Belarus eases policy on toll fines, lets motorists choose between vignettes and mileage-based pricing

<p> MINSK, May 5 - PrimePress. Motorists using toll roads in Belarus will have a two-hour grace period to report a violation to the nearest toll service station and get away with a minimum fine, says the Transport Ministry’s Resolution #11 of Apr 22, 2020. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The so-called one-time tariff on toll payment violations, which varies from €5 to €30, has been effective since May 1, 2020. </p> <p>   </p> <p> According to the decision, the one-time fine shall vary depending on the weight of the vehicle and the kind of violation - incomplete payment or non-payment. For vehicles with a permissible total weight of up to 3.5 tonnes inclusive, the one-time fine will be €5 (for partial payment violation, €10 (nonpayment violation); for vehicles with a permissible total weight of more than 3.5 tonnes - €15 and €30, respectively. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The Transport Ministry says the move will allow bona fide users of toll roads registered in the UTS system to eliminate unintentional mistakes made by them when making automatic payments. </p> <p>   </p> <p> “In such cases, the high-rate toll will not be charged immediately, users will be given two hours to declare that they have missed a transaction, visit a service point, apply and pay the minimum fine. Within two hours, the driver can go to any service point in Belarus,” the ministry official said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Also, the Ministry of Transport has set a time-based toll (as opposed to mileage-based) for motorists using motor vehicles with a permissible total weight of up to 3.5 tonnes inclusive. For this purpose, the electronic vignette concept has been introduced. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The vignette for 15 calendar days shall cost €14, 30 calendar days - €22. The price of the one-year vignette (one calendar year) is 75 euros. A calendar year means the period from Jan 1 to Dec 31 of the respective year as well as the last 15 calendar days of the previous year and the first 15 calendar days of the following year. This tariff will be effective from December 15, 2020. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Until 15 December 2020, drivers in this category of vehicles will be charged on the basis of their mileage covered. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The Transport Ministry says the new toll schemes will let the drivers of foreign vehicles registered outside the Eurasian Economic Union choose how they would prefer to pay the road toll in Belarus: based on the time, or the mileage. End </p> <p>   </p>

2020-05-06

Primepress