If Riteve, the private company responsible for mandatory vehicle inspections in Costa Rica, gets its way, you might be paying 205 percent more for your car inspection next year.
The National Insurance Institute (INS) at noon Wednesday closed collection at their facilities of the year-end auto registration fee and mandatory vehicle circulation permits, known as marchamos, and reported that some 78.9 percent of motorists made the payment on time.
The highest traffic fine – Class A – will increase from ₡293,000 ($553) to ₡306,000 ($578), the Public Works and Transport Ministry's Traffic Department reported. Class A fines include driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with an expired license.
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 says vehicle inspection rates haven't increased in 10 years, and blames the Public Works and Transport Ministry for failing to issue a methodology to calculate them.
The National Insurance Institute begins collecting payments today for mandatory vehicle circulation permits, known as marchamos, from an estimated 1.2 million auto owners across the country. The deadline to pay the marchamo is Dec. 31.
The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, or Sala IV, this week ruled unconstitutional several articles of Costa Rica's Traffic Law that obligate motorists to register an email address in order to receive notifications of fines and other information from the Roadway Safety Council.
