DOHA: The Ministry of Economy and Commerce yesterday announced that the grace period given to malls, shopping centres and commercial complexes for implementing the new pay parking rule has ended.
In order to protect customers from excessive fees charged for parking, the Ministry, in April, had issued a decision regulating car parking and valet service charges levied by malls and shopping centres.
City Center, Ezdan Mall, Landmark Complex, Gulf Mall, Dar Al Salam Complex, The Gate Mall, Souq Waqif, Doha Golf Club, Ahli Hospital, Villaggio, Lagoona Mall, The Pearl-Qatar and Katara are allowed to levy car parking and valet service charges.
Vehicle owners will be charged QR2 per hour for the first and second hours, QR3 per hour for third and the fourth hours, and QR5 per hour thereafter. The maximum charge for a day has been fixed at QR70. If the owner loses the ticket he will have to pay QR70.
Customers availing valet parking will be charged QR30 and QR60 for special valet parking.
According to the new rule, customers are exempted from any charge if they leave the parking area within 30 minutes due to unavailability of parking space.
The Ministry has already started intensive inspection campaign in markets and commercial complexes to ensure that they are implementing the new rule properly. It has urged car owners to report about overcharging or about any unauthorised entity charging parking fee.
The decision stipulates that these parking spaces cannot be rented to any other entity without taking approval from the concerned authority. The Ministry stressed that it is going to intensify inspection campaign to ensure proper implementation of its rule and will punish the erring entities.
Ministry urges malls to take care of parked vehicles
It has lauded the licensed markets and commercial complex for adhering to the new decision.
The Ministry has urged people to communicate with the Ministry in case they have inquiries or complaints related to the new parking rule on its email: [email protected] , or through Twitter at @MEC_QATAR.
The Ministry had earlier noted some cases of commercial complexes and markets levying excessive parking charges. This forced Ministry to conduct studies through special committee which set up the charges and the maximum limit that can be imposed on customers.
The Ministry has instructed Commercial Complexes, Malls and Shopping Complex to take care of the parked vehicles. It has asked commercial complexes and other entities to paste the list of charges on clearly visible places. They are not allowed to levy any other fees without prior approval.
The Peninsula
