Kuwait to revise public service fees for cost, benefit, and fairness
As per the decree, each entity will set fees for public services through a decision by the competent authority, in line with the governing law and approved by the Council of Ministers.
• The explanatory memorandum of Decree-Law No. 1 of 2025 states that abolishing Law No. 79 of 1995 is necessary to adapt to economic and social changes, allowing more flexibility in pricing public services while ensuring social justice and protecting the minimum living standard.
Decree-Law No. 1 of 2025, addressing fees and financial costs for using public facilities and services, mandates a review of fees by the relevant authorities, with adjustments based on service cost and benefits, while ensuring social justice and preserving the general subsistence minimum, according to Al Qabas newspaper.
The decree, published in the Official Gazette “Kuwait Today,” stipulates the cancellation of Law No. 79 of 1995 and any provisions contrary to this.
Article two states that “each entity shall determine the fees and costs for the use of public facilities and services through a decision by the competent authority of each entity, in accordance with the governing law, after approval by the Council of Ministers.”
The ministers, each in their respective areas, shall implement this decree-law, which shall take effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
The explanatory memorandum of Decree-Law No. 1 of 2025 on fees and financial costs for the use of public facilities and services states that, due to continuous economic and social changes and the need for the state to be flexible in managing financial resources and providing public services sustainably, it is necessary to abolish Law No. 79 of 1995.
This will help regulate the demand for services, based on the principle of good management of public facilities, while increasing the flexibility of government ministries and departments to develop their own mechanisms for pricing public services and fees. Social justice will be considered, with no harm to the minimum living standard.
The explanatory memorandum added that, in the event of the law’s cancellation, the fees subject to it will be studied and analyzed by the concerned authorities and re-priced according to the cost of service and benefit. This will be done through a decision by the competent authority in accordance with its law and after being presented to the Council of Ministers.
