EU Court of Justice: car registration tax is too high and discourages second hand purchases from other states 

Even though the calculus algorithm is correct, the first car registration tax is in many cases too high and discourages imports in Romania of cars brought from other EU member states, a decision of the EU Court of Justice reads, released on Thursday. Therefore, the government should limit the tax to a reasonable percentage so that it would not discourage second car purchases from other EU member states.

The European court of justice concludes that because the first car registration tax can be 30% of the car’s value it directly discourages second hand car registrations in the country. The court ruled on the matter at the request of the court in Sibiu, central Romania that reacted at the case of a dissatisfied Romanian with the high car registration tax which he was compelled to pay.

Nonetheless the court mentions that the calculus algorithm is correct. It all started in 2008 when Ioan Tatu, a Romanian from Sibiu central Romania bought from Germany a 11 year old Mercedes for which he paid 6,600 euro and for which it paid a 2000 euro registration tax. Tatu therefore sued the state in Sibiu, urging to receive his money back, claiming that the tax discriminates against second hand cars brought from other EU member states. Sibiu’s court decided to address the EU court of justice with a question on whether the government’s ordinance ruling on the new tax discriminates against car imports.