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Greek Embassy in London owes £1.6mln in unpaid congestion charge fees

Greece’s embassy in London has clocked up £1.6 million in unpaid congestion charge fees, new figures have shown.

Statistics published by Transport for London (TfL) revealed that the Greek embassy ranks 24th in the list of embassies owing the most in unpaid charges in the British capital and sixth among the European Union countries.

The US embassy topped the list, with £14.6 million in unpaid charges, followed by the Japanese embassy (£10.1 million) and the high commission of India (£8.6 million).

Among the EU countries, Poland owes £5.2 million, followed by Germany (£4.6 million), France (£2.5 million), Spain (£2.1 million) and Romania (£1.8 million).

The Cyprus high commission owes £1.4 million.

Among all 161 embassies listed, the total is £143.5 million.

Under the congestion charge, which was launched in 2003, motorists must pay a £15 daily fee to drive in central London between specific hours on weekdays, weekends and bank holidays.

The unpaid congestion charges by embassies have been accrued since 2003 to December 2023.

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British authorities say that embassies are obliged to pay the congestion charge as it is a service and not a tax, from which diplomatic missions are exempt.

“We and the UK government are clear that the congestion charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that diplomats are not exempt from paying it. The majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels,” said Transport for London.

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One comment

  1. Actually what is most troubling about this story is not the none payment, but how we get a snap shot of what the governing bodies of counties really think of green/environmental improvements ,made to enhance the lives of people who live in the major cities of the world.
    Also that diplomats our the most over entitled bunch of hypocritical tools in politics ,not to mention tight as a fishes arse at fifty fathoms.