site.btaCabinet Proposes New Scaled Fines for Using Roads Without Paid Vignette or Toll

The Bulgarian government has approved a draft amendment to the Road Traffic Act proposing a new system of fines for vehicles using the national road network without a valid paid vignette or toll fee, said the government press service Tuesday. The penalties will now be scaled according to the severity of the violation and the vehicle’s weight.

For vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, the proposed fine will be twice the price of an annual vignette or 194 BGN (approximately EUR 100). If the driver pays the vignette fee on the same calendar day after the violation, the fine will be reduced to BGN 97, equal to the vignette price. This represents a reduction from the current fixed fine of BGN 300.

For vehicles over 3.5 tonnes subject to toll payments, a differentiated penalty system is introduced. If a driver fails to pay the toll for road use within the day, fines will range between BGN 116 and BGN 1,800, depending on circumstances. Additional penalties apply if the toll was paid for the wrong road section (BGN 87 to 1,500) or if false data was declared regarding the vehicle’s category, axle count, weight, or environmental classification (BGN 78 to 1,300).

The draft law aligns fines for violations committed by vehicle owners and drivers, imposing the same penalty ranges on both. The changes are motivated by a European Court of Justice ruling that highlighted inconsistencies between Bulgarian fines and EU regulations concerning the use of paid road infrastructure.

The amendments aim to ensure compliance while offering some flexibility and proportionality in enforcement, particularly for different vehicle categories and types of infringements.