Rising, falling and returning

Registration tax which was introduced in 2004 to replace consumption tax and compensate for the effects of VAT reductions, turned out to be a Janus-faced tax. Regulations regarding registration tax have changed every year since its introduction. Applicable rates will again increase from 5th February 2007 , and vehicles will be classified using four instead of three categories according to emissions. For used cars, the rise in registration tax will be compensated by more attention to depreciation. The question of who will be entitled to a refund of registration tax already paid – since the rate was found to be contrary to EU legislation – how much is to be paid back and when, is more interesting. According to the new law, a certain part of the registration tax paid after vehicles subjected to this procedure between 1. May 2004 and 31. December 2005 will be refunded. The actual amount of the refund will be the original amount corrected according to depreciation. Tax payers will have six months to submit their applications for the refund from 15. February 2007.