Vehicle registration more expensive in Croatia, road usage fee also increased

(Patria) - From the New Year, car owners in Croatia have to pay more for their registration.

The fee for using public roads, which is paid during the technical inspection, has increased. Depending on the vehicle category, drivers have to pay between 15 and 95 euros more than last year, reports HRT.

Drivers had barely come to terms with last year's price increases for the technical inspection and Eco test, when new price hikes arrived.

Due to the higher fee for using public roads, most citizens now pay 150 to 160 euros instead of 120 when registering their vehicles.

Owners of smaller cars will now pay 14.40 euros more, those with cars up to 1,600 cubic centimeters, which are the most common, will pay 30 euros more, and those driving mid-range cars with slightly stronger engines will pay almost 37 euros more.

Drivers of premium vehicles will pay 57 euros more, and those with the most powerful cars will pay 95 euros more.

The Croatian Ministry of Transport emphasizes that the revenue from the fee does not go to the state budget, but to the county road administrations.

"The annual fee makes up about 89 percent of the revenue of county road administrations and the City of Zagreb intended for road network maintenance and is used exclusively for the maintenance and improvement of road infrastructure," the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure stated.

The fee had not been changed since 2003. Experts believe this is a justified increase.

- This amount had not been raised for a long time, it was necessary to increase it, especially considering that this is how, among other things, about 20,000 kilometers of roads under the jurisdiction of county roads and the City of Zagreb are maintained and that this needs to be invested in safety - says traffic expert Krunoslav Ormuž.

Let us add that the fee will now be increased more frequently as it will be adjusted for inflation. The first adjustment is planned for 2027.