MC

 

The Ministry of Commerce and Investment intensifies its inspection campaigns on fuel stations inside and outside the cities, since the traffic and travelling by road would increase during Eid Al Fitr holiday.

MCI inspection teams endeavor to verify the availability of fuel in stations located inside and outside cities and on highways, and to eliminate any commercial fraud in gasoline, also to ensure the absence of manipulation in gasoline pumps or mixing of gas.

 

During the past few days, MCI had been carrying out inspection campaigns to check and calibrate the fuel pumps, which led to the closure of some fuel stations in several regions of the Kingdom, due to mixing of gasoline, non-conformity of fuel pumps to standard specifications and lack of calibration.

 

Within the framework of regulations, aiming at raising the level of transparency in the service provided to consumers, also to eliminate mixing of gasoline and to stop any commercial fraud, H.E. the Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi launched last month the Electronic System for Checking and Calibration of fuel pumps. This System aims to help fuel stations to provide and achieve a higher level of service, besides supporting the fuel stations to meet quality requirements.

 

 

MCI explained that it is very easy for fuel station owners to request checking and calibration of their fuel pumps, through the following link: fis.mci.gov.sa, where the fuel station can be accurately located via GPS, then the concerned lab would visit the station and do the necessary checking & calibration. This service is part of a series of initiatives through which the Ministry seeks to realize the Kingdom Vision 2030, in cooperation with its strategic partner, Thiqa Business Services Company.

 

Upon completion of the examination and calibration process, the laboratory will place a label of the test result on the pump, and the owner can obtain the Calibration Certificate electronically via the system.

 

 

The Ministry pointed out that in cooperation and partnership with the Saudi Standard, Metrology and Quality Organization, and for getting the best results, the decision has been gradually implemented from 11 - 8 - 1438H by obligating the new stations to inspect and calibrate their fuel pumps, and make it available to the owners of the existing stations as a first phase. In the second phase, the system would be implemented in a compulsory way on all new and existing stations, whose licenses expire after 1/1/1439 AH.

 

The Ministry has endeavored to apply the best methods in developing this system. It has privatized the services of such project and entrusted it to the private sector laboratories. The Ministry also ensured that the citizens should be a partner in monitoring the stations by enabling them in the next stage to submit complaints about any violations.

 

 

The Ministry of Commerce and Investment did its best to educate fuel station owners on the new system for checking and calibration of fuel pumps, as well as on its mechanism and the requirements for registering in the system. A workshop was held by MCI, attended by the owners and operators of fuel stations and representatives of the National Committee for Fuel Stations at the Saudi Council of Chambers of Commerce.

H.E. MCI Undersecretary for Consumer Protection, Mr. Fahad Al Huzaili pointed out that the said workshop made the workers in the fuel station sector aware and familiar with the new system, especially this system has been assigned to private laboratories to do the calibration and examination after agreement between MCI and the Ministries of Interior, Municipal and Rural Affairs and Transportation. During the workshop, the officials listened to the queries of workers in the fuel stations and their remarks about the said electronic system, which will contribute to the elimination of commercial fraud at the gas stations.