Comparison of Corporate Vehicle Acquisition and Standard Prices... If the Difference Is Large, Tax Authorities and Police Are Notified
As a 'trick' to avoid attaching the light green license plates applied to corporate passenger cars worth 80 million won or more newly registered or changed since the beginning of this year has emerged, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the relevant department, has launched a full investigation into the number of corporate car registrations this year.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 10th, the ministry recently began a process to identify cases with large discrepancies by comparing the acquisition price and the standard price of corporate passenger cars newly or changed registered this year.
The ministry has identified that 'down contracts' to avoid attaching the light green license plates are rampant, especially among expensive imported cars.
Imported cars are often sold under contracts that make it appear as if the car was sold for less than 80 million won by exploiting the fact that domestic dealers can adjust the selling price, with the remaining payment received in cash.
Some cases are also known to use methods such as changing the 'vehicle identification number' (VIN), which acts as the resident registration number of the vehicle, to falsify the manufacturing year and lower the price, or first registering expensive vehicles under personal names and then switching to corporate insurance.
Accordingly, the ministry is conducting a full investigation of corporate passenger cars registered this year by using the acquisition price from registration information and the standard price based on market standard value or insurance value.
An official from the ministry stated, "If cases suspected of circumventing the system through irregular methods are detected, we plan to respond strictly by requesting investigations and sanctions from tax authorities or the police," adding, "Although there are many difficulties in the investigation, we are making efforts to complete it as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, since the introduction of the light green license plate system about 10 months ago, nearly 18,000 vehicles nationwide have been found to have attached these plates.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to the office of Lee Yeon-hee, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 17,936 corporate passenger cars with acquisition prices of 80 million won or more nationwide had light green license plates attached as of the 16th of last month this year.
The brand with the largest share among the models with light green license plates during this period was Mercedes-Benz, with a total of 5,327 units (29.7%) registered. This number includes Mercedes-AMG (537 units) and Mercedes-Maybach (517 units), sub-brands of Benz.
The brand with the second highest registration was Hyundai Motor Company's luxury brand Genesis, accounting for 5,276 units (29.4%). The G90, including long-wheelbase and limousine models, had a total of 3,773 units registered, making it the single model with the most light green license plates attached. Following were BMW with 3,665 units (20.4%) and Porsche with 1,208 units (6.7%).
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