OMVIC‘s board of directors wants to up fees so regulator can meet its mandate

The Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry forecasts that without the increase, it  will soon run a deficit. So it turned to its board of directors.

“Clearly this [the deficit] is not sustainable,” OMVIC said in a release.

“And the board has determined that it’s time to review fees. Although it is the exclusive authority of the board to increase fees, the board wants to consult with its registrants as to the best way forward.”

Only the board has the authority to increase fees and it has only three sources: the saleperson’s licensing fee now at $175 for two years; the dealer’s renewal fee of $250 a year; the transaction fee is $5 per retail sale.

The last salesperson renewal fee increase was 21 years ago. The dealer fee has not been increased since 2000. The transaction fee has not been upped since 2008.

The board is made up of nine dealers from across the province and three public members.

“Along with the three public members, board members are charged with responsibility to be careful stewards of OMVICs resources,” OMVIC said in a release.

“The board closely scrutinizes OMVIC expenses in all categories and is proud to be able to say that OMVIC has never overspent an approved budget in 18 years.”

Speaking through OMVIC, the board said it would like to ensure it does not have to increase fees again for several years.

At this point, it is the board's preference to once again leave the salesperson renewal fee at the current level, OMVIC says.

“The board recognizes how hard our professional sales force works and wants to protect them from an increase. So for the salesperson renewal fee, the board is proposing no change.”

The dealer fee of $250 has not changed since 2000. The board is considering increases to the base dealer renewal fee ranging from $0 to $125, depending on changes to the transaction fee.

The board is considering increases to the transaction fee ranging from $3 to $5.

“The board’s preferred change would be no increase to the base dealer renewal fee and a $5 increase to the transaction fee,” OMVIC says.

OMVIC says the board wants to hear what registrants  have to say by May 25.

A copy of the 2015 Fee Increase Business Case is available here.

Registrants who want to express their views should follow this link to the survey.

Registrants who want to provide written comments via email are asked to send feedback to consultation@omvic.on.ca .