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What you need to know about Spain’s new petrol pump labels

Petrol pump labels are set to change in Spain and indeed across Europe as part of the European Union's bid to standardise the labeling system. Here's what you need to know.

What you need to know about Spain's new petrol pump labels
Photo: AFP
From October 12th, petrol pumps will look slightly different in Spain and across the EU, as well as in neighbouring countries including Norway, Iceland and Turkey. 
 
Under the new EU directive, instead of “Unleaded” and “Diesel”, petrol pumps will be labelled with letters and numbers, relating to the type of fuel and the amount of biofuel it contains in a bid to help consumers select the appropriate fuel for their vehicles throughout Europe.
 
This will see names for different fuels being shortened and a set of symbols will also be introduced.
 
Under the new system, “Unleaded 95” and “Unleaded 98” will both be replaced by the letter “E” surrounded by a circular border, followed by a “5” for 5 percent biofuel or “10” for 10 percent and the fuel currently labelled “Superethanol” will become “E85” (see below).
 
 
Diesel will be identifiable by a square containing the letter “B” followed by either the number “7” or “10” depending on the amount of biofuel it contains. There will also be square label containing the letters “XTL”  the XTL which indicates the fuel is synthetic diesel and not derived from crude oil (see below). 
 
 
Finally, the diamond symbol will be used to indicate hydrogen fuel when it contains “H2”, compressed natural gas when you see the letters “CNG”, liquified petroleum gas when it contains the letters “LPG”, and if you see the letters “LNG” in a diamond shape the pump contains liquified natural gas (see below).
 
 
To help with the transition, both the new and current labels will be displayed alongside each other at petrol stations.
 
To read more about the changes in English, CLICK HERE
 
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How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

If you move within Spain and change address, you'll also need to change the registered address for your car in order to pay vehicle tax. Here's how to do it.

How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

When you buy a car in Spain the driving authority, the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), asks you to register your car so that you (and they) can have a reference of where it is, who owns it and, crucially, where you’ll pay tax on it.

This information is necessary because paying vehicle tax in Spain (known as Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica or IVTM) depends on where in the country you live, and differs slightly depending on the municipality where you are registered.

You pay the tax in the municipality in which the vehicle is registered, and though the exact amount depends on your area and the type of car you have, generally speaking the annual tax is between €112 and €300 for the year.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What you need to know about road tax in Spain

IVTM is a tax you pay at the municipal level, that is, to your local town hall. According to the DGT, “the Traffic Tax of a vehicle is a mandatory tax that is applied on all motor vehicles, allowing them to circulate on public roads throughout the country”.

But what happens if you move?

Well, it depends. If you’re moving but staying within the same municipality, not much, but if you’re moving across the country to a new part of Spain, you’ll need to change your car’s registered address with the DGT.

How can you request a change of tax address for your car in Spain?

Any change of tax address must be requested by the owner of the vehicle or a duly authorised person on their behalf. There are four ways to request it:

Online – this is done through the DGT’s website, which you can find here. If it’s a general application, you shouldn’t need to attach any documentation. You can simply change the address of all your vehicles or select only those you wish to modify, choosing between the registration address or the tax address of the owner.

For vehicles moving from the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla to the Spanish mainland peninsula or the Balearic Islands, or agricultural vehicles or those with any type of legal limitations or restrictions, you must make the application through the special cases option (supuestos especiales on the DGT website).

In this case, you essentially need to get documentation proving that the car has been cleared through customs. If it is an agricultural vehicle, you will need to provide the document showing that you have reported the change in Spain’s Official Register of Agricultural Machinery (ROMA).

By phone –- call 060, which is the number in Spain to get through to the Servicio de Información de la Administración General del Estado, essentially the go-to contact number for all things public services and administration. You can contact the DGT through this number, where they will check that the address you indicate coincides with the one on the INE register and, if so, make the requested change for you.

READ ALSO: The tricks drivers use to pay less in car taxes in Spain

DGT App If you have the miDGT app, you can also change your address through the platform.

In person — you can also change your vehicle’s tax address at your town hall (ayuntamiento) where you are currently registered (pre-move) or at any DGT traffic office, though you will need to make an appointment online or by phone beforehand. You can do that here.

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