AS OF yesterday morning, drivers can now renew their road tax online in a government effort to cut down on the long cues and paperwork at the Inland Transport Department.
The Works and Communications Ministry hopes that the establishment of an online payment method for the annual or biannual tax on motor vehicles will bring an end to the long lines formed at the Inland Transport every year just before the road tax due date.
The online system, available 24 hours per day, can be accessed by visiting: www.jccsmart.com
One the website you will see a link inside a solid blue bar that says “Pay your road tax here” in Greek (for non-Greek readers, the blue bar is situated directly over the link that says “Click here to pay your Utility bills online, save time and avoid queues”).
The next site (directly accessible at http://www.jccsmart.com/rtd/index.aspx) then asks for your vehicle’s registration number, for the last three digits of your identity card or passport, and for the renewal period desired, which is either through June 2006 or December 2006.
After entering the necessary information, you will be asked to select your insurance agency and then to type your credit card number upon which your road tax dues will be charged.
The receipt and road tax sticker that you apply to your windshield will then arrive by mail in several days.
For assistance on paying the road tax by website, you can call 22-807104 during working hours.
Shifting road tax to petrol prices
FOR ALMOST a year now Parliament has been considering eliminating the road tax and instead transferring the fee onto petrol prices.
Supporters, mainly from ruling DIKO, say that shifting the road tax onto petrol will save the bureaucratic costs of issuing permits and inspecting vehicles and will make the system more equitable as motorists will only be charged in proportion to the amount of time they spend on the road.
Opposition DISY is opposed to transferring road tax onto petrol costs, claiming that motorists are not willing to pay anymore for already-high prices.
The tax could not be scrapped without transferring the fees in some way as the state currently rakes in around £40 million per year on road tax.
n To pay road tax online go to: www.jccsmart.com
Info: 22-807104
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