Jeddah: The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has released a draft law on services to be provided to pilgrims. The new draft revises the rights of pilgrims and the services to be provided by companies. After seeking public opinion and expert suggestions, the draft will be enacted. The new rules will come into force after 90 days of publication in the official gazette.
The new change is part of improving services provided to pilgrims. The revised draft law includes several new directives and regulations. The new law has a provision to take strong punitive measures against institutions that do not comply with the provisions.
A fine of 5 lakh riyals will be imposed on service establishments operating without obtaining a license from the ministry. Repeat offenders will be fined twice. And if they are foreigners, they will be smuggled out of the country. Punitive measures will also include warnings, fines, cancellation of licenses and temporary suspension of operations to companies violating the law. The new law also provides for strong punitive measures that can be taken without prior approval from the Ministry of Hajj and related departments.
The Ministry reserves the right to replace defaulting entities with another service company. Any additional costs incurred for this will be charged to the defaulting entity. Violations of the law by the service establishments and the penal action against them will be implemented with the approval of the Minister as per the recommendation of the expert committee. If the NL, LMN and institutions are unable to provide the services as per the contract, they will have to refund the equivalent amount to the pilgrims. The ministry stated that the new law aims to unify the standards of services provided to pilgrims coming from within and outside the country.
Saudi Arabia revises Hajj Umrah service rules
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2023-08-08 19:20:28
