Romania’s Used Car Black Market Embezzled EUR47M In 1Q 2010

„Only 15% of total transactions on the local used cars market are conducted via car dealerships, VAT cash-ins included. Thus, over 35,400 used cars were sold in the first three months of the year and the state cashed no taxes whatsoever. The average trading value of a used car amounts to EUR7,000”, Sorescu said.

He stressed that the ratio of used to new cars was of 1 to 4 in the first quarter of 2010, higher from a ratio of 1 to 2.6 in the first quarter of 2009.

The top three best sold used cars includes Volkswagen, with a 27% market share, followed by Opel and Ford, with market shares of 25% and 10%, respectively.

End-April this year, Brent Valmar, vice-president of the Association of Car Producers and Importers, called on Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc to take all necessary measures and make used cars trading liable for taxation.

Valmar also said at the time that 35% of imported used cars are four to ten years old, and 9% of them are less than four years old.