Press Release: Car taxation: infringement procedures against Poland and Finland

The European Commission has decided to send Poland and Finland formal requests to amend their car registration taxation rules. In Poland, the way registration tax is calculated results in a heavier taxation imposed on second-hand cars imported from other Member States. This legislation is not in conformity with Article 90 of the EC Treaty, which states that "no Member State shall impose on the products of other Member States any internal taxation of any kind in excess of that imposed on similar domestic products". In the case of Finland both the amount of registration tax levied on second-hand cars imported from other Member States and the way in which Finland imposes registration tax on leased cars are considered to be not in conformity with Article 90 EC and Article 49 EC, which establishes the freedom to provide services. The requests take the form of "reasoned opinions", the second stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If the Commission does not receive satisfactory responses from Member States, it may ultimately bring the cases before the European Court of Justice.