The second round of the so-called car-scrapping bonus contribution ended on Tuesday, April 14, the Car Industry Association announced the same day.
State payments totalling €22.1 million in total, intended to subsidise the replacement of 22,100 cars more than ten years old, were claimed within five working, the TASR newswire wrote.
The first round of the bonus scheme, which was allocated €33.2 million of public funds, ended after two-and-a-half weeks in March. The Economy Ministry said it was not surprised by the huge public interest in the second round, which surpassed even the first wave, according to ministry spokesman Branislav Zvara.
Prime Minister Robert Fico announced before the second wave was launched that it would be the last but car industry representatives have continued lobbying for the scheme to continue. They claim that, as well as boosting flagging car sales, the bonus has made money for the state by raising tax revenues which exceed the cost of the subsidy. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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