The General Department of Taxation (GDT) under the Ministry of Economy and Finance will start collecting vehicle road taxes for 2022 from the beginning of June until the end of November, with enforcement and fines for non-payment set to begin from January 1, 2023.
According to the GDT’s press statement on May 27, owners of all types of vehicles must submit a declaration of ownership or bring with them their previous year’s road tax payment receipt and pay their taxes at the provincial or district tax branch or at private banks including Canadia, ACLEDA, Vattanac, Cambodian Public Bank, J Trust Royal Bank, Sathapana, Cambodia Post Bank, ABA, Foreign Trade Bank of Cambodia, and any other that has signed a memorandum of understanding with the GDT.
Another option for payment is via the “GDT Taxpayer App” available through Apple’s iOS app store or Android’s Google Play Store.
“For vehicles owned by foreign embassies or consulates, international organisations or government technical cooperation agencies, they should pay the applicable road tax and then apply to the GDT for a tax return,” it said.
The same source indicated that vehicles owned by ministries and other government institutions should be inventoried as state property and the list submitted to the General Department of State Property and Non-Tax Revenue of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
All privately owned vehicles using state licence plates such as police and Military Police will not be eligible to pay the road tax for 2022 unless they have fulfilled all prior tax and import obligations in accordance with the law and registered the vehicles with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
“From January 1, 2023 onwards, the GDT will cooperate with the authorities to inspect individual tax declarations and fine any vehicle owners who have not yet paid their taxes in the past year according to the tax laws in force,” it warned.
For 2021, the GDT collected about $93 million in road taxes from nearly 800,000 vehicles, equivalent to 174.2 per cent of the 2021 projections and an increase of nearly eight per cent compared to the same period the previous year.
Khem Tola, director of the GDT’s Department of Movable Taxation and Real Estate, previously stated that the number of vehicle owners paying road taxes exceeded their projections to such a large degree due to the launch of the app allowing for easy payment as well as increased awareness about the necessity of paying taxes by the public.
