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| THE FIRST CAR REGISTRATION FEE IS AGAIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT 11/04/2008 |
| (2008-04-11) |
| Last updated: 2008-04-14 10:11 EET |
In Romania, the myth of the cheap, polluting second-hand car, inherited from the communist era, is about to be busted. New domestic legislation, in line with relevant European laws, makes drivers be more selective when purchasing a car. Using the watchword “We won't be Europe's waste bin,” on January 1st, 2007 the Government introduced a so-called “first registration fee” calculated against the age of the vehicle, the type of catalyst and the cylinder capacity. The tax amounted to 8,600 Euro for highly polluting vehicles, older than six years. In response to the surging discontent, the government immediately modified the level of the fee; re-branded as “pollution fee”, it paradoxically affected the less polluting cars.
Both versions came under fire both in Romania and in Brussels, with the European Commission determined to refer the case to the European Court of Justice, just as it did with Hungary and Poland. As a last resort, the Tariceanu Cabinet found a new equation for the calculation of the car registration fee. The third version, which meets EU criteria and which may soon be endorsed by the Government in an emergency ordinance, retains elements related to the car age and the cylinder capacity, while also introducing the pollution rate as a criterion. The calculation method is rather complicated, but it is a fact now that the money thus collected will go into the Environment Ministry accounts. Basically, the fee amount is reduced for all vehicle categories. The people who paid more, over the past 16 months, since the enforcement of the old law, will be refunded the balance. Prime minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu, also the major shareholder in the Citroen vendor in Romania, played the populism trump card, as on Thursday he launched the first public debate on a fee in Romania. He voiced confidence that the new version of the pollution fee, quote, “will clear the air in major cities” unquote.
“From now on, polluters will pay, no matter if we talk about cars or heavy vehicles. I know it's not easy, but we all need to learn and to comply with <> principle.”
But Tariceanu didn't mention how other pollution causes would be addressed, including the suffocating increase in the number of cars, the disastrous condition of the infrastructure and, last but not least, the improvement of the Romanians' living standards, so as to enable them to buy new, less polluting cars with less sacrifices.
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2025-04-03
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