Transnistria motorists will have to obtain Moldovan tags

Starting 1 January 2008, the motor vehicles registered in the eastern region and without Moldovan registration plates will not be able to cross the Moldovan border. Starting 1 January 2009 they will not be able to travel inside the country either. At the same time, the owners of such vehicles will be able to register the cars in Moldova in the first half of the next year and obtain Moldovan registration plates. Such a stipulation is included in the temporary regulations concerning the introduction and free movement of vehicles with non-standard documents and registration plates in Moldova approved by the Government on November 7. Minister of Information Development Vladimir Molojen told reporters that from January 1, 2009 the vehicles with plates issued by Transnistrian authorities will be denied access to the territory controlled by the constitutional authorities of Moldova and to the neighbouring states – Romania and Ukraine. When the car owners get Moldovan registration numbers, they will also have to legalise clearance documents for the vehicles. The vehicles brought into Moldova before 1993 will not need clearance documents. The owners of the other means of transport will have to pay the difference between the clearance tax in Transnistria and the one levied in Moldova. According to Molojen, the tax levied on the left bank of the Nistru makes up only 25-30% of the tax levied in Moldova. According to the Ministry of Information Development, in Transnistria there are about 150,000-180,000 motor vehicles.