The proposed digital road vignette would apply not only to passenger cars but to all vehicles with at least four wheels and a maximum permissible laden weight of no more than 3.5 tonnes. This means vans, light goods vehicles and motorhomes would fall within the scheme.
Under the current timetable, the vignette would become compulsory on Belgian motorways and regional roads from 1 May 2027. It would apply equally to Belgian and foreign-registered vehicles, including those entering the country only occasionally.
Up to €125 a year per van
The price would depend on the vehicle’s Euro emissions standard and the length of validity.
For a Euro 4 or newer van, the proposed charge is:
- €9 for one day;
- €12 for ten days;
- €19 for one month;
- €30 for two months;
- €100 for one year.
Older Euro 0–3 vehicles would pay as much as €11.25 for a day or €125 for a year. Zero-emission vehicles would receive only a relatively small reduction, with prices ranging from €8.10 for one day to €90 annually.
The vignette would be digital and connected to the vehicle’s registration number, rather than represented by a physical sticker. It could therefore not simply be transferred between different vehicles in a fleet.
Sales are scheduled to begin on 1 March 2027, two months before the charge becomes compulsory.
A courier entering Belgium for a single delivery would need at least a one-day vignette. For a company sending ten modern vans into the country, that would mean an additional €90 for one day’s operations.
Regular users would probably find the €100 annual option more economical, but the cost would apply separately to every vehicle registration.
Foreign operators would receive no tax reduction
The stated purpose of the vignette is to make vehicles that are not covered by Belgium’s existing kilometre charge for heavy goods vehicles contribute towards the cost of the road network.
Belgium already operates a distance-based charging system for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. Vans and other lighter vehicles are currently outside that system.
The Flemish Government says foreign road users must be charged at the same proportional rates as Belgian residents to comply with the EU principle of non-discrimination.
However, the practical effect may still be less favourable for foreign businesses.
For some Belgian-registered passenger vehicles, the introduction of the vignette is due to be combined with changes to the annual vehicle tax, with the wider reform intended to remain broadly revenue-neutral in 2027.
Foreign courier and delivery fleets would pay for the vignette without benefiting from any corresponding reduction in Belgian domestic vehicle taxation.
The Flemish Government’s published summary refers specifically to tax adjustments for privately owned fossil-fuel passenger cars. It does not yet set out equivalent compensation for light commercial vehicles, leaving an important question for Belgian van operators as well.
Motorways and regional roads covered
The vignette would be required on Belgian motorways and regional roads. Vehicles travelling exclusively on local roads would not need one.
In practice, avoiding the charge would be difficult for most commercial operations. Vans travelling to warehouses, shops, businesses or residential customers would commonly need to use at least one regional road, even when the final delivery point is away from the motorway network.
Belgium’s three regional governments are reportedly close to an agreement on a single national scheme. This would avoid separate Flemish, Walloon and Brussels vignettes, which would have created an even more complicated system for international operators.
Proposal still requires final approval
The charge is not yet definitively adopted.
The Flemish Government granted its approval in principle to the draft decree on 10 July. The proposal will now be examined by economic, mobility and data-protection advisory bodies before being submitted to Belgium’s Council of State and the Flemish Parliament.
Practical arrangements, including the detailed enforcement system, have also not yet been published.
The Flemish tax authority says all currently announced information remains subject to final parliamentary approval.
