• Monitor taxpayer objections and appeals, ensuring coordination with Legal Affairs or AMANA to resolve disputes and support key testimonies by providing clarifications on final audit findings and results.
• Maintain and update refund operations-related systems and databases, ensuring all audit findings are administered and stored securely to facilitate data exchange with internal stakeholders and other government agencies.

Reporting and Support

• Draft refund audit reports to highlight recommendations and conclusions along with relevant evidence, proofs, and supporting documents, escalating them for revision and verification.

Qualifications and Experience

Candidates should possess 2-5 years of relevant experience. This role requires professionals capable of conducting work with general directions and developing solutions to complex challenges.

Work Environment

This is a full-time position based in Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, within the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority. Salary details will be disclosed during the recruitment process.