Minister Lilyana Pavlova: The Deadline Concerning the Change of the Regulation Specifying the Introduction of the Toll System in Bulgaria has been Extended

On the today’s session of the Council of Ministers a decision was taken for extension of the deadline for amending the decree accepting the introduction of the mixed system of payment of the fee for using the republican road network through tolls for heavy goods vehicles and an electronic vignette for cars. Except our mandate for conducting procedures for selecting a contractor for implementation of the mixed system, we are supposed to make changes in the legislation, concerning its introduction, for the way in which the carriers will be charged and the fees will be collected. This was commented by the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, Mrs. Lilyana Pavlova after the regular Cabinet meeting today.


The introduction of the toll system for electronic vignette and toll requires changes in the Law on road traffic, noted the Minister. Via a satellite and the number of the vehicle we will follow its route and whether the driver have paid the fee, informed she. Mobile teams of the Ministry of Interior and the Road Infrastructure Agency will be able to go and fine the driver on the spot if it is in violation. This will make the collection of fines better in case of infringement because currently we are unable to strictly monitor whether the vignette has been stuck firmly to the wind-screen or not, stated Pavlova. In the next 12 months we have to further specify the laws and regulations including more severe sanctions and collection, added she.

According to her the result from the targeted inspections of the transit traffic is also an argument for the necessity of these changes. We found that the Bulgarian citizens conscientiously buy and stick vignettes in compliance with the legislative requirements, informed Pavlova.  The investigation showed that there are a lot of transit passing workers that do not stick the vignettes to the wind screens. In most of the cases they buy a vignette but it is not entirely stuck to the wind screen or it is stuck with film in order to be moved from one car to another, emphasized she, adding that sometimes the vignette stickers are in the glove compartment. There are also imperforate vignettes as well as such with no accompanying document with the number of the vehicle (a requirement which allows to exercise stricter control).  In the investigation made on Trakiya motorway 500 violations were registered within several days, announced the Minister. 

The planned changes in the legislation provide stricter sanctions and fines for the violators. It is envisaged a driver of a transit passing vehicle not to be able to leave the country unless paying the fine. Otherwise the fines become uncollectible, noted the regional Minister.  Therefore currently except that imposing fines to the drivers, the inspection teams firmly stick the vignette stickers so as not to be used for another vehicle, added she. In the inspections in August it was established that heavy goods vehicles and cars use weekly vignettes bought in April, said she. Obviously there is a vicious practice, therefore we want stricter measures and fines, which we will impose on the spot, because if drivers leave the country we will be unable to collect the fines, she said emphatically.    

Minister Pavlova announced that till the end of August 4,5 mln. vignette stickers were sold, which is 150 thousand more  than those sold in the same period last year. A new rise in the sales is expected again in September and December because of holidays. The statistics show an increase of the number of the free vignettes provided for disabled people – 210 thousand cars are using such stickers. Due to the fact that they are given as social aid their value totaling BGN 20 mln. doesn’t go to the budget of the Road Infrastructure Agency and can’t be  reinvested in roads, explained Pavlova. The inspection in the last few days shows that in the current year most of the registered in Bulgaria vehicles use annual vignettes because they are more cost-efficient. There is a change concerning the type of vignettes, which the transit passing drivers buy most often – before the mentioned drivers bought mostly weekly vignettes, however, they already prefer monthly vignette stickers, informed the Minister.