In a government meeting on Thursday, Estonia extended an olive branch to owners of vehicles with Russian license plates, offering them six months to either register their vehicles in the Estonian vehicle registry or remove their cars from the country.
As of September 13th, vehicles with Russian license plates are prohibited from entering Estonia. However, for vehicles with Russian plates already within Estonia, the government will not enact any changes to existing laws but will continue to apply the current legal norms, as stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Lauri Laanemets.
Laanemets explained that Estonian residents are required to register their vehicles imported into the country for personal use within five days in the local registry. Foreign nationals, on the other hand, must register their cars if they use them in Estonia for a period exceeding one year.
The Minister of Internal Affairs also added that when exporting a vehicle, taxes and fees apply. “For vehicles with a value of 20,000 euros, the customs duty will be around 2,000 euros, and the turnover tax will amount to 4,400 euros,” stated Laanemets.
This move by the Estonian government aims to address concerns related to vehicles with Russian license plates in the wake of recent developments. It provides a grace period for affected individuals to comply with Estonian regulations and either register their vehicles or remove them from the country while outlining the associated tax and fee requirements.
Finland is set to implement restrictions on vehicles with Russian license plates.
