House gives 3-year reprieve to owners of idle cars

By Elias Hazou

THE House on Thursday night passed a law sparing owners of immobilised vehicles from paying road tax provided they can demonstrate that their vehicles are idle.

The law spells out the cases where motorists are relieved of the obligation to pay road tax in arrears accruing to the period up until July 1, 2014.

It applies to vehicles not used, vehicles destroyed in accidents and vehicles that were bought but the previous owner had neglected to pay the road tax.

Vehicle owners who have not paid their road tax for the last three years, on vehicles they are no longer using, will not be subjected to a road tax if they file an application with the Road and Transportation Department (RTD) or provide a sworn statement in court verifying that the vehicle is no longer in use.

The step was deemed necessary due to the high number of people refusing to pay road tax on vehicles they no longer use. The RTD estimates that around 135,000 owners have an outstanding debt on 143,000 vehicles, which amounts to €53m owed in road tax. The government has so far received a fraction of that amount, just €9.5m, since only 28,000 owners settled their debt.

People who haven’t paid their road tax for over three years are required to both file an application and settle the excess debt. A chunk of the tax owed comes from vehicle owners who haven’t paid in years, reaching a point where they cannot afford to pay the whole sum. They now have three years’ worth of road tax less to worry about.

These vehicle owners can settle their excess debt in 12 monthly instalments. The deadline for the settlement expires in February 2015.

Those who have already paid the road tax on their immobilised vehicle will be refunded.

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