Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu announced plans to introduce revised penalties for a host of municipal violations. The commission urged the stakeholders to express their opinions and viewpoints on the proposed multitude of penalties for various violations before finalizing them. These included in the draft "Regulations of Fines and Penalties for Municipal Violations of the Royal Commission."

The draft requires the perpetrator of a municipal violation to repair any damage and restore the property to its original condition, and to appeal to the competent authority against any of the penalties specified in the regulation within 60 days from the date of notification of the penalty. The competent authority's decision may be appealed to the Board of Grievances within 60 days.

The draft categorizes violations into five groups: public health violations; slaughter and stray livestock violations, sales violations, building violations, and traffic violations.

Public health violations included 60 violations, with fines ranging from SR100 to SR20,000. These violations included food waste from homes with a fine of SR100; commercial waste from fruit and vegetable markets with fines ranging from SR1,000 to SR5,000; hazardous waste from factories with fines ranging from SR10,000 to SR20,000; workers showing symptoms of illness with fines ranging from SR1,000 to SR2,000; producing food items not included in the factory license with fines ranging from SR4,000 to SR6,000, and improper transportation, especially food items affected by temperature with fines ranging from SR2,000 to SR5,000.

The regulations included five violations related to slaughtering and stray livestock, with fines ranging from SR100 to SR5,000. These violations included slaughtering prohibited livestock and camels, with fines ranging from SR500 to SR1,000, slaughtering in public kitchens, with fines from SR1,000 to SR5,000, and abandoning livestock with a fine of SR100.

Sales violations are divided into 10 violations, with fines ranging from SR100 to SR10,000. These include opening shops related to public health without a license, with fines ranging from SR2,000 to SR10,000; fine for refusing to sell or refusing to provide an invoice, ranges from SR1,000 to SR5,000; and a fine for an unlicensed stall, ranges from SR200 to SR500. Meanwhile, fine for using vehicles unlicensed by the authority as sales showrooms ranges from SR1,000 to SR5,000.

Building violations are divided into 25 categories, with fines ranging from SR1,000 to SR30,000. These include exceeding the permitted building area for upper annexes, which carries a fine ranging from SR2,000 to SR5,000; encroaching on planning lines, which carries a fine ranging from SR5,000 to SR10,000; building without a permit, which carries a fine ranging from SR3,000 to SR5,000; and building on unplanned government land, which carries a fine ranging from SR10,000 to SR30,000.

Traffic violations are divided into 23 offences, with fines ranging from SR200 to SR30,000. These include digging without a license, which carries a fine ranging from SR10,000 to SR30,000; failure to remove excavation debris after completion of work, which carries a fine ranging from 5,000 to SR10,000; failure to maintain fences, signage, or warning signs in the work area, which carries a fine ranging from SR3,000 to SR5,000; blocking roads without a permit, which carries a fine ranging from SR5,000 to SR10,000; and defacing building walls or fences with writing or drawing for advertising purposes, which carries a fine ranging from SR200 to SR500.