Cars registered in other countries will be allowed on Romania's roads only 90 days a year from when the car was bought, the Romanian Government has decided. “These cars registered in other countries will have the right to run in Romania for only 90 days a year. Some will be tempted to renew their purchase contracts to avoid this new regulation, but the car will be taken into consideration,” said Lucian Diniţă, the chief of the Road Police. This decision was taken to avoid having cars registered in neighboring Bulgaria, where taxes are lower.

The Parliament still needs to OK the new legislation. “Car owners can either register cars in Romania, take cars back or use them for only 90 days,” the Road Police chief also said. It is yet unclear how the Police will check for how many days a car will run in the country during a year.

Car owners who use their cars for more than 90 days under the new law will be fined between RON 560 and RON 1,420 (some EUR 128 to EUR 324), while the car's certificate and registration plates will also be taken by the Police.

There are 19,800 car registered in Bulgaria running in Romania, out of some 45,000 cars registered in other countries, such as Italy, Spain, UK, according to the Romanian Police.

editor@romania-insider.com