1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B DIRECTIVE 1999/62/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 17 June 1999
on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures
(OJ L 187, 20.7.1999, p. 42)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1 Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia,the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of
Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak
Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the EuropeanUnion is foundedL 236 33 23.9.2003
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DIRECTIVE 1999/62/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 17 June 1999
on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infra-
structures
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Articles 71(1) and 93 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3)
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of
the Treaty (4),
Whereas:
(1) The elimination of distortions of competition between transport
undertakings in the Member States calls for both the harmonisa-tion of levy systems and the establishment of fair mechanisms
for charging infrastructure costs to hauliers;
(2) These objectives can be achieved only in stages;
(3) A degree of harmonisation of levy systems has already been
achieved through the adoption of Council Directive 92/81/EECof 19 October 1992 on the harmonisation of the structures of
excise duties on mineral oils (
5) and Council Directive 92/82/
EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of the rates ofexcise duties on mineral oils (
6);
(4) By judgment of 5 July 1995 in Case C-21/94 European Parlia-ment v. Council (
7) the Court of Justice of the European
Communities annulled Council Directive 93/89/EEC of 25October 1993 on the application by Member States of taxes oncertain vehicles used for the carriage of goods by road and tollsand user charges for the use of certain infrastructures (
8), while
preserving the effects of that Directive until the Council had
adopted a new Directive; therefore, Directive 93/89/EEC isreplaced by this Directive;
(5) Under present circumstances the adjustment of national levysystems should be confined to commercial vehicles of morethan a certain gross laden weight;
(6) For this purpose minimum rates should be set for the vehicletaxes currently applied by the Member States or any whichmight succeed them;
(7) The use of road-friendly and less polluting vehicles should beencouraged through differentiation of taxes or charges, provided1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 59, 26.2.1997, p. 9.
(2) OJ C 206, 7.7.1997, p. 17.
(3) Opinion delivered on 3 June 1999 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(4) Opinion of the European Parliament of 17 July 1997 (OJ C 286, 22.9.1997,
p. 217), Council Common Position of 18 January 1999 (OJ C 58, 1.3.1999,
p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 7 May 1999 (not yet
published in the Offcial Journal).
(5) OJ L 316, 31.10.1992, p. 12. Directive as last amended by Directive 94/74/
EC (OJ L 365, 31.12.1994, p. 46).
(6) OJ L 316, 31.10.1992, p. 19. Directive as amended by Directive 94/74/EC.
[1995] ECR I-1827.
(7) OJ L 36, 9.2.1988, p. 33. Directive as last amended by Directive 96/1/EC
(OJ L 40, 17.2.1996, p. 1).
(8) OJ L 279, 12.11.1993, p. 32.
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that such differentiation does not interfere with the functioning
of the internal market;
(8) It is appropriate that certain Member States may be granted aperiod of derogation from the minima to facilitate adaptation tothe levels required by this Directive;
(9) Certain local domestic transport operations with little impact onthe Community transport market are at present subject toreduced rates of vehicle tax; in order to ensure smooth transition,Member States should be authorised to lay down temporaryderogations from minimum rates;
(10) Member States should be permitted to apply reduced rates orexemptions of vehicle taxes in the case of vehicles whose useis not liable to affect the Community transport market;
(11) In order to make allowance for certain special situations, aprocedure should be laid down whereby Member States may bepermitted to maintain further exemptions or reductions;
(12) Existing distortions of competition cannot be eliminated solelyby harmonising taxes or fuel excise duties; however, until tech-nically and economically more appropriate forms of levy are inplace, such distortions may be attenuated by the possibility ofretaining or introducing tolls and/or user charges for the use of
motorways; in addition Member States should be allowed to
levy charges for the use of bridges, tunnels and mountain passes;
(13) In view of the specific conditions on certain Alpine routes, itmay be appropriate for a Member State to disapply a user charge
system from a well defined section of its motorway network in
order to permit application of an infrastructure related charge;
(14) Tolls and user charges should not be discriminatory nor entailexcessive formalities or create obstacles at internal borders;
therefore, adequate measures should be taken to permit the
payment of tolls and user charges at any time and with differentmeans of payment;
(15) The rates of user charges should be based on the duration of the
use made of the infrastructure in question and be differentiated
in relation to the costs caused by the road vehicles;
(16) Reduced rates of user charges should be applied temporarily forvehicles registered in Greece to take account of difficulties due
to its geopolitical position;
(17) In order to ensure that user charges and tolls are applied homo-
geneously, certain rules for determining their manner of
application should be laid down, such as the characteristics of
the infrastructure to which they are applicable, the maximumlevels of certain rates and other general conditions that willhave to be complied with; weighted average tolls should berelated to the costs of construction, operating and developingthe infrastructure network concerned;
(18) Member States should be able to attribute to environmentalprotection and the balanced development of transport networksa percentage of the amount of the user charge or of the toll,provided that this amount is calculated in accordance with the
provisions of this Directive;
(19) The amounts in this Directive expressed in the national currency
units of Member States adopting the euro were fixed on 1
January 1999 when the value of the euro was determined in
accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 2866/98 of 31December 1998 on the conversion rates between the euro andthe currencies of the Member States adopting the euro (
1); it is
appropriate that Member States not adopting the euro shouldreview annually the amounts in this Directive in national curren-1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 359, 31.12.1998, p. 1.
