Customs flushes out more bad payers with smart cameras. No less than 3,686 late fines were thus collected last year, for a sum of 2.5 million euros. This year too, the FPS Finance is recording rising figures, reports De Zondag on Sunday. “These are cases where there is a clear desire not to pay”.
Since January 1, 2017, smart cameras that can scan vehicle license plates (ANPR for Automatic Number Plate Recognition) have been linked to a database listing people or companies who have not paid a fine to their name. The introduction of these cameras proved successful, with unpaid fines collected in the first year amounting to €1.7 million.
In 2018, an equivalent amount was recovered, before a decrease in 2019 (1.2 million euros) and 2020 (1.1 million euros). Since 2021, these figures have started to rise again. Last year, 3,686 unpaid fines were honored in this way, for an amount of 2.5 million euros.
This year again, the trend is on the rise, while at the end of August, 2,246 late fines had been collected for an amount of 1.7 million euros. “It is important to know that it is not just about unpaid fines”, explains Francis Adyns, spokesman for the SPF Finances. “We are talking about a manifest desire not to pay. All the people in the database have received at least three warnings and their files have been dragging on for months, even a year for some.”
Since January 1, 2017, smart cameras that can scan vehicle license plates (ANPR for Automatic Number Plate Recognition) have been linked to a database listing people or companies who have not paid a fine to their name. The introduction of these cameras proved successful, with unpaid fines collected in the first year amounting to €1.7 million. In 2018, an equivalent amount was recovered, before a decrease in 2019 (1.2 million euros) and 2020 (1.1 million euros). Since 2021, these figures have started to rise again. Last year, 3,686 unpaid fines were honored in this way, for an amount of 2.5 million euros. This year again, the trend is on the rise, while at the end of August, 2,246 late fines had been collected for an amount of 1.7 million euros. “It is important to know that it is not just about unpaid fines”, explains Francis Adyns, spokesman for the SPF Finances. “We are talking about a manifest desire not to pay. All the people in the database have received at least three warnings and their files have been dragging on for months, even a year for some.”
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