Filenews 24 February 2023 - by Despina Psylou
At the last minute, it seems that citizens are waiting again this year to put their hands in their pockets and pay for their vehicle registration. So far, the process for 50% of Cyprus' cars has been completed, while in the state coffers, the amount deposited from the receipts amounted to €43 million. As an officer of the Department of Road Transport told "F", there will be no extension to the deadline that has been given and expires on March 11, 2023 and called on citizens, "to proceed as soon as possible to the renewal of their registration certificate".
As clarified in "F", based on the available data, this year the licences for more than 700,000 vehicles are expected to be renewed. "In addition to those that were in force last year, there are the vehicles that are immobilized, those that are re-circulated after immobilization, as well as the new registrations. However, 383,000 cars have been renewed so far. We are at about 50%." This means, the officer said, that until yesterday, around €43 million had been collected.
Those who renew their licence after the deadline of March 11 will be fined, he stressed. In case of delay, the citizen is charged with a lump sum, which corresponds to €10 plus 10% of the value of the permit. "For example, if someone is late in paying and the value of their license is €100, then they will have to pay €120 for the renewal," he said.
Regarding facilities, it was noted that citizens have the possibility to proceed either with an annual renewal of the permit, or with a one-month, biannual and quarterly renewal. However, the final amount that the citizen who chooses a shorter period of time than that of 12 months will have to pay will be higher as, in short-lived permits, a financial burden is imposed. However, based on last year's data, 85% of the permits renewed were for a 12-month period, 10% were for a 6-month period and 5% for the other two options available.
The vast majority of registration renewals, the officer said, are done digitally through the Department of Road Transport portal. "That's 92% of the renewals are made online." At the same time, interested citizens can go for their renewal to the KEP or the KEPO of the post offices, as well as to the district offices of the Department of Road Transport. Bank branches have been excluded from the payment process.
It is reminded that, in order to proceed with the renewal of the registration certificate, the vehicle must have a certificate of fitness (MOT) as well as a valid insurance.
