Romania’s Government plans to introduce a new tax on car pollution charged as a vignette, to replace the environmental tax on second-hand cars, which was removed at the beginning of February through a law the Parliament voted in late 2016.

The pollution vignette fee will vary depending on the car’s degree of pollution, reports local Profit.ro. Drivers will have access to different areas of major cities based only on a colorful sticker pasted on the windshield. The system is already in place in Germany.

The Environment Ministry, which coordinates the group that is working on the new tax system, has confirmed the information.

The removal of the environmental tax on second-hand cars at the beginning of February resulted in an increase in the number of used vehicles that are up for sale, said Nicolae Ragalie, the director of Autovit, the largest fair for selling used cars in Romania. Many Romanians who purchased their cars before December 31, 2006, when the environment taxes were first introduced, are now trying to sell their cars.

editor@romania-insider.com