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The offer to sell a damaged vehicle from the US can often prove extremely attractive in price, even despite the cost of transportation. However, there is usually a catch - damaged vehicles bought (often even half the price) overseas have titles such as Salvage Certificate of a Vehicle, Nonrepairable Vehicle Title and the like. Due to the existence of such documents, after purchasing a vehicle that is often completely functional, requiring, for example, only the replacement of the bumper, the purchaser of the vehicle may unexpectedly be summoned by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection (GIOŚ) to dispose of the vehicle. In such a situation, every effort should be made to have the matter reconsidered by the authority, as the existence of Salvage or Nonrepairable documents does not mean that the vehicle can automatically be considered waste. Problems may also arise at the stage of attempting to register a car for the first time in Poland, when the relevant Department of Communications / County Office will refer the matter to the EIA withholding registration of the vehicle.
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In Poland, the definition of waste is regulated by Article 3(1)(6) of the Waste Act of December 14, 2012. (hereinafter: UO). In the case of a vehicle, there are three main aspects that need to be examined in order to qualify a vehicle as waste:
It is common practice for Polish environmental authorities to abandon consideration of the above prerequisites and evaluate whether a vehicle is waste solely on the basis of the existence of the title Salvage, Nonrepairable, etc. Meanwhile, in many cases, if the GIOŚ applies the criteria for evaluating a vehicle correctly and considers the statutory prerequisites for considering a Vehicle as waste - it turns out that the vehicle in question cannot objectively be considered waste, and thus should not be disposed of for environmental protection purposes.
Sometimes, even after a car has been repaired, passed its first technical inspection in the country and even registered, unexpectedly the GIOŚ may declare the vehicle (previously titled Salvage or Nonrepairable in the US) as waste and order it to be returned to a dismantling station within 30 days. The consequences are, of course, irreversible.
The fact is that Polish authorities are, as it were, suppressing the mechanisms inherent in the US automotive market, often being able to even overlook key issues such as the existence of a "Reconstructed" title for a given vehicle. GIOŚ most often fails to take into account the fact that a Salvage or Nonrepairable type document in the face of a fully operational vehicle should be considered primarily as a document constituting proof of vehicle ownership, which, according to the disposition of Article 72(1)(1) of the Road Traffic Law of June 20, 1997, is required to register a machine in Poland. A document of the type Salvage, Nonrepairable, etc. On the other hand, it cannot be the sole and key premise for recognizing a vehicle as waste.
A decision of the GIOŚ ordering the disposal of a foreign-purchased, damaged vehicle on the grounds that it is considered waste is not tantamount to an automatic obligation to carry out such disposal. A party to the proceedings is entitled to a request for reconsideration of the case (a kind of appeal form against the Order of the GIOŚ), due to the two-instance nature of the proceedings before the GIOŚ. At the same time, a party may address a request to the Authority to suspend the enforceability of the order on the obligation to dispose - if the request is granted, the vehicle will not be disposed of while the Authority reconsiders the relevant issues in the case.
In addition, even if the GIOŚ upholds the Order as part of the Order terminating the course of administrative proceedings, this final Order is also subject to a so-called complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court. Also, for the duration of such administrative court proceedings, upon a duly motivated request, the GIOŚ itself (and, as a last resort, the Court) may suspend enforcement of the Decision until the case is heard.
Jaskowiak Nadra Attorneys at Law has many years of experience in representing EU and non-EU vehicle importers, both in terms of excise tax, tax base and environmental issues. We represent clients at every stage of proceedings before the GIOŚ. We make a comprehensive assessment of the facts related to a particular vehicle and analyze the arguments of the GIOŚ in the context of taking into account the legal and economic realities prevailing in the United States. We advise so that already at the stage of initiation of proceedings before the GIOŚ we collect and present relevant evidence in order to demonstrate the most important circumstances in this type of case arising from the rulings of administrative courts in similar cases.
After sending to the address of the law firm the decision of the GIOŚ made in your case (both initiating and possibly ending the proceedings), we will advise what steps are possible to take by presenting our recommendation.