Greece’s Ministry of Finance is prepared to fine the owners of 500,000 vehicles found to be in circulation without insurance, and also has fines in the pipeline for a range of other violations, such as neglecting to pass annual safety and emissions inspections (KTEO), failing to pay road taxes and driving decommissioned vehicles.
Vehicle owners must address their pending issues before the new legislative provisions come into effect, which is determined to be 20 days from the date of publication in the Greek Government’s Gazette, which is expected to be done shortly.
This is crucial because owners will be subject to fines before they are notified of their offenses by Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), which will eventually conduct digital cross-checks to identify and contact owners of vehicles found to be in violation.
The Fines
Under the new provisions, those caught with an uninsured vehicle will face an automatic fine of 500 euros for passenger vehicles, 250 euros for motorcycles, and 1,000 euros for buses and public-use trucks.
If unpaid road taxes are also detected, owners will have to pay these fines in addition to those related to insurance.
In an effort to promote compliance, the Ministry has introduced an incentive scheme for the uninsured. According to OT.gr, if the owner complies with their insurance obligations within 10 working days from the day after the penalty notice or the rejection of an appeal, the related fines will be canceled.
After a violation is detected, a new automatic digital check will be conducted within 3 to 12 months from the imposition of the fine. If the owner has not complied by the next check, the vehicle’s registration and license plates will be revoked and can only be returned upon presentation of the relevant insurance contract or proof of non-delinquency of road taxes, as applicable, and proof of fine payment.
Fines for Illegal Vehicle Use
The use of decommissioned or deregistered vehicles is a persistent issue in Greece, and the government aims to tackle this challenge through steep fines, as outlined below:
- Users of decommissioned or deregistered vehicles will be fined 10,000 euros and must pay road taxes for the year of detection.
- Owners must declare where they will park decommissioned vehicles. Vehicles detected in a different location than the one declared will lose their “decomissioned” status, and a 10,000 euro fine will be imposed by AADE, along with road taxes and other related fines.
- Fines will be tripled for repeat violators, and the owner’s license will also be revoked for three years.
- Vehicles over 40 years old will be automatically decommissioned if the owner does not update the vehicle status within three months of notice or if they belong to deceased persons and have not been compliant with registration, tax, insurance, and inspection for 15 years.
