Vehicle rental services in Oman should follow these guidelines

Muscat: Oman’s 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 of the activity 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 vehicle rental activity 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 added 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 “transport platform” and that the vehicle’s seats should not exceed 8 seats with the driver of the vehicle, and provide a sufficient number of workers to manage the activity and supervise the 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, and a mechanism was found 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 their 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 tenant, and the lack of a valid driver’s license with the tenant, in addition to the failure of the vehicle renter 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 it may be in English in addition to that. In the event of a dispute over the terms of the contract, the Arabic text shall prevail.

The licensee for the activity of land transport leasing must include the rental 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 term, the place and time of delivery and return of the vehicle, the condition of the vehicle at the time of delivery, and the method of insurance. Covering the damages resulting from accidents, clarifying whether the agreement includes the use of the vehicle outside the Sultanate of Oman, and the permissibility of returning the vehicle before the end of the contract period without charging the tenant the cost of the remaining period.

The ministry called on vehicle rental offices to urgently join the Nuqul 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.