The government could oblige the big cities in Romania to create zones with a low level of polluting emissions, called ZNSE for short. And drivers will be forced to pay a new pollution tax if they transit the ZNSE.
City halls in the country’s major cities will be required to create “Low Emission Zones” (ZNSE).
Drivers who drive polluting cars and transit those areas will be required to pay a special tax.
The government introduces a new pollution tax
The Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration has proposed that Romania introduce a new pollution tax.
This is totally different from the old taxes, introduced over time in our country.
The project involves the delimitation of special areas in the big cities. And owners of cars that pollute the environment will pay a pollution tax when they pass through these areas.
Basically, a car with high emissions will be charged extra if it travels through the ZNSE.
How the new pollution tax will be applied
Before delimiting the zones, local authorities will have to prepare certain compensatory measures for citizens.
Thus, the municipalities are obliged to ensure:
- local public passenger transport service within the zones;
- an adequate infrastructure for active mobility.
Local authorities will also need to develop routes for active transport (including e-scooters) within the ZNSE and provide public services such as bicycle and e-scooter rental stations.
In addition, charging stations for electric cars must be arranged inside the ZNSE.
The approach of local authorities can be of two types:
- Areas for which access rates for motor vehicles are established, depending on the classes of motor vehicles (pollution rate). In this case, mechanisms will have to be implemented to ensure controlled access inside the ZNSE, as well as an online platform where the access fee can be paid.
- ZNSE for which rules are established that limit the access of motor vehicles according to the classes of motor vehicles, in which the local public administration authority that establishes these areas must ensure access control in these areas.
Also, some areas may be chosen as having a temporary nature of ZNSE. That is, the traffic will be restricted only on weekends or only during the night or during a certain time of the day.
How polluting drivers will be charged
The new pollution tax will be established by each town hall separately, according to the category to which a vehicle belongs.
Thus, the project produced by the Government includes 6 classes into which the vehicles will be divided:
- Class 1
- vehicles with the EURO 3/III pollution standard on diesel
- vehicles with Euro 2/II, Euro 1/I and non-Euro pollution standards;
- Class 2
- vehicles with the EURO 4/IV pollution standard on diesel
- vehicles with the EURO 3/III pollution norm on gasoline, LPG, CNG and LNG;
- Class 3
- vehicles with the EURO 5/V/EEV pollution standard on diesel
- vehicles with EURO 4/IV pollution standard on LPG, CNG and LNG gasoline;
- Class 4
- vehicles with the EURO 6/VI pollution standard on diesel
- vehicles with the EURO 5/V/EEV pollution standard on petrol, LPG, CNG and LNG;
- Class 5
- vehicles with the EURO 6/VI pollution standard on petrol, LPG, CNG and LNG;
- Green class
- pure electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Thus, the lower the class a vehicle belongs to, the more drivers will pay. In addition, the access to the ZNSE of heavily polluting vehicles could be totally prohibited.
In contrast, vehicles of higher classes could transit the ZNSE for free. It is the local authorities who will determine the tax and which classes of vehicles are charged.
According to the project, drivers who will not pay the transit fees of these areas will receive a fine of 300 lei.
for now, the project is in public debate, on the website of the Ministry of Development.
Source: www.promotor.ro
