Saturday 18 / May / 2024
Muscat: The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology has urged vehicle rental offices to abide by executive regulations of the Land Transport Law to improve the quality and services offered.
"In continuation of the efforts of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology in organising the land transport sector, the Ministry monitors the commitment of the vehicle rental offices to the provisions of the executive regulations of the Land Transport Law in order to improve the quality and service of the activity and the contractual relationship," the Ministry said in a statement.
The regulation stipulates that the licensee to engage in vehicle rental activity must obtain an operating card for each vehicle via a “Naql platform” and that the vehicle’s seats should not exceed eight members including the vehicle’s driver, and provide a sufficient number of workers to manage the activity and supervise proper performance of work.
The regulation also stipulated the practice of activity that the data of the lessee and the leased vehicle be sent to the Royal Oman Police, find a mechanism to ensure that the lessee pays the financial fines incurred by him in the event of any traffic violations, documenting and archiving all transactions in an orderly manner, and placing the license and general terms of the vehicle rental contract in a prominent place that is easy to read.
In addition, the licensee who is licensed to engage in vehicle rental activity must periodically inspect and maintain the vehicle and ensure its technical and operational readiness, save and report lost items left by the owners inside the vehicle, and ensure that the lessee is able to pay the rental costs and holds a valid driver’s license.
The Ministry bears the licensee of the land transport rental activity responsible for not verifying the identity of the lessee, and the lack of a valid driver's license with the lessee, in addition to the failure of the vehicle lessee to pay the financial fines incurred by him in the event of any traffic violations.
The regulation also stressed the need to write the vehicle rental contract in Arabic and also in English. In addition, in the event of a dispute over the terms of the contract, the Arabic text is considered.
The licensee who is licensed to lease land transportation must include the lease contract in the name of the lessee, his ID number or passport, the driver’s license, its issuance and expiry date, the rental tariff, the general terms of the contract, the contract period, the place and time of delivery and return of the vehicle, the condition of the vehicle at the time of delivery. In addition to how to insure and cover the damages resulting from accidents, clarifying if the contract includes using the vehicle outside the Sultanate of Oman, and the permissibility to return the vehicle before the end of the contract period without charging the renter the cost of the remaining period.
The Ministry calls on vehicle rental offices to urgently join Naql platform and abide by the requirements of the executive regulations of the Land Transport Law related to the requirements for practicing the activity and obtaining vehicle operating cards in order to avoid the violations stipulated in the mentioned regulation.
