Officials from the General Department of Taxation (GDT), in collaboration with police and sub-national authorities, will start checking road tax on vehicles for 2022 from January 15, 2023.

A notice released by GDT – which is under the Ministry of Economy and Finance said any vehicle owners who have not yet met their tax obligations for 2022 must make their payments at the nearest provincial or district tax department of tax, or one of the GDT’s partner banks, as soon as possible.

“GDT is confident that vehicle owners will respect their tax duty and immediately make the required payments. This means they will not lose time and increase congestion by being stopped by the authorities,” it said.

Pech Pisey, Transparency International Cambodia's executive director, supported the call. He urged that taxes be collected from all vehicles bearing the license plates of Royal Cambodia Armed Forces (RCAF), the Police, and other state entities, in order to ensure transparency. He noted that some individuals use state number plates on their personal vehicles in order to avoid paying tax.

“It is a good thing that the government requires private vehicles to pay tax, and is in line with the law on state property management. All private vehicles should pay tax in the same way as the general public,” he said, adding that stricter tax collection would net more revenue for the state.