FINNISH courts should examine their country's 'autovero' car tax system to see whether it is unfair to drivers importing cars from other European Union (EU) member countries, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.

If national judges say it is unfair to charge the full tax on drivers who have already paid car tax in another EU country, then they should demand the system be reformed, said the ECJ. The case concerns a Finnish woman who had bought a car in Germany, used it in the Netherlands, then brought it to Finland. She was charged €3,400 under the autovero, but claimed that was illegal under European law, as it was a consumption tax such as VAT, which she had already paid elsewhere in the EU.

Although the ECJ ruled that the autovero was not a consumption tax, and so payable, it added that the woman should not be placed 'at a disadvantage' compared with resident Finns.