People with disabilities decry vehicle exemption regulations

AMMAN — Around 200 people with disabilities on Tuesday protested against the 2019 by-law that set a limit on customs duty exemptions for their choice of vehicles, which the government endorsed last April.

The protest took place in front of the Finance Ministry's building, where people with disabilities gathered to press their demands, Mutaz Junaidi, the protest's coordinator, told The Jordan Times on Tuesday over the phone. 

The old by-law stipulated that people with physical disabilities are allowed to drive vehicles with engine power of up to 2,200cc, while also granting all people with disabilities full exemptions from customs duty when purchasing vehicles, Junaidi said.

The new by-law, however, allows people with disabilities to drive gasoline vehicles with up to 1,600cc, only, and it sets a limit on customs duty exemptions that amounts to JD6,000, Junaidi said, noting that vehicles with a customs tax fee of over JD10,000 are not included in the list of exemptions.

He explained that it means people with disabilities can only buy vehicles with a maximum customs duty of JD10,000, of which they are exempted for JD6,000 and must pay the remaining JD4,000 out of pocket.

Moreover, the old by-law allowed people with physical disabilities to drive public transportation vehicles like diesel-run minibuses, whereas the new by-law does not allow them to do so anymore, according to Junaidi.

When asked about the reaction to the protest, he said that it was “positive” as Finance Minister Ezzeddine Kanakrieh promised them a meeting on Wednesday with the Jordan Customs Department's director general to discuss the issue. 

A similar protest also took place in Aqaba according to Junaidi, in front of the governor's office regarding the same articles in the by-law.

He noted that since its endorsement on April 16, he has coordinated with people with disabilities to form a committee, not affiliated with any official entity, to work together and protest against the new by-law. 

Lara Yasin, director of the legal affairs department at the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), said that since the by-law’s publication in the gazette, the HCD has contacted Prime Minister Omar Razzaz to increase the exemption limit to JD10,000 instead of only JD6,000 to allow people with disabilities more options when buying vehicles. 

Yasin said that the new by-law allows people of all disabilities to drive gasoline vehicles of up to 1,600cc and 2,000cc for hybrid vehicles.

Therefore, before the endorsement of the by-law, the HCD presented an article to be added to it that would give the finance minister the authority to approve exempting vehicles that are fully prepared for use by people with extreme physical disabilities, regardless of their engine power, considering they can only be transported using vehicles that can fit wheelchairs or anything they might need, Yasin said. 

This article suggested by the HCD was included when the Cabinet approved the mandating reasons for the new by-law on March 13, Yasin said, noting that when the new by-law was published, that article was not included.

On April 17, one day after the by-law's publication, the HCD sent an official letter to inquire about the status of the article, and later in that month sent another official letter containing the same demands mentioned in Tuesday's protest. 

The HCD president and secretary general met with the prime minister near the end of May, and after the meeting the council sent another official letter to discuss the demands further. 

Yasin said that the HCD has no executive involvement or authority in implementing the by-law, noting that the executive implementation falls mainly in the hands of the ministries of finance, health and social development, in addition to the Jordan Customs Department and the Drivers and Vehicles Licence Department.