Costa Rica regulator rejects request to more than triple vehicle inspection fees

(ICR Archive)

November 23^rd, 2015 (ICR News) Costa Rica’s Regulatory Authority for Public Services (ARESEP) has rejected a request made last week by Riteve (RTV), the company that holds the government concession to provide annual mandatory motor vehicle inspections, to more than triple its inspection fees.

Riteve had requested an increase in its fees for the mandatory inspection from ¢9,930 to ¢30,320, arguing that such a drastic increase was necessary as regulators have not approved any increase in fees since 2005.

The decision by ARESEP marks the ninth consecutive time that regulators have rejected requests by Riteve to increase its fees, most recently in November of last year, when regulators also rejected the company’s request to more than triple its fees.

The Spanish-owned company, which employs some 400 people in Costa Rica received the concession to perform the mandatory annual vehicle inspections in 2001.

As in each case prior, ARESEP, in its decision to reject the rate hike, said that the responsibility to determine a methodology for determining vehicle inspection fees is that of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT), and with no methodology in place the regulator has no means of determining a fair price for the inspections, adding that repeated requests to MOPT to determine such a methodology since 2005 have gone unanswered.