Traffic fees: What applies to immobilisation, transfer or deletion of a vehicle

Instructions for the payment of registration fees in cases of vehicle deletion, immobilisation or transfer by the end of February, which expires the extension of the deadline for the payment of fees and the declaration of immobility, gives a circular of the Independent Authority of Public Revenue.

At the same time, it is specified in which cases a fine is imposed.

Specifically:

• In the case where the owner of a vehicle, which is in motion, wishes to its definitive deletion due to recycling, does not owe the 2022 circulation fees if it delivers the vehicle to be deleted to the alternative management centres or permanently deletes it from the licensing registers of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Infrastructure & Transport until the expiry date of the extension granted for the immobilisation of the vehicle, i.e. until 28.2.2022.
• In the case where the owner of a vehicle, which is immobilised, wishes to definitive deletion by recycling, the immobilisation is not lifted, and the registration data, licence and registration plates, are transmitted by the competent department of the Tax Administration, at the request of the holder or owner, to the competent Regional Directorate of Infrastructure and Transport, or delivered by the same, if they are in his possession due to the immobilisation of the vehicle electronically.
• No provision for the issue of a certificate of non-payment of circulation fees in cases of permanent deregistration due to recycling, although it has been observed that some recycling companies and regional Transport Services ask for a certificate as a necessary supporting document for deregistration of vehicles with recycling.
• The extension of the immobilisation deadline until 28.2.2022 shall also apply to vehicles temporarily put into circulation until 31.12.2021 by payment of proportional traffic fees. In these cases, if the 2022 registration fees are not paid by the end of the extension period or the vehicle is not immobilised again, then the fine for failure to immobilise the vehicle within the deadline is imposed.

• Regarding the the issue of a certificate of non-payment of road tax required for the transfer of a vehicle, it applies that the circulation taxes for the year in which the transfer takes place must be paid beforehand. Therefore, when a vehicle is transferred within the extension period, in order to obtain the relevant certificate, the registration taxes for the year 2022 must be paid. Similarly, on cases of issue of a certificate of non-payment of circulation taxes due to export/reclassification of the vehicle abroad within the extension period, the fees for the year of export/re-registration must be paid in order to obtain the relevant certificate.
• The extension of the payment of circulation fees and immobilisation of a vehicle shall also apply to the granting of an exemption from circulation taxes to disabled beneficiaries, at their request within the extension period (by issuing a relevant decision by the head of the competent tax office), provided that the conditions of the current institutional framework on exemptions are met.
• In in the event of a change in the details of the vehicle registration certificate within the extension period, due to a change in the characteristics of the vehicle which affects the amount of the circulation fees (e.g. undercrossing), the new fees are due from the next calendar year of the change. For 2022, until the expiry of the extension, the traffic fees due before the change in the vehicle's characteristics (e.g. before the change in the vehicle's characteristics (e.g. before the under-validation)) shall be paid.
• In the case that the registration fees have been paid and then within the extension period the vehicle is immobilised (voluntary or compulsory) or deleted due to recycling, circulation taxes may be refunded at the request of the taxpayer, as unduly paid.