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2014 03 14
Regitra to use Interpol database

More often than not Lithuanian car buyers will consider buying a used car imported from overseas as opposed to buying a brand-new vehicle. Last year state enterprise Regitra registered over 100 thousand of used and only 11.8 thousand of brand-new motor vehicles. 501 motor vehicles were refused permission to participate in road traffic, their registration was denied.

Police detention

The responsibility of experts at Regitra is to inspect motor vehicles imported to Lithuania to see whether the vehicles, their parts and documents have not been tampered with, whether the body or engine numbers of the vehicle have not been altered in any way or destroyed. “Only legally acquired, safe vehicles that are deemed roadworthy may be registered in Lithuania,” says Mamertas Kulakauskas, head of the Vehicle Identification Division at Regitra.
To make sure that a vehicle for registration of which the application was made was not reported as stolen checks are run against the vehicle in the departmental Register of Wanted Motor Vehicles managed by the Lithuanian Police, and the Schengen Information System. Starting from March 12th of this year information checks are run in the Interpol’s Secretariat General Database as well. Last year experts conducting inspections had over 200 suspicions of possible forgeries and in 298 cases the police were looking for the vehicle registration of which was requested or its parts, as well as documents, plate numbers or the person who applied for the registration of the vehicle.
“We simply state any suspicion we have--Regitra has no authority to carry out an expert evaluation or investigation. All information is forwarded to the police who then detains the vehicle and puts it under police custody for the duration of the investigation,” says M. Kulakauskas.

Returned once the investigation is over

Any vehicle put under police custody may later be registered once the investigating authority has identified vehicle identification number issued by the manufacturer and returned the vehicle to its owner (rightful acquirer ). Regitra points out that vehicle identification number does not represent just a single part--it is the number of a vehicle as a whole. “For reasons of search the police may detain vehicles previously registered by Regitra and checked by its experts. This might happen because the possibility to run checks in the Schengen Information System opened up for us only in 2008. It also happens that vehicles are reported as stolen in information systems after vehicle registration had been done. That is why we recommend that prospective buyers check whether the vehicle has been removed from registries in the country of origin and whether appropriate export procedures have been accomplished before buying an imported car,” says M. Kulakauskas.

Potential losses

Buyers may suffer losses not just because of a detained vehicle or issues with its roadworthiness but also because of unpaid tax. The chances of a buyer claiming compensation from the seller for losses suffered would be greater if vehicle acquisition documents were to contain actual details of the seller and sale transaction and if buyers were to refuse to sign fictitious agreements. In recent years there has been an increase in the number of complaints in connection with unpaid customs duties for vehicles previously registered in Switzerland. Regitra advices that before purchasing any vehicle imported from third countries (non EU Member States, for example, Switzerland, Norway, or Lichtenstein) prospective buyers check whether appropriate customs duties have been paid with respect to the vehicle. Responsible officials at the Ministry of Finance regularly check information in the Register of Road Vehicles and recover tax charged on vehicles imported to Lithuania from third countries.