By Akram Medhat
The Administrative Court today, March 23, issued a ruling suspending and canceling the decision of the Minister of Tourism, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, on the terms and regulations for organizing Umrah trips for 2018, and nullifying the consequences of that decision, namely the imposition of additional fees on repeat Umrah of 10,000 pounds for a second time within 3 years and the setting of a cap on the number of Umrah pilgrims.
The ruling stated that the Minister of Tourism's decision violated the constitution, as taxes or fees may not be imposed, amended or abolished except by law, and the Ministry of Tourism does not provide services to those wishing to perform Umrah that would require approving fees for repeating the rituals.
The lawsuit affirmed that the decision also violated the principle of equality among citizens stipulated in Article 53 of the constitution, by imposing exorbitant fees on Umrah pilgrims but not on other travelers going on holiday and leisure to any foreign country or those traveling to attend football matches.
It is worth noting that Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Tourism, approved the Umrah regulations for the 1439 AH/2018 AD season, which included imposing fees on repeat Umrah for those who had performed Umrah within the past 3 years, and gave priority to citizens who had never performed Umrah before, especially after a cap of 500,000 pilgrims per season was set. The equivalent of 2,000 Saudi riyals (10,000 Egyptian pounds) is to be collected, plus 50% of the amount, i.e. the equivalent of 1,000 riyals, for a pilgrim performing Umrah more than once in the same season, with the amount paid by the citizen into a special account at the Central Bank.
Read also:
Cases in Which the 2018 Umrah Visa Fee Applies Based on Previous Travel to Perform the Rituals
Turky: Umrah 1441 AH Online and Electronic Visa Issuance for Egyptian Pilgrims
