Car buyers are interested in what they are buying: it will be too late to see the amount of tax in the Regitra

The car registration tax that has come into force in Lithuania is related to the CO2 emissions of the vehicle. Based on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the car, the amount of the tax will be calculated. It should be noted that the tax must be paid by the owners of vehicles with emissions greater than 130 g / km.

There is room for deception

Matas Buzelis, the communication manager of the transport advertising portal Autoplius.lt, told Delfi that, although it is too early to speak about the possible scope of the fraud, it is already clear that there are gaps in one or another scam.

“Knowing the peculiarities of the Lithuanian used car market, there are likely to be those who have been too little interested in the CO2 emissions of the purchased car, if this is not indicated in the registration certificate. Without a publicly available database of CO2 emissions from automobiles, it is likely to be difficult to avoid such problems. This could be avoided by requiring CO2 emissions data in the vehicle sales contract. Then the seller would be more obligated to find out the pollution indicators of the car before selling the vehicle, “said M. Buzelis.

According to him, it would be worth looking at the car he is buying and its CO2 emissions before signing the contract. All that is needed, said the expert, is basic computer skills and the ability to use Google. However, he made no secret that if a publicly available database appeared in Lithuania, the job would be easier for both Regitra staff and car buyers.

Contracts do not require

According to M. Buzelis, when concluding a sale and purchase agreement, the car’s CO2 emissions data should also be recorded. Currently, there is no requirement to indicate the CO2 value in the recommended forms of purchase and sale agreements submitted by SE Regitra.

“I believe that if CO2 emission data were required and recorded in sales contracts, it would be possible to challenge the information that the vendor incorrectly provided and provided. However, if CO2 emissions are not recorded in writing, it simply will not be the buyer may demonstrate the registration tax amount incorrectly indicated by the seller, “said the expert.

According to him, today the buyer can protect himself from unpleasant surprises by registering the car, actively interested in what he is buying, verifying the registration certificate and the data entered into it, or using “Regitra” calculators to calculate the registration fee. preliminary.

Four ways to determine CO2

Delfi’s Regitra’s comment emphasizes that cars are only registered after the new tax has been paid. This is calculated using the four legal methods to determine it.

The amount of CO2 is determined on the basis of the information specified in the vehicle’s origin or approval documents or, in cases where the vehicle has already been registered in Lithuania, from the data in the Road Vehicle Register .

It is also important for those who want to buy a car to know that their registration tax, if there is no CO2 data in the documents, will be calculated in other ways provided by law in the following order:

• If the CO2 content is not specified in the car’s origin or approval documents, it will be determined based on the CO2 emissions from other registered equivalent cars.
• In the event that it is not possible to determine emissions on the basis of CO2 emissions from equivalent automobiles, it will be calculated according to the formulas established by law. This requires the technical data of the vehicle in the origin or approval documents: mass of the motor vehicle in running order (kg), maximum power of the vehicle motor (kW), type of gearbox. It should be noted that, depending on the fuel type of the car, not all data can be used in the calculation.
• And finally, if it is not possible to calculate the CO2 content by entering the technical data of a specific car in accordance with the formulas provided by law, the equivalent vehicle data will be used.
• In case of lack of equivalent data for the calculation of the formula, a technical examination or a certificate of conformity issued by the manufacturer’s representative will be required.

The forms of the sales contract will not change.

However, despite the comments made by experts, Regitra does not plan to change the currently recommended forms of the sale agreement. At the same time, according to a positive comment, the issue of the amount of the car registration tax should not be considered as an advantage or disadvantage of the vehicle.

“It is likely that the sellers themselves do not always know the CO2 emissions, since this data will not be in the origin or approval documents. In this sense, in practice, there may be cases in which the information on the charge is preliminary for example, using the Regitra calculator for other vehicle parameters.) According to current regulations, the exact actual amount of the registration fee is assessed individually and is only known when the car is registered, ”emphasizes the comment on Delfi.

According to Regitra specialists, the contract may discuss who will pay the registration fee and when and / or how, but this part is a matter of agreement between the buyer and the seller. Upon arrival at the Registry after the transaction, the person who wishes to register the vehicle in their name must pay the registration fee. Permission to participate in traffic will be granted only after payment of the car registration fee.