Brussels, 10/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has decided to send Cyprus a formal request for information concerning the taxation rules applied on the registration of second-hand cars brought into Cyprus from other EU Member States. Under Cypriot law, a tax is due on the first registration of a vehicle in Cyprus. The amount of the tax varies according to the C02 emissions and the age of vehicles. In practice, it concerns all new vehicles and second-hand vehicles, these latter almost exclusively coming from outside Cyprus. In order to benefit of the reduction based on the C02 emissions, owners have to provide a certificate of conformity that is hardly possible to be obtained for second-hand vehicles. The Commission has considered that a requirement which contributes to determine the amount of tax but which, for the application of the more favourable tax treatment, cannot be met in most of the cases by goods coming from other Member States, is incompatible with European rules, since it would result in a higher taxation to the detriment of mainly foreign second-hand cars. The standard way of calculating the amount of the tax according to the age of the vehicle does not allow taking into consideration the real loss of value of the vehicle at the moment of the registration. The consequence is that the tax applied on second hand vehicles coming from another Member State will not reflect, in the majority of the cases, the amount of tax incorporated in similar second hand vehicles already registered in Cyprus.