As of Monday, taxi drivers in the country will face fines of 1,000 euros if they fail to display special bilingual stickers on their vehicles, which indicate the acceptance of card payments.
The Independent Public Revenue Authority (AADE) has ramped up inspections of taxis throughout the week. Recent reports reveal that only half of the taxis have complied with the sticker requirement on their rear right window, prompting inspectors to increase their scrutiny.
Although a previous deadline passed on October 31, authorities have so far issued warnings and recorded driver details instead of penalizing them.
The Economy and Finance Ministry has clarified that if a taxi driver claims that the card payment device is malfunctioning or unavailable, passengers are not obligated to pay and can exit the taxi.