Mileage extends at Regitra: drivers rush to avoid enforcement

As of July 1, everyone registering a new car brought to Lithuania from a foreign country or re-registering a car already registered in Lithuania under a different name will have to pay a tax depending on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the car. The government made the decision to encourage drivers to choose less polluting vehicles, but car owners were quick to avoid it.

Without waiting for a place, they are waiting in queues “live”

From early in the morning, drivers share images of hundreds of meters of queues near the Regitra units. Emilija Bardauskienė, a specialist in the company’s communication department, said that such activation of drivers has been felt since the end of the quarantine, but in the last week car owners tried to enter Regitra even without registering in advance.

“In the last week, when there is little time before the car registration tax begins to apply, this topic dominates. According to the pre-registration, there have been no significant changes in the last days, but there is a tendency that since the end of Last week, customers went to branches without pre-registration, which has led to the appearance of “live” queues, explained E. Bardauskienusk.

There are no openings until July 1.

The specialist emphasized that despite the traffic, pre-registered customers are still given preference, and only when they do not arrive, those who wait in line “live” are invited. True, E. Bardauskienė reported that after the analysis on June 29, at 12 noon. Pre-registration data from major cities shows that there are vacancies for registering imported cars from abroad only in early July. The situation is similar with the registration of cars previously operated in Lithuania.

In response to the situation, the representative of “Regitra” recalled that drivers can report the sale of a previously registered car in Lithuania or register it in their own name and request many other services online.

“We would like to draw customers’ attention to the fact that those who place, confirm and pay for orders before July 1, will be able to withdraw the registration certificate later, that is, and after July 1. In this case , the registration fee will not apply, “explained E. Bardauskienė.

Buy other cars without haste

The fact that Lithuanians’ interest in cars has increased was also confirmed by Valentinas Naujanis, director of the car market in Kaunas, Varanas. He said that recently drivers were becoming more interested in cars sold in the market, but V. Naujanis was not sure if that trend was caused by the upcoming registration tax.

“The demand is actually a little bit higher, but the changes are not drastic. I think that such activation is also a consequence of quarantine. Of course, it is also possible to realize those who are trying to sell more polluting diesel cars and buy a gasoline or hybrid car, which would be subject to a lower tax, ”explained V. Naujanis.

The director of the car market said that Lithuanians had become more interested in cars with gasoline engines, therefore this need continues. It is true that V. Naujanis stated that the introduction of this tax has not led to significant changes so far, because the majority of drivers, as before, still now, mainly buy cars with a price ranging between 3 and 4 thousand euros. .

“Apparently, this is the purchasing power of Lithuanians, because even knowing that such a tax is being introduced, drivers do not dare to buy more expensive, newer and at the same time less polluting cars,” said V. Naujanis.