Azerbaijan, Baku, April 29 /Trend, K. Zarbaliyeva/
The traffic police of Azerbaijan believe that the queues and the loss of time during official technical checkups of cars is the fault of the very drivers.
Drivers pass the official checkups of their cars not in the right time, thus causing queues at official checkup sites, Kamran Aliyev, Chief of Department of the Main State Traffic Police Division of the Interior Ministry.
"Queues are being observed at the sites of official checkups of cars. VAZ car owners should have passed the official checkup from January 1 to May 1 but have not yet done this. The number of persons going to these sites has increased in the latest days of the month as the period of official checkup of cars nears its end," Aliyev said.
For this reason, those who are to pay for the official checkup at bank branch within the official checkup sites have to stand in a queue, something that leads to a loss of time.
To avoid losing time, Aliyev recommends drivers paying the road tax and the duty for the official checkup through banks in Baku and then show paid receipts to a traffic police officer.
The road tax for cars with engine capacity of up to 2,000 cubic centimetres is 0.01 manat per cubic centimetre, and for cars with engine capacity of more than 2,000 cubic centimetres is 20 manat plus 0.02 manat per cubic centimetre. In addition, a state duty of 10 manat is paid for the provision of services to motor vehicles.
According to Aliyev, this sum ranges within 22 manat-400 manat depending on engine capacity.
Physical persons, who fail to have their cars pass the official checkup in time and in accordance with the rules, are fined to 30 manat whereas legal entities are fined to 40-70 manat.
Commenting on the change of the mechanism of conduct of official checkup of cars in Russia and Kyrgyzstan and that the Interior Ministries of these two countries are no longer authorized to carry out the official checkup of cars, Aliyev said such was no possible in Azerbaijan.
According to him, even when this process is implemented under the control of police, 30 percent of drivers deviate to pay road tax.
"If other agencies are authorized to perform these duties, how road tax will be collected and how hijacked cars will be found? We identify hijacked cars during the official checkups and we perform court decisions on arrest of motor vehicles. That is why they in Azerbaijan hijack cars less of all," Aliyev said.
According to the existing legal provisions, traffic police is to continue to perform these duties, but if the legislation is changed the mechanism of conduct of the official checkup may be changed as well, according to him.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev thinks it is possible to abolish the procedure of official checkup of cars.
In Medvedev's opinion, this system must be either abolished or substituted by a new mechanism, which will help solve problems of citizens in this connection; the Interior Ministry should no longer be responsible for the official checkup of cars.
Discussions over abolishment of this system and establishment of a new mechanism of the official checkup of cars have also begun in Kyrgyzstan.