In an effort to speed up the process for vehicle owners seeking license plate registration, the Transport Department has decided it is no longer necessary for people to have their import tax papers verified at the Phnom Penh Municipal Post Office.
Vehicle owners have complained that since the Transport Ministry reformed the vehicle registration process in February in an effort to stamp out corruption, the process has become bureaucracy-heavy and the waiting time too lengthy.
Since the reforms, people wishing to register for a license plate have had to spend days lining up outside government offices in the hot sun, and also to make multiple trips to different government bureaus. In all, the whole process can take weeks.
Before, people had to take their tax import papers first to district transportation offices to register and then to the Phnom Penh Municipal Post Office to have their import tax invoice checked, and then back to the transportation offices.
Now, since changes were made in April, everything will be handled in one place, according to Peou Maly, deputy director general of the transport department. “The reason we are doing this is to provide quick public service and make it easier for people,” Mr. Maly said, adding that if it took longer than a week to get their license plate number, people had the right to complain.
In an effort to stamp out corruption, price lists have recently been displayed at the license plate offices so that vehicle owners can ask for invoices. To register a car costs about $50, a truck about $60, and $20 for a motorcycle.
“Vehicle owners don’t need to pay $10 extra for the officials to complete necessary documents any more because they can complete it themselves,” he said, adding that those who were unable to complete the forms themselves could still pay a service fee to get it done for them.
