Amongst the novelties of the Highway Code, the compulsory PEC for motorists could soon arrive: how it works and what you need to know
The reform of the Highway Code is currently being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. Among the many innovations being discussed there is also a proposal of the National Council of Economy and Labour (CNEL) that makes it mandatory for all drivers to use the PEC, in order to be able to notify any fines and penalties via Certified Electronic Mail.
The proposal goes to amend Article 80 of the CdS, the one relating to the revision of vehicles, and provides that "At the time of registration of vehicles, or the periodic review of the same, the owner communicates his certified e-mail address for the purposes of notifications referred to in Article 201 and the provisions of the Interministerial Decree of 18 December 2017." That is, in order to receive via PEC the fines. This proposal of the CNEL is making a lot of talk and has unquestionable advantages. From October 1, among other things, many Italians will begin to receive fines at their PEC address regardless of the CNEL proposal. Let's try, therefore, to clarify how things stand.
Fines via PEC: the proposal of the CNEL
The proposal of the National Council for Economy and Labor starts from the assumption that PEC is a useful tool to send communications in a rapid and certified way: of a PEC message it is possible to know when it has been sent and when it has been received.
Sending fines via PEC, therefore, first of all would speed up the times: the fine is received much earlier and it is possible to establish exactly when. But not only: sending fines via PEC is much more economical and the saving would be first of all for the fined motorist, since each fine received contains within it about 10 euros of "notification costs" (fines are sent by registered mail A/R) that would be taken out of the way.
With the current system of notification, moreover, very often the delivery of the fine and the related report is not successful and the fined citizen receives an invitation to go to the post office to collect the fine. This means wasting time, for the citizen, as well as clogging up the post offices.
Fines via PEC: guaranteed time
Another important thing to know is that fines sent via PEC are considered delivered as soon as the certified e-mail message is received by the user in his PEC box. Even if the message is not read, just as it happens today if we do not open the envelope containing the fine: the notification is still valid and the time for payment begins from that moment.
Fines via PEC: where are we
Except for some categories of citizens, which we will list shortly, the fines via PEC is now a proposal under discussion. But it is virtually certain that it will be included in the final text of the reform of the Highway Code 2020 because the advantages it brings are far greater than any disadvantages.
Everyone who has a license and a car, therefore, if you do not yet have a PEC would do well to open one as soon as possible. The costs are very low: Libero Family PEC costs only 14.99 euros per year including VAT, offers 1 GB of space for messages and attachments and can be used for all purposes for which the PEC is mandatory or recommended.
Fines via PEC: for professionals we start on October 1
If we talk about the notification of fines via PEC, finally, there is a special case to consider: that of professionals enrolled in a register. These people, since October 1st, are still obliged by law to have a certified email address for professional communications.
In case of failure to comply with this rule you risk a lot, even the suspension from the professional register. For these subjects, the PEC is equivalent to the "digital domicile" and, consequently, in case of a fine, the inspectors can notify the fine directly to the PEC address provided by the professional.