The Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing approved the updated schedule of municipal violations and penalties, which aims to raise the quality of services, improve the level of cleanliness and public health in cities, and enhance transparency in the municipal sector.

The ministry explained that the new amendments will contribute to raising compliance rates, providing an appropriate and fair environment for competition between commercial establishments, and reducing visual distortion.

9 groups of violations:

The ministry explained that the new amendment included 9 groups of violations, including violations of commercial activities, violations of public hygiene and commercial waste haulers, violations of roads and streets, construction violations, gas station violations, violations of municipal fees linked to a percentage of sales, violations of advertising and advertising signs, sales violations, and violations of health facilities.

The ministry explained that the new amendment included 9 groups of violations, including violations of commercial activities, public hygiene and commercial waste haulers.

Added that 127 violations - equivalent to 43% of the total violations - are suspended and only the violator is warned for the first time before the penalty is imposed, as part of the municipal sector's keenness to raise compliance rates with laws, regulations and requirements.

Added that 127 violations - equivalent to 43% of the total violations - are suspended.

A grace period for regularization:

The decision included granting shops and establishments covered by the regulation a period ranging between (90-180) days to reconcile their status, provided that the current regulation of fines and penalties for municipal violations will continue to operate until the end of the reconciliation period for each group of municipal violations.

The decision included the granting of a period ranging between (90-180) days to reconcile their status.

Features of the updated regulation:

The updated regulation is characterized by the clarity of the texts of violations and penalties, and the classification of violations according to the municipality, where the determination of fines took into account the difference between the levels of cities in economic terms, which led the ministry to classify the fines accordingly on five levels in which the value of the fine varies according to the economic status of the city.

The Ministry also emphasized that the high percentage of violations for which a warning is sufficient without applying a fine when the violation is committed the first time will enhance the level of awareness of compliance with municipal laws, regulations and requirements, as the fine in the table will only be applied when the violation is committed for the second time after the violator has been informed through the warning of the violation and its consequences.

The Ministry also emphasized that the high percentage of violations for which a warning is sufficient without applying a fine when the violation is committed the first time will enhance the level of awareness of compliance with municipal laws, regulations and requirements.

On the other hand, fixing the value of the fine would avoid disparity between penalties for similar violations and limit the discretionary powers of the controllers, and suit the degree of penalty to the gravity of the committed violation and its effects. The table includes a clear definition of the ancillary penalties that apply to some violations, and to view the updated municipal violations and sanctions table you can visit link.