Romania Poised to Collect โฌ2.62 Billion After Constitutional Court Ruling Expected on Pollution Tax
BUCHAREST, Romania – Romania is preparing to request โฌ2.62 โขbillion in funds from the European Union contingent upon โคa Constitutionalโค Court (CCR) ruling expected โto validate aโฃ recently implemented pollution โtax on older โคvehicles. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stated Fridayโ that the tax package, currently under โฃreview by the CCR following previous challenges, forms the foundation of the nation’s budget for โthe coming year.
The December tax packageโข introduces a system designed to incentivize newer, less polluting vehicles while penalizing owners โขof older cars. The legislation offers approximately a 20% โคdiscount when taxing new cars โand imposes a penalty of up to 20% โon vehicles deemed highly polluting due to โขtheir age. This milestone, according to Bolojan, is โขa prerequisite for submitting payment request โnumber 4 to theโข EU.
Bolojan โฃexplained that โคthe adoption of this taxation milestone is “a condition for the submission of this request number 4.” He anticipates that,โฃ should the CCR declare the โฃpackage constitutional – a โคscenario he believes likely given that previously contested articles have beenโฃ removed -โข Romaniaโ willโค be able to submit the request by the end of February and secure the crucial โfunding.
The initial passage of the tax package was delayed dueโข to appeals to the CCR, which previously deemed โan article related to ANAF hiring practices unconstitutional. Parliament subsequently โคremoved the problematic article,and no other changes were made to the legislation. Bolojan โคemphasizedโค this lack ofโข further alteration strengthens the likelihood of a positive ruling.
“Regardingโฃ the fiscal package, we are in โคa situation whereโฆthis tax package is theโ basis of the budget for next year,” Bolojan โฃsaid during a press conference. “Adopting it allows us to submit paymentโค request number โ4, which is worth 2.62 billion euros.” The collected revenue fromโ the pollution tax is intendedโข to support โinvestments throughout the next year.
