Oman Budget 2017: ROP fees for certain services likely to be amended

Business Monday 02/January/2017 11:35 AM
By: Times News Service
Oman Budget 2017: ROP fees for certain services likely to be amended

Muscat: Certain fees for civil services provided by Royal Oman Police will be amended to increase revenue for the government, the 2017 state budget reveals.
Amending the fees of civil services provided by Royal Oman Police is proposed in the state budget as measures listed under the Fiscal Consolidation and Fiscal Measures Taken to Address Budget Deficit chapter.
Also read: Oman to generate OMR310m from expat visa fees
The budget report says that “the move as per the decisions issued or to be issued by government units concerned, are expected to improve and raise the contributions of non-oil revenues.”
The 2017 state budget plan released by Oman's government on Sunday projects a smaller deficit but maintained tight curbs on spending because of low oil prices, which are hurting state revenues.
Government spending this year is projected to total OMR11.7 billion and revenues OMR8.7 billion, which would result in a deficit of OMR3 billion.
Budget 2017 aims to put Oman on right track
That compares with the government's original 2016 budget plan of OMR11.9 billion in spending, OMR8.6 billion in revenues and a OMR3.3 billion deficit. The actual deficit has turned out to be much bigger than expected this year; it was OMR4.8 billion in the first 10 months of 2016, according to official data.