02.03.2023

HOW TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK FROM UNREASONABLY PAID VIGNETTE FEES?

On the website of the National Toll Administration, www.bgtoll.bg, the application for the refund of unreasonably paid tolls has been published, which drivers who have paid more than three violations per year must submit in order to get their money back, the Road Infrastructure Agency reported.

According to the amendments to the Road Act, drivers will not be penalized for driving without an e-vignette more than three times a year. This means that if within one calendar year a vehicle has been registered three times to use the paid road network without a purchased vignette, its subsequent movement without a paid fee will not be considered an administrative violation and will not be penalized. The period provided for in the Roads Act, in which the sums must be reimbursed, is five working days.

The estimates made so far by the National Toll Administration show that about BGN 5 million will be needed to reimburse drivers for the unduly paid sums.

Another change in the Road Law is related to the correction of a wrong vignette. According to the amendments, when an error is made when issuing an electronic vignette when declaring no more than three symbols and/or a symbol is missing from the registration number of the road vehicle, including the country in which it is registered or its category, a correction is allowed by the relevant officials. In order for the correction to be made, it is necessary that the vignette is still valid and an application to change a technical error made must be submitted in accordance with Art. 10a, para. 3b of the Law on Roads by the owner or user.

When it is established that there is a vehicle in Bulgaria with a registration number identical to the one originally declared in the vignette, the applicant must present evidence of the vignette fee paid by him. The application for changing a technical error can be downloaded from the website www.bgtoll.bg.

For corrections made after February 10, 2023, the change in the data of the electronic vignette takes effect from the moment of its issuance. Its validity period is until the expiration of the period of the originally issued one. According to the adopted legislative changes, after a correction made after February 10, in the case of a wrong vignette, the owner, the registered user and the driver of the road vehicle are not penalized for violations registered during the validity period of the initially issued vignette. Also, no administrative-criminal proceedings are instituted, and those instituted are terminated. If the request is granted and the correction is made, the compensatory fee paid is refundable. In order to be reimbursed, the owner or user must submit an application for reimbursement of unreasonably paid fees. The period provided for in the Road Law Amendment Act, in which the sums must be reimbursed, is five working days.

In the case of a wrong vignette, fines and property sanctions imposed by criminal decrees or electronic receipts, as well as compensatory fees, when a correction is refused, are not refunded.

In early February, the National Assembly approved a general bill for changes to the Roads Act, which provides for a maximum of three penalties for traveling without an electronic vignette within a calendar year. The provisions providing for the imposition of a limit on fines come into effect retroactively from January 1, 2019. According to the current provisions of the Road Traffic Act, the fine for driving without a vignette is BGN 300. The adoption of the amendments came after a protest by residents of the village of Prolesha, who complained about accumulated fines for unpaid vignettes.