Bulgaria’s government approves proposed changes to Road Traffic Act
Fines for using national roads without paying the electronic road tax fee or toll fee should be based on the severity of the violation, Bulgaria’s government agreed on June 24, adopting draft amendments to the Road Traffic Act, the government information service said.
Those for vehicles of more than 3.5 tons should be set within a minimum and maximum amount for each of the scenarios, and fines for cars up to 3.5 tons should depend on the price of the annual electronic road tax sticker.
The fine for vehicles up to 3.5 tons that drive on the national road network without paying the electronic road tax – commonly referred to as the “vignette” – fee is expected to be twice the value of the annual vignette or 194 leva.
According to the mitigating circumstances set out in the bill, if the violator pays the vignette fee within the calendar day after committing the violation, a sanction of 97 leva or the price of the annual vignette is envisaged. Currently, the fine for unpaid vignette fee is 300 leva.
For vehicles over 3.5 tons that pay a toll fee for using national roads, a differentiated system of penalties is envisaged.
If the violation is committed by an individual, in the capacity of the driver of the vehicle, three administrative penalties are envisaged.
The first is for unpaid road fee within the calendar day and is envisaged to be in the amount of 116 to 1800 leva.
The second is for a driver who has paid a toll for another section of the toll road network.
In this case, an amount of 87 to 1500 leva will be due.
The third fine will be imposed in the case of a partially paid toll as a result of falsely declared data regarding the category of the road vehicle, the number of axles, the total technically permissible maximum mass and the EURO environmental category. In this case, a sanction of 78 leva to 1300 leva is provided.
When determining the amount of the penalty, the maximum fee for the relevant category of road vehicle was taken into account, according to the Roads Act.
The text of the law stipulates that fines for violations of a natural or legal person in his capacity as the owner of the road vehicle shall be of the same amount. Thus, for an unpaid toll within a calendar day, a fine of 116 to 1800 leva is provided.
If a toll has been paid for another section of the toll road network and a violation is established in another section, the violator will owe a fine of 87 to 1500 leva, and for falsely declared data regarding the category of the road vehicle, the number of axles, the total technically permissible maximum mass and the EURO environmental category – from 78 to 1300 leva.
The statement said that the envisaged changes in the approved bill were made as a result of a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union, initiated on a preliminary ruling request from the Administrative Court – Haskovo to eliminate inconsistencies between the system of penalties in force in Bulgaria and European Union law regarding the use of the toll road network.
