The submission of garage permits when registering a land vehicle has been eliminated, according to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA).
In an announcement, the ministry said that garage permits will no longer be a requirement for the registration of land vehicles. Although a dedicated garage would still be a requirement for the registration of vehicles, the decision to remove the permit was made to reduce the bureaucratic burden on individuals and ease the process, the ministry said.
Previously, three separate paperwork were mandated to be submitted. These were permit given by the Male’ city council or Housing Development Corporation (HDC) for specific use of a building, permit from the Male’ city council or HDC for parking the vehicle in the garage and the authorisation letter from the owner of the garage along with their identity documentation, the ministry said.
The amendments brought are intended to streamline the process. The ministry further noted that they have received multiple complaints from individuals who were unable to change the registration of vehicles brought to the country prior to 2009, and the enactment of the law necessitating a dedicated garage prior to bringing vehicles from abroad. Vehicles registered to parking zones in Male’ City can also now change registration without the need of a garage permit, it said.
The ministry reiterated that although the paperwork has been eliminated, it will continue to check for the proper authorisation of the owner of the garage and conduct physical inspection prior to the approval of any registration. In addition to this, the ministry has also enacted a reform allowing for cancellation of a vehicle's registration even if there are outstanding annual fees or penalties.