The tax office can continue to check car number plates recorded on police motorway cameras in their efforts to catch people who cheat on their company car allowance, the appeal court in Den Bosch said on Friday.

While using police camera images is an infringement of personal privacy, this can be justified because it is the most efficient way of making the checks, the court said.

The case was brought by a man who said his privacy had been infringed by the tax office action.

People who drive fewer than 500 kilometres a year privately in their company cars do not have to pay tax on the catalogue value of the vehicle.

The court said the tax office has to check a very large number of company car drivers and this should happen as efficiently as possible, justifying the use of cameras. In addition, other methods of checking up on drivers could be more privacy sensitive, the court said.

Mobile phone

Last year, the courts also ruled that a company which enables people to pay for car parking by mobile phone must hand over client details to the tax office.

In that ruling, the court also acknowledged that handing over the information conflicts with privacy legislation but said this is outweighed by the public interest and need to levy correct amounts of tax.

Tax inspectors already use cars fitted with special scanners in an effort to track down people who use their company cars for private business. Festivals, out-of-town shopping centres, sports events and other popular destinations are targeted in particular.