Saudi Arabia has formulated new mechanisms to penalize violations related to the transport and logistics sector

Saudi Arabia has developed new procedures to penalise transgressions pertaining to the transportation and logistics industry, similar to the fines included in the table of penalties for municipal infractions. The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported citing credible sources that the measure was based on joint minutes prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics and the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing. The request was made to grant the latter the authority to penalise violations within its legally established jurisdictions and to impose penalties by the regulations for penalties for municipal violations.

The Ministry of Transport and Logistics was given the power to enforce laws and impose fines for infractions committed in municipalities last month when the Council of Ministers gave its approval. The Cabinet determined that without affecting the Ministry of Municipal Affairs' authority under the Regulation and considering Article 5 thereof, the Ministers of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, as well as Transport and Logistics, should concur to identify the infractions in the schedule of Article 3 of the Regulation pertaining to the latter's legally recognised powers, and to impose the specified penalties.

The required coordination with the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing should be taken into consideration when the Minister of Transport and Logistics issues the relevant executive directives and their implementation mechanism.

The Minister of Transport and Logistics will receive authorization from the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing to designate an individual among his ministry's staff to oversee identifying and prosecuting any employees who violate the laws listed in the schedule of Article Three and levying the appropriate fines.

By the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, the Council of Ministers authorised the Ministry of Transport and Logistics to designate certain mayoralties or municipalities to oversee a particular region to carry out the oversight process, detect infractions, and levy fines; in exchange, the financial proceeds from the fines would be considered municipal revenues.

The Ministry of Transport and Logistics will work with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing to develop suitable solutions when issues or observations occur during the implementation of the new procedures, the Council of Ministers resolved. Notably, Article 3 of the Punitive Regulations for Municipal Waste outlines the penalty's amount, its maximum amount that can be doubled, how to handle the ensuing damages, and further penalties.

The updated municipal violations include those related to commercial activities, health facilities, advertising and billboards, public cleanliness and property damage, gas stations, electrical vehicle charging, sales, and buildings. The Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing began enforcing the table of penalties for these violations last month.