Authority hikes car fees as sales boom

AS CAR SALES  in Panama continues  their seemingly  never ending boom,  the transport authority ATTT  has moved to get its share of the pie with increased registration fees  for new vehicles  and used imported vehicles.

The agency announced on Thursday, Jan, 12  that  it will impose a fixed registration fee of $100 on vehicles with a value of less than $15,000, while cars

with a value between $15,000 and $50,000 will pay a rate of 1 percent of their value.

That will  increase to 1.25 percent for cars up to $85,000 and 1.5 percent for cars over that amount.

Imported used cars will be charged $500, but luxury vehicles will pay 2 percent of their value. The payment is made only once.

At present, the fee is $10, with luxury vehicles paying a slightly higher amount.

Government deputies get to import cars duty free, but there’s no word on where they stand with the new registration fees.

Julio González, director of the ATTT, said  that the revenues will be used for public transport and the upkeep of traffic signals and other projects