Three basic changes to car excise duties for 2016 are being promoted by the government, according to a ministerial decree to be published on Monday at the latest.

A reduced car contribution based on the age of the car is expected, ie. for cars acquired prior to November 1, 2010. The reduction could be as much as 10%. In this way, a 10-year-old car would get a 5% reduction whereas a 15-year-old car would have an even larger reduction.

Next, the exemption rate for circulation duties is to be reduced. This would apply to those who acquired passenger cars after November 1, 2010. Until now, cars of this category were not required to pay excise duties even if the cars emitted gases of as much as 100 grams. The limit has now been reduced to 90 grams of CO2.

Another change concerns cars bought after November 1, 2010, whose owners payed duties according to gas emissions. There will be increases to the emission rates from 10 to 30 cents, say sources. In this way, a car that emits 120 grams of CO2, will pay from 10-12 euros.