‘New vehicle licensing fees based solely on engine size’

AMMAN — The new fees for car licences that went into effect on Tuesday do not include public transport vehicles, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Al Kafawin, director of the Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Department, said Wednesday. 

The new list of prices is meant to further organise the licensing process, according to Kafawin. 

"The last by-law set the licence fees based on several criteria including the customs duty value on the car and the size of the engine. Now the prices are based on the engine size," he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

Under the new system, published in the Official Gazette a month ago, the licensing fee for cars with engines under 1,600cc is JD45.

Licences for cars with 1,600 to 2,000cc engines will cost JD64; while the rate rises to JD173 for engines with a capacity between 2,000 and 2,500cc.

The fee rises to JD225 and JD440 for vehicles whose engines are sized 2,500-3,000cc and 3,000-4,000cc, respectively.

Owners of vehicles with 4,000cc engines have to pay JD650 for the car licence, under the new system.

Kafawin also noted that the licensing fees for hybrid cars were reduced by over 50 per cent.

Jordanian social media users had mixed feelings about the new decision. 

Suleiman Helalat expressed his anger over the new fees. 

"How can the licensing fee rise fivefold? My car licence used to cost JD112 and now it is JD650," he posted on Facebook.

Wasfi Al Ajrami said on Twitter that those with old cars will have to pay a fortune, noting that owners of cars worth JD4,000 might end up paying nearly JD700 in licence fees annually if their vehicles' engines are over 3,000cc. 

But for Nawaf Al Sarhan described the new prices are "normal".

"Most of our cars have 1,500cc engines... it will be most expensive for owners of 4,000cc cars, but I don't think they would care," he posted on Facebook.