A Unified Guide outlining fees in Government institutions has been drafted by the Ministry of Finance in a bid to streamline procedures and services in Oman.

In the implementation of the recent Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik on the preparation of a Unified Guide for pricing of government services in a manner that caters to probable financial, economic and social impacts, the Ministry of Finance issued a statement outlining measures to achieve a comprehensive vision when studying government fees.

The study covers the views of the parties taking part in offering the service, the total cost borne by the beneficiaries of the service, and aspects of streamlining procedures for offering the services.

The Ministry of Finance affirmed that the Unified Guide was drafted and applied, in its first phase, to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and the Municipalities Sector.

The outcome was that the number of fees against government services was cut down to 548, while the proportion of reduction in fees ranged between 17 per cent and 96 per cent, said the Finance Ministry, noting that some of the fees were totally canceled to facilitate the job of beneficiaries.

The Ministry of Finance explained that the authorities concerned will take necessary steps to ensure that the new fees be implemented with effect from 1 January 2022.

The details of the said fees will be made available via the electronic website of the Finance Ministry, according to the statement, which affirmed that the Ministry will go ahead with the upcoming stage of implementation of the Guide.