By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: No transfer of a vehicle's ownership can now be done without financial evidence of payment (an authorized check, a receipt of payment, bank transfer, or contract of sale through a dealership). Many people were confused after Assistant Undersecretary for Traffic Affairs Maj Gen Jamal Al-Sayegh issued this decision last week. According to him, this decision will limit money laundering through the sale of luxury vehicles by paying cash.

Clarifying the decision, the interior ministry later announced transfers of ownership of vehicles between relatives (parents, children, siblings, spouses) are excluded from this decision, and the transfer can be done without providing any proof of payment.

An officer at the Traffic Department in Jabriya told Kuwait Times that they sometimes faced complaints from people that a vehicle wasn't transferred to their ownership after paying the money. "This new decision will protect against fraud. But other people have also complained that this is a complicated process and that they are used to paying cash," he said.

If the vehicle is a gift between people who are not relatives, they still have to present a receipt voucher of any value, according to the officer. The receipt voucher can be found at stationery stores. "The decision is applied to all kinds of vehicles no matter their value, whether they are expensive or cheap," added the officer.