Finland stops allowing cars with Russian licence plates
As of 16 March, it is no longer possible to drive cars registered in Russia in Finland without a special permit.
This was reported by the Finnish Customs Service, Censor.NET reports with reference to LigaBusinessInform.
Cars with Russian licence plates in Finland may now be subject to customs duties and VAT, after which they must leave the EU.
In some cases, driving a car with Russian licence plates will be allowed:
- full-time students,
- people working under fixed-term employment contracts,
- EU or EEA citizens permanently residing in Russia.
However, they must prove that they legally imported the car into Finland before the ban came into force.
The Russians had six months to take their cars out of Finland. Currently, it is not possible to leave Finland through the Finnish-Russian border, as the checkpoints are closed until 14 April 2024. The customs service stressed that the government agencies will not issue separate instructions on practical issues regarding the export of vehicles by Russians. Car owners are responsible for decisions regarding their vehicles, the Finns said.
From 11 March, there should be no cars with Russian licence plates left in the EU. Owners of cars with Russian registration are considered to be in violation of the law and will be subject to liability - a fine or confiscation of the car.
On 11 March, Lithuania began to detain cars with Russian licence plates. The country's Criminal Customs Service showed the first detained Russian car. Most likely, the car will be confiscated and transferred to Ukraine.
This year, Lithuanian customs has already transferred 11 cars to Ukraine as humanitarian aid. In 2023, 124 cars were transferred, and in 2022, 64 cars were transferred. In July 2023, Germany began to confiscate cars with Russian licence plates due to a ban on the import of vehicles from Russia as a result of sanctions. In mid-November 2023, Latvia banned Russian-registered vehicles from entering the country. According to the law, the owners of Russian-registered cars had to re-register them or take them out of Latvia no later than 14 February 2024.
