The cost of mandatory technical vehicle inspections in Costa Rica will remain unchanged for the next 12 months, as the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) on Tuesday evening rejected a rates-hike request of up to 202 percent, depending on the type of vehicle.
RITEVE SyC, the private company responsible for certifying the inspections, submitted the request last week, but ARESEP rejected it without even reviewing the documentation provided.
ARESEP’s decision was not unexpected, as the agency has rejected all of RITEVE’s rate adjustment requests for the past 10 years arguing that “currently there is no approved methodology for calculating rates.”
On Wednesday, RITEVE spokeswoman Gabriela Monge said she would not comment on ARESEP’s ruling.
The contract, signed with the government in 2000, states that the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) is responsible for defining the rate-setting model. But MOPT has yet to do so, RITEVE spokeswoman Jennifer Hidalgo said last week.
ARESEP spokeswoman Carolina Mora said that upon receiving the hike request, the agency checked if the rate adjustment methodology was published in the official newspaper La Gaceta. It hasn’t been, and the request was immediately rejected.
Mora added that ARESEP has repeteadly asked MOPT for a calculation model in order to proceed with revised rates, but the agency has received no response.
ARESEP approved the last rate adjustment for technical vehicle inspections in 2005. The list of current rates can be seen here.
