Puspakom’s three-decade monopoly coming to an end in September

A Puspakom officer conduction vehicle inspection at their center in Kuala Lumpur, August 8, 2022. — GLENN GUAN/The Star

PUTRAJAYA: From June, those looking to provide vehicle inspection services can apply for a licence from the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who announced this yesterday, said this is part of the ministry’s efforts to reduce monopolies and introduce healthy competition in the transport sector.

“By opening up this sector, we hope to attract additional investor interest to help drive the development of new technology in the industry.

“This will create healthy industry competition that will lead to more consistent and higher-quality services for the benefit of all,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

The move will end three decades of monopoly by Puspakom which was appointed by the government in 1994 to undertake all mandatory inspections of commercial and private vehicles.

Loke unveiled the latest guidelines and requirements that vehicle inspection service providers (VISPs) would have to adhere to, among them being that inspection centres would be at fixed locations determined by the ministry.

“Each VISP will be initially allowed to operate at two locations – one at an urban area and another in a rural area.

“The VISP is then required to develop and operate both locations simultaneously with the list of locations to be provided during a stakeholder consultation session on April 23.

“With this, the ultimate goal will be to ensure every state and possibly area has at least one VISP to serve both urban and rural communities,” he said.

Loke said the VISPs would be required to have at least RM10mil paid-up capital and RM5mil working capital to ensure business sustainability.

Once approved, qualified VISPs will be given an interim approval period of up to 24 months during which the companies must fully develop and set up their vehicle inspection centres at their allocated locations.

“Any party found to have failed to complete all the preparation processes within this period of time will have the interim approval revoked and will not be granted a licence.

“Those who succeed will be granted a licence to carry out vehicle inspections... for a maximum period of up to 10 years, with the ability to continue for another period to be determined later,” Loke said.

However, they will not be allowed to offer repair, vehicle modifications, sales of spare parts or vehicles, or any transaction related to such services, the minister added.