Interior Ministry to lower fee for reissuing lost or stolen passports

The Interior Ministry announced yesterday that it intends to cut the fee for reissuing passports after loss or theft - from NIS 1,000 to NIS 750. The new ordinance is being prepared for approval by the ministry's ordinance committee, following a High Court of Justice decision handed down three weeks ago.

Under Interior Ministry ordinances that came into effect in January 2009, the fee for reissuing a passport in the event of loss, theft or damage was raised from NIS 400 to NIS 1,000, while the fee for issuing a brand new passport is just NIS 250. The move immediately led to a response from the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, who appealed to the High Court just three months later.

The ministry says that the increase in the fee had been an effective measure, leading to a 30 percent decline in the number of passports reported lost or stolen. The ACRI, however, argued that the larger fee was aimed at punishing citizens. The ministry denied the allegation, stating that the substantial difference between the fee for reissuing a lost or stolen passport and the fee for issuing a new one is due to the higher cost for reviewing and handling the former. The High Court, however, didn't see it that way. The court found that the fee does indeed constitute a fine which the Interior Ministry is not authorized to levy, and recommended that the ministry consider cancelling the fine or replacing it with a reasonable, lower fee which reflects the cost of the service involved in handling such cases.