DAMMAM, 12 June 2007 -- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has increased to SR25 the fee collected by the chambers of commerce and industry for document attestations from SR20, in an effort to raise the income of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce (CSCC).

Abdul Rahman Al-Rashid, chairman of the CSCC, told Arab News "the SR5 increase will be deposited in the account of the council and would help reduce the council's financial difficulties. This is because the income of the council has not been increasing commensurate with its services."

The chairman stressed the need for a permanent and balanced income for the council to meet its needs. The council was previously supposed to get the subscriptions from the chambers across the country but often the payments were not forthcoming, the chairman said. Therefore it has to resort to some source of income but without becoming a burden for any one, he said.

"Any service agency requires financing in order that it can offer quality service to businessmen and others," Al-Rashid said.

Businessmen showed mixed reactions but with an inclination toward dissatisfaction.

Saeed Al-Hadawi, owner of a car rental in Jeddah did not support the hike and complained that most of the businessmen in the Kingdom are not satisfied about the quality of the services offered by the chambers.

Abdul Kareem Munshi, proprietor of Munshi Commercial Establishment in Jeddah, said "the CSCC should cut down its fees for attestation and look for other sources of income." He feared that the hike would finally be passed on to poor employees in the private sector."

A Syrian businessman working in the Kingdom for over the last 15 years said the chambers is going in the opposite direction of what it did several years ago by slashing the attestation fees from SR30 to SR20.

Another businessman Salah Abul Layl said the fee hike is a blow to the private sector.

On the other hand, Abdullah Mara Bin Mahfouz, member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said "this step would undoubtedly bolster the activities of the chambers and the council of chambers in offering quality services. The chambers will also be able to implement several new programs which have been waiting for financial support."

He believed that the slight raise in the fees would not be a burden on the chamber members.

By Faiz Al-Mazrouei & Galal Fakkar

© Arab News 2007