In 2024, Dutch and Polish carriers received the highest number of fines for this type of offence.
The Flemish government is still awaiting payment of more than 14 million euros in outstanding fines for toll violations, 13 million of which are owed by foreign trucking companies, reports De Tijd, a Flemish business daily.
Last year, kilometre-based toll fees generated €658 million in revenue for Flanders, an increase of 16% compared to the previous year, making it the region’s highest toll revenue since the system was introduced in 2016. According to data from toll system operator Viapass, cited by the newspaper, record revenues from tolls on trucks over 3.5 tonnes were also recorded in Wallonia (€347.1 million) and Brussels (€10.8 million).
Fewer violations in 2024
The number of violations recorded in Flanders fell slightly in 2024 (by 2.3%), and the total amount of fines decreased by 4.5 million euros to 13.45 million euros, according to data presented to the Flemish Parliament by the Ministry of Budget and Finance. While the Flemish government views this as a sign that the transport sector is increasingly complying with the rules, it is widely acknowledged that the majority of fines are issued to foreign carriers.
“Even though around half of the freight traffic on Flemish toll roads comes from outside the country, more than three-quarters of the fines were issued to foreign trucks,” reports De Tijd.
The newspaper calculates that among non-Belgian vehicles, the highest number of fines were imposed on trucks from the Netherlands (8,165), Poland (5,376), and Germany (3,412).
It is particularly difficult to collect fines in Spain (collection rate: 48.8%), Bulgaria (49.1%), Great Britain (54%), and Romania (56.6%), the newspaper notes.
The total amount of unpaid fines from 2023, 2022, and 2021 stands at approximately 14 million euros. De Tijd points out that many proceedings concerning the collection of debts from 2024 are still ongoing. Of the 14 million euros, more than 13 million are related to foreign trucks, for which the collection rate is around 67%. In comparison, the collection rate for Belgian companies stands at 89%.
While Belgium has concluded bilateral agreements with some countries, the collection of fines remains particularly challenging in cases involving Bulgaria and Romania.