Legal Aspects of the Imposition and Enforcement of an Administrative Penalty for Failure to Register a Vehicle Imported from the Territory of a European Union Member State

Abstract

The amendment to the Act on Road Traffic Law introduced a new legal institution related to failure to register a vehicle consisting of an administrative fine in the amount of PLN 200 to 1,000. The penalty is imposed by means of an administrative decision issued by a competent starost. With the introduction of the above-mentioned institution in legal circulation, new problems will arise in connection with conducting administrative proceedings to impose a penalty, as well as determining its amount. In addition, a starost, as a creditor, is obliged to initiate enforcement proceedings in the absence of voluntary execution of the decision imposing the penalty. The established body aims to ensure the implementation of Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of-life vehicles, concerning, i.a., the absence of sanctions for not registering an imported vehicle and not registering an end-of-life vehicle. The following article discusses the main problems related to the application of the institution introduced with regard to the administrative procedure, the nature of the penalty imposed, as well as its enforcement. The considerations were carried out on the basis of a dogmatic method.