Exemptions for Private Cars for People with Disabilities from Customs Duties and Taxes in Palestine

·       Under the supervision of Ministry of Social Development in Palestine

·       I do not write my posts on my page here based on rumors.. or information from people’s mouths, but rather on confirmed and official information.. My writings on the subject of the annual report of the State Audit and Administrative Control Bureau (SAACB) for 2019 are based on the texts of that report, which is the highest oversight authority in the State of Palestine, and thus I rely on confirmed and documented cases that exist in the reality of daily operations.!

·       Comments appeared in the SAACB’s compliance audit report for 2019 regarding exemptions for private cars for persons with disabilities from customs duties and taxes; the main observations follow:

-       The granting of exemption from customs duties and taxes in cases of representation is limited to persons with mobility disabilities (paralysis, amputation, and deformities of the upper limbs, or one of them, and cases of severe contracture and muscle atrophy) only, which resulted in depriving persons with other disabilities (sensory, mental, or intellectual) from obtaining the exemption by representation, and failing to assist them in performing their daily duties and facilitating their mobility.!

-       Shortcomings in Executive Regulation No. 8 of 2006, and its amendments, concerning exemptions of cars for persons with disabilities from customs duties and taxes, where it did not define the duties of the guides and coordinators in the Ministry of Social Development, nor the mechanism by which the ministry will follow up exemption requests submitted to it.

-       This regulation did not specify the procedures to be taken if it is proven that the car is used for purposes other than serving the person with a disability, which may lead to granting the exemption to those not entitled to it and using the exempted car for purposes other than those allocated for it.

-       The regulation and its amendments did not specify whether a person with a disability may benefit from the exemption, whether personally or by representation, in the event that he owns another car, nor did they specify the extent to which he may benefit from other programs of the Ministry of Social Development (cash social assistance and loans) if he obtains the exemption, which may lead to obtaining the exemption without legal cause.

-       The regulation and its amendments did not define the working mechanism of the exemption committee, nor the documentation and archiving mechanism for its meeting minutes and the entity responsible for archiving and documenting exemption files, nor did they specify the term of membership of the committee members, which led to difficulty in follow-up and monitoring of its work.

-       Weak coordination between the relevant entities (Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Ministry of Finance), as differences in the numbers of exemption recipients appeared in the lists provided to the Bureau by the three ministries, indicating weak coordination among them.!

-       It appeared that there are (1,054 cars) registered in the Ministry of Transport and Communications’ list that were purchased and benefited from the exemption, and did not appear in the Ministry of Social Development’s list, which indicates the possibility of obtaining the exemption without legal cause.!

-       There is duplication in the decisions of the exemption committee from customs duties and taxes, as it appeared that a number of exemption requests were accepted and a number were rejected, despite having the same medical diagnosis without clear reasons.!

-       It also appeared that the committee rejected a number of requests to obtain the exemption without clear reasons for the rejection, and did not record the reason for rejecting the request in its meeting minutes, which indicates the absence of clear and sound criteria in the committee’s work, and the lack of equality and fairness in dealing with the applications submitted to obtain the exemption, and may lead to some persons obtaining the exemption without legal cause and depriving deserving persons of obtaining it!

-       The Higher Medical Committee’s recommendation to grant or deny the exemption is considered an overreach of its powers regarding exemptions of cars for persons with disabilities from customs duties and taxes, and regarding stating the medical reality of the person with a disability, and may influence the exemption committee’s decision to grant or deny the exemption request.

-       The absence of a medical diagnosis that clarifies the nature of the disability in some reports of the Higher Medical Committee, and its lack of clarity in some cases, where the diagnosis is made as “functional impairment” without detail, which leads to difficulty for the exemption committee in making the decision to grant or deny the exemption.

-       Contradictions in medical reports issued by the Higher Medical Committees and the local medical committees.

-       Weak oversight and follow-up of exempted cars by the relevant entities, as it appeared that a number of cars do not bear the No. 31 specific to exempted cars, and the lack of communication with the Ministry of Interior led to exempted cars being registered in the names of deceased persons....!, and it also appeared that there are exempted cars whose engine exceeds 2000 cc, which indicates weak oversight and follow-up on exempted cars, and weak coordination among the relevant entities (Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Ministry of Finance).

-       It appeared that one person obtained two exemptions from customs duties and taxes on cars, as he obtained an exemption for a car in the Nablus directorate, and an exemption for another car in the Ramallah directorate, which indicates the possibility of obtaining more than one exemption, due to the absence of coordination, oversight, and follow-up among the relevant entities (mentioned above).

-       Members’ files are not archived electronically in the relevant entities (Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Ministry of Finance) to preserve them from damage and loss, and there is no suitable place to archive members’ paper files, as the archive in the Ministry of Social Development leaks rainwater and sewage.!, and exemption files are not archived in the Ministry of Finance in a suitable, proper, and organized manner that facilitates referring to and following them up.

-       On 4-11-2020