Swiss car importer ordered to pay CHF4.2 million CO2 penalty

The Swiss federal court has rejected the appeal of a car importer against a fine of CHF4.2 million ($4.6 million) imposed by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) for abusive practices. In its ruling, published on Friday, the court also clarified a number of points relating to private CO2 exchanges set up by some importers. In 2012, Switzerland introduced CO2 emission regulations for first-time registered cars with the aim of reducing them to an average of 130 grams CO2 per kilometre by the end of 2015. If the average emissions of all vehicles of an importer exceed this threshold, the federal government charges a corresponding penalty. The SFOE concluded that the appellant company had acted to evade the penalty. To establish the amount for 2015, it based its calculations on a volume of 440 cars, instead of 145 as reported by the importer, and set the penalty at CHF4.2 million. The federal court has now confirmed this amount. Friday's ruling will have an impact on the criminal ...