Law in Kosovo: From January 1, there will be no customs clearance of cars older than 2015

From January 1, 2025, vehicles older than the 2015 production year cannot be cleared through customs. The Kosovo government in 2017 passed a law stating that road vehicles imported into Kosovo cannot be older than 10 years.

The citizens of Kosovo have been hit again this time since the first days of the new year.

At the beginning of 2025, vehicles older than 2015 cannot be cleared through customs in Kosovo.

This means that no vehicle older than 10 years is allowed to clear customs.

The Law on Vehicles that was approved by the Kosovo Assembly clearly states that vehicles that are older than 10 years cannot be imported.

"Vehicles older than 10 years cannot be imported into Kosovo. Vehicles that do not meet the Euro 4 standard cannot be imported into Kosovo," states Article 44 of the Law on Vehicles.

The law also stipulates that road vehicles imported into Kosovo must have a certificate of conformity for new vehicles and proof of origin and ownership of the vehicle or specific parts installed.

 "The purpose of this law is to determine the basic conditions of equipment and installations that the vehicle must have, the dimensions, maximum permitted mass and axle load of the vehicle, as well as the conditions that the vehicle must meet in traffic, the conditions for import, homologation of the type of vehicle, component part, independent technical unit, technical inspection of vehicles, inspection of technical regularity on the road, registration of vehicles, vehicles that have gone out of use, as well as other issues related to them," states the Law on Vehicles.

Otherwise, citizens have always opposed the law in force for vehicles, while experts estimate that importing vehicles older than 10 years has negative effects.

For several years now, Democratic Party of Kosovo MP, Mërgim Lushtaku, has initiated the amendment of the Law on Import of Vehicles, which requires the removal of the age restriction, but such a decision has not yet been made.

According to him, this law in Kosovo was created with a double standard, while emphasizing that such a thing seems unfair, but it is not finding the consent of the majority of deputies to participate in the vote.

"These criteria are not present in Switzerland, nor in Germany, nor in the Balkan countries that are members, that are part of the European Union, therefore I think it is unfair and as such I have requested the amendment of the vehicle laws, but unfortunately I have not found the consent of the majority of deputies to participate in the vote."

Traffic expert, Nol Dedaj, stated that "Vehicles older than 10 years in Kosovo are 80 percent depreciated and that in this regard there should be greater supervision by state bodies", adding that citizens should choose between a new car with cheaper maintenance costs and an old one with a more expensive price.

"Vehicles that are over 10 or 12 years old are considered 80 percent depreciated. If we look at it from this perspective, then they should receive greater care from state bodies in terms of technical inspection. We know that in Kosovo we have periodic technical inspections for official vehicles or those in service for third parties, as well as regular inspections, especially extraordinary inspections."

According to him, in parallel with the amendment of the Law on Vehicles, there should also be an amendment to the Law on Vehicle Customs Clearance.

In Kosovo, the law remains in force by which a vehicle can be registered and equipped with RKS license plates, only if it is from 2015-2025, specifically 10 years older than the existing year. For a large number of citizens, registering vehicles from 2015 is impossible, this is because the cheapest license plates would cost around 3500 euros, not counting the purchase of the vehicle in European countries and the cost of importing it to Kosovo. Article 44 of the Law on Vehicles, which was adopted in 2017, states that "road vehicles imported into Kosovo cannot be older than 10 years".

Official data shows that there are approximately 500,000 registered vehicles circulating in Kosovo, with the average age of those circulating in Kosovo being 18 years.

Over 144 thousand of them are from Germany and belong to the Volkswagen brand./Monitor