Unfair and abrupt

The recent government decision to “adjust” car licensing fees has provoked an uproar among car owners, and rightly so.

Under the new criterion for licensing vehicles — which was announced rather abruptly, no prior notice or explanation — the annual car licensing fees depend on the engine size, irrespective of the car’s value or model.

In other words, the owner of a 20-year-old car with modest market value, in view of the depreciation, with a 3,000cc to 4,000cc engine capacity will have to pay the same hefty JD440 annual licence renewal fee as a new car of the same engine power.

The issue here is the basis on which licencing fees are decided, which is made dependent solely on engine power, unlike the previous licensing system, which was based on the value of the car.

The logic of this leaves one mystified, mostly because the decision covers all cars, and not only those yet to enter the market, in which car purchasers would have been forewarned and given the chance to take an informed decision.

A more balanced basis for renewing vehicle licences should factor in the model as well as the engine size, and not only the latter.

One understands that the government targets big-engine cars to cut down on the county’s fuel bill, but it should do so fairly.

The citizen should be allowed to decide what car he/she wishes to purchase with full knowledge of facts. That way no one can complain.

But to impose the new fees retroactively is improper and unfair.

The concerned authorities are called upon to reexamine the issue and come up with a more balanced decision.

Already the car market suffers from a slump; it should not be added to the long list of other sectors that are sluggish because of the economic crisis that has been affecting Jordan and most of the rest of the world for years now.