The Cabinet has decided to extend the decision granting tourist transport vehicles customs and tax exemptions and incentives for three months, ending in mid-June.
The decision was made based on recommendations from the Ministers of Transport and Tourism & Antiquities regarding the necessity to extend the period of exemptions and benefits provided to tourist transport vehicles. This will enable companies in the sector to update their buses and complete licensing procedures for companies with initial approvals for licensing, thus enhancing investment in the tourist transport sector.
In a joint statement, the Ministries of Transport and Tourism & Antiquities noted that this decision would positively impact the sector by updating tourist transport fleets and improving services for tourists. It will also introduce additional buses to accommodate the increasing numbers of tourists visiting the country.
According to the statement, the government previously granted the tourist transport sector an additional year from March 15 of last year, including customs exemptions and reduced general sales tax for tourist transport vehicles. This period was initially set to end in mid-March this year, but the government decided to extend it by an additional three months. This extension aims to give existing companies time to benefit from these incentives, update their fleets, and complete licensing procedures for companies with preliminary approvals.
Twenty-seven new companies received preliminary approvals under the Cabinet’s decision to extend the exemptions for tourist transport vehicles. Seven specialized tourist transport companies have completed licensing procedures, contributing 195 new vehicles to the sector’s fleet, in addition to reinforcing existing companies’ tourist transport fleets with 122 additional tourist vehicles.
The joint statement from the Ministries of Transport and Tourism & Antiquities mentioned that the 20 companies with incomplete licensing, which had received preliminary approvals, could benefit from the three-month extension to complete their licensing procedures.
