Old cars will no longer be imported as of today

Starting from today, the import of old cars will no longer be allowed in Albania following the enactment of the new law which only allows the import of cars more than 10 years old, meeting at least the Euro 4 European emission standard. “No more cars which are more than 10 years old will be allowed to be imported in the country and the ones that will be imported need to meet the Euro 4 emission standard”, says Denis Shabani, head of the Customs Directorate in Durres. Meanwhile, as far as other vehicles are concerned, such as lorries, buses and motorcycles, their maximum age will have to be 15 years old.

Let us recall that from the approval of this decision by the government and its publication in the Official Bulletin, 30 days have gone by and its application officially starts today. According to Shabani, this period has been exploited by businesses which deal in the sale of used cards to import cars older than 10 years. “There’s been a high number of imported cars which were older than 10 years of age, in order to be sold once the government’s decision came into force”, he said. Meanwhile, according to the new law, for new cars which have entered the country prior to December 2, the deadline for them to be equipped with license plates is March 1, 2019. On the other hand, those cars which have already been equipped with license plates there are no age restrictions to move in the country’s roads and their sale will not be forbidden.