Flanders targets foreign license plates

The government of Flanders plans to make “regular, large-scale checks” of drivers whose cars are equipped with foreign number plates, in an effort to detect those who are avoiding local registration and road taxes, finance minister Philippe Muyters told the Flemish parliament. An initial inspection this month in Sint-Genesius-Rode, just outside of Brussels, led to 37 offenders being caught.

The checks are organised by the Flemish tax service Vlabel, together with local police. According to the law, said David Van Herreweghe of Vlabel, “you can’t live here and drive around with a foreign number plate. And you’re obliged to pay road and registration taxes. We will be carrying out additional checks in 2014 to see that everyone has paid as required.”

Vlabel has already used cameras with automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) to identify cars with foreign plates, which were then pulled over by police to have their tax details checked. The first major check in the Flemish Brabant municipality – where the most common foreign plates are from France and Luxembourg – showed that one in four cars with foreign plates is not in order with taxation. The result, Muyters said, is “enough to warrant increased attention from the taxation service”.

Owners found to be in breach face a fine of up to €1,250, on top of the cost of paying the auto registration.

photo courtesy of ZadtheGod/Wikimedia Commons