Constitutional Court Clears 2008 Government Ordinance On Car Pollution Tax

05.18.2011 By Ioana Tudor

The Romanian Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected as groundless the unconstitutionality claims targeting certain provisions of Government Emergency Ordinance 50/2008 on car pollution tax.

The Court took into account the fact that the ordinance issued in 2008 has been amended and brought in line with EU regulations.

The decision will be published in the Official Journal.

The European Court of Justice said in April, in a judgment issued on the request of a Romanian court, that the car pollution tax is contrary to European Union law, since it discourages the sale of second-hand vehicles purchased in other member states to Romania.

"The pollution tax introduced by Romanian legislation, levied on vehicles on first registration in Romania, is contrary to EU law.

[It] has the effect of discouraging the import and placing in circulation of second-hand vehicles purchased in other Member States," the court said in a press release.

Romania's Environment Ministry said the European Court's judgment refers to the initial form of the act introducing the pollution tax and not the one amended in 2010, with European Commission input.

The car pollution tax was implemented by the Government in April 2008 and was calculated taking into account the cars' technical data and based upon the cars' carbon dioxide emissions.