As of 2022, vehicles registered in Pichincha must pay an additional fee “for the improvement of rural roads.”

Provincial Ordinance 19_CPP-2019-2023, approved on October 7, 2021, establishes that As of 2022, vehicles registered in the province of Pichincha They will pay a special contribution for the “Improvement and road maintenance of the province of Pichincha with citizen contribution”.

The document establishes the collection of a percentage of the registration fee, which is established by the National Transit Agency (ANT).

That is, from this year the vehicles must pay the following additional values, depending on the type of vehicle:

The director of Roads of the Prefecture of Pichincha, Edwin Herrera, said does not correspond to the percentage of the total tuition payment as it was spread on social networks, but only at the established rate.

Destination of the collection

Edwin Herrera pointed out that the income will be used for the improvement and maintenance of rural roads throughout the province of Pichincha. “For 75% of the roads, it is required to have 34 complete road teams, currently the Prefecture has 10 operating teams and more than 65% of the machinery has already fulfilled its useful life,” he added.

According to the provincial official, in the latest projection based on enrollment in the province, they hope to raise approximately $6.7 million. The Pichincha government has in its administration 7,200 kilometers on rural roads, welcoming the 53 rural parishes, belonging to the 8 cantons of the province.

Herrera mentioned some projects that they plan to start this year: the road to Juan Montalvo to the snowy Cayambe, with about 9 kilometers, at a cost of $2.2 million. Also the road that communicates with the Mojanda Lagoon, at a cost of $2 million. The stretch from Rumiñahui to the Cotopaxi volcano, the road to Nono, among others.

exemptions

According to the ordinance, several types of vehicles will be exempt from this tax:

• Of the members of the diplomatic and consular corps.
• International organizations, applying the principle of reciprocity.
• Red Cross Ecuadorian, such as ambulances and others with the same purpose.
• bodies of firefighters, such as fire engines, cars, scale and other special fire fighting vehicles.
• Vehicles imported or acquired by People with disabilities.
• Registered as exempt by the Internal rents service.

In addition, the text establishes that the owners of the vehicles will be able to pay the respective rate according to the registration process established by the national transit authority in the accredited banking institutions.

Shall be deemed in arrears when they have not complied with the payment until the last day of the year.

disputed ordinance

This ordinance was passed with twelve votes in favor and three against. In addition, the counselor representing the Municipality of Quito, the councilor René Bedón did not vote.

His decision was against by the principle of opportunity, he argued. “In this In times of pandemic there is a health affectation, but also economic, I did not see fit to increase a tax, although the Provincial Council has every right to put this ordinance into effect, supported by law,” he added.

Article 184 of the Organic Code of Territorial Organization (Cootad) states that “Provincial decentralized autonomous governments may establish a special contribution for road improvement based on the value of the vehicle registration, whose resources will be invested in the jurisdiction of roads of the respective territorial constituency”.

Furthermore, the article argues that “in the provincial constituencies where there are or will be created metropolitan districts, the income generated will be shared equally with those governments. That is to say, a part of the collection would belong to the Capital City Municipality.

“This will be a future discussion, the mayor will have to claim what corresponds to him to the DMQ because that is how the Cootad establishes it,” Bedón pointed out.

In the Regime Law for the Metropolitan District of Quito, the capital of Ecuador is declared a metropolitan district since 1993.

However, there is also a draft autonomy statute, created in the Jorge Yunda city hall on February 18, 2020. According to Councilman Bedón, the project It had to go through the approval of the Municipal Council and then be raised to a popular consultation. This step would be necessary to complete the DMQ enrollment. (I)