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ROUGH RIDE: NEW LAW IMPOSES FINES ON CARS THAT NO LONGER EXIST
http://armenianow.com/society/52112/armenia_road_police_car_insurance
SOCIETY | 19.02.14 | 15:53
Photolure
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
A great number of drivers in Armenia are being fined for having failed
to pay car insurance for vehicles that they no longer own, or that
are no longer being driven. Drivers were caught by surprise when a
new decision came into effect on January1, by which all vehicles have
to be insured regardless of whether they are in use.
Edik Lazarian, 50, resident of Echmiadzin, sold his 1973-production
VAZ-2105 car in a market in 1994 without legal transfer of ownership.
The deal was done at a notary office by sale-purchase agreement.
"The fine came in my 74-year-old mother's name, the vehicle ownership
was registered under her name and we did not change it at the time.
Can you imagine, I somehow found the person I sold it to; turned out
he had resold it to someone else, and that person to another person,
who dismantled it and sold for parts. So, the car no longer existed.
We went to the road police and wrote a letter stating that it no longer
existed, my mother signed it and they withdrew the fine. But we were
forced to pay the mandatory car insurance's 5,000-dram ($12.50) fine,"
Lazarian told ArmeniaNow.
Another driver, 45-year-old Sedrak Petrosyan says he has received a
notice that he has to pay a fine, but he cannot find the person to
whom he sold the vehicle.
"The road police (RP) is demanding notary certified documents which my
parents did not keep two decades ago, as they couldn't have imagined
they would be facing such issues years later. The police says 'find
your old cars', but how? I haven't been able to find him, so now I
have to pay the fine? Why?" says Petrosyan.
Eduard Hovhannisyan, head of the Achilles center for protection
of drivers' rights, says some 70-80,000 drivers have been fined,
adding that they have voiced the issue both at the Road Police and
the Insurance Bureau.
"They are looking for ways to resolve the issue, but it needs
a legislative solution, which would consider all the possible
consequences," says Hovhannisyan.
At the time the sale-purchase of vehicles was done through a general
authorization. Hovhannisyan says that years ago as well as now, people
still make the sale through general authorization, in order to avoid
the hassle of visiting various offices and/or standing in lines.
"They refrained from additional expenses, because changing the
ownership registration of a vehicle cost 23,000 drams ($56). They did
things illegally, that is why they are facing problems today. Back
then the 'I sold it by 'general authorization' expression was common
among people, but it is not the right way: the authorization had to
be taken to the person who gave it, new acts had to be drafted to
get the refund, etc. But nobody did so," he says.
According to the official RA Police statement, Chief of RA police
Vladimir Gasparyan has instructed the road police to assist citizens in
registering factually estranged means of transport or those having no
proper legal formulations, by providing them with all the information
they might need, as well as legal counseling.
http://armenianow.com/society/52112/armenia_road_police_car_insurance
SOCIETY | 19.02.14 | 15:53
Photolure
By GAYANE MKRTCHYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
A great number of drivers in Armenia are being fined for having failed
to pay car insurance for vehicles that they no longer own, or that
are no longer being driven. Drivers were caught by surprise when a
new decision came into effect on January1, by which all vehicles have
to be insured regardless of whether they are in use.
Edik Lazarian, 50, resident of Echmiadzin, sold his 1973-production
VAZ-2105 car in a market in 1994 without legal transfer of ownership.
The deal was done at a notary office by sale-purchase agreement.
"The fine came in my 74-year-old mother's name, the vehicle ownership
was registered under her name and we did not change it at the time.
Can you imagine, I somehow found the person I sold it to; turned out
he had resold it to someone else, and that person to another person,
who dismantled it and sold for parts. So, the car no longer existed.
We went to the road police and wrote a letter stating that it no longer
existed, my mother signed it and they withdrew the fine. But we were
forced to pay the mandatory car insurance's 5,000-dram ($12.50) fine,"
Lazarian told ArmeniaNow.
Another driver, 45-year-old Sedrak Petrosyan says he has received a
notice that he has to pay a fine, but he cannot find the person to
whom he sold the vehicle.
"The road police (RP) is demanding notary certified documents which my
parents did not keep two decades ago, as they couldn't have imagined
they would be facing such issues years later. The police says 'find
your old cars', but how? I haven't been able to find him, so now I
have to pay the fine? Why?" says Petrosyan.
Eduard Hovhannisyan, head of the Achilles center for protection
of drivers' rights, says some 70-80,000 drivers have been fined,
adding that they have voiced the issue both at the Road Police and
the Insurance Bureau.
"They are looking for ways to resolve the issue, but it needs
a legislative solution, which would consider all the possible
consequences," says Hovhannisyan.
At the time the sale-purchase of vehicles was done through a general
authorization. Hovhannisyan says that years ago as well as now, people
still make the sale through general authorization, in order to avoid
the hassle of visiting various offices and/or standing in lines.
"They refrained from additional expenses, because changing the
ownership registration of a vehicle cost 23,000 drams ($56). They did
things illegally, that is why they are facing problems today. Back
then the 'I sold it by 'general authorization' expression was common
among people, but it is not the right way: the authorization had to
be taken to the person who gave it, new acts had to be drafted to
get the refund, etc. But nobody did so," he says.
According to the official RA Police statement, Chief of RA police
Vladimir Gasparyan has instructed the road police to assist citizens in
registering factually estranged means of transport or those having no
proper legal formulations, by providing them with all the information
they might need, as well as legal counseling.