Following the decision by the SNCT to increase its prices from 1 February 2019, where the cost of bringing a car through the Controle Technnique has risen from €38 to €52, the SNCT has responded to criticism of the almost 40% price increase.
The SNCT's statement recollected that, until the reform of the technical inspection in 2016, the rates were fixed by Grand-Ducal regulation. Thus, for a long time, and whenever possible, the prices of our services were kept stable, making the prices of the technical inspection performed in Luxembourg very low compared to those applied in particular in neighbouring countries.
However, today the context has changed. Technical inspection reforms were implemented in 2016 to comply with European law, in the sense that the SNCT is now operating in a competitive environment. As a commercial company, it now needs to cover its costs and, as a result, have been forced to increase their prices.
On one hand, their revenues have declined; on the other hand, their operating expenses have increased significantly over the years.
The SNCT stressed that, over a 20 year-period, this is only the sixth tariff adaptation, with previous increases smaller.
The SNCT also stressed that they attach great importance to improving the quality of its service to customers, both professional and private, and intends to continue to attach importance to the realisation of its projects aiming for customer satisfaction.
The SNCT has invested in a new IT environment that is scheduled to run from 18 February for corporate customers and from 4 March to private clients.
They explained that the new rates are based on the calculation of production costs by type of vehicle and type of technical inspection. They also claimed that, despite this increase, their new rates are still lower than the prices offered by competitors in Luxembourg and those in the Greater Region.