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cies and adjust them where appropriate to take account of
changes in the exchange rates; annual adjustments in nationalcurrencies may not be compulsory if the change resulting from
the application of the new exchange rates is below a certain
percentage level;
(20) The principle of territoriality should be applied; two or moreMember States may cooperate for the purpose of introducing acommon system of user charges, subject to compliance withsome additional conditions;
(21) In accordance with the principle of proportionality, this Directive
limits itself to the minimum required for the attainment of the
objectives under the third paragraph of Article 5 of the Treaty;
(22) A strict timetable should be set for reviewing the provisions ofthis Directive and considering adjustments to them, if necessary,with the aim of developing a more territorial levy system,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
CHAPTER I
General provisions
Article 1
This Directive applies to vehicle taxes, tolls and user charges imposed
on vehicles as defined in Article 2.
This Directive shall not affect vehicles carrying out transport opera-
tions exclusively in the non-European territories of the Member States.
It shall also not affect vehicles registered in the Canary Islands, Ceuta
and Melilla, the Azores or Madeira and carrying out transport opera-tions exclusively in those territories or between those territories and,respectively, mainland Spain and mainland Portugal.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
(a) ‘motorway’ means a road specially designed and built for motor
traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it, and which:
(i) is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with sepa-
rate carriageways for the two directions of traffic, separatedfrom each other either by a dividing strip not intended fortraffic or, exceptionally, by other means;
(ii) does not cross at grade with any road, railway or tramway
track, or footpath;
(iii) is specifically designated as a motorway;
(b) ‘toll’ means payment of a specified amount for a vehicle travelling
the distance between two points on the infrastructures referred to inArticle 7(2); the amount shall be based on the distance travelled
and the type of the vehicle;
(c) ‘user charge’ means payment of a specified amount conferring the
right for a vehicle to use for a given period the infrastructuresreferred to in Article 7(2);
(d) ‘vehicle’ means a motor vehicle or articulated vehicle combination
intended exclusively for the carriage of goods by road and having amaximum permissible gross laden weight of not less than 12tonnes;1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 4
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(e) ‘EURO I vehicle’ means a vehicle having the characteristics set out
in line A of the table in Section 8.3.1.1 of Annex I to CouncilDirective 88/77/EEC of 3 December 1987 on the approximation
of the laws of the Member States relating to the measures to be
taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutantsfrom diesel engines for use in vehicles (
1);
(f) ‘EURO II vehicle’ means a vehicle having the characteristics set
out in line B of the table in section 8.3.1.1 of Armex I to Directive88/77/EEC.
CHAPTER II
Vehicle taxation
Article 3
1. The vehicle taxes referred to in Article are as follows:
—Belgium :
taxe de circulation sur les véhicules automobiles — verkeersbe-
lasting op de autovoertuigen,
—Czech Republic :
silni ční da ň,
—Denmark :
vaegtafgift of motorkeretrajer m.v.,
—Germany :
Kraftfahrzeugsteuer,
—Estonia :
raskeveokimaks,
—Greece :
Τέλη κυκλοφορίας
—Spain :
(a) impuesto sobre vehiculos de traccion mecanica;
(b) impuesto sobre actividades economicas (solely as regards the
amount of the levies charged for motor vehicles),
—France :
(a) taxe spéciale sur certains véhicules routiers;
(b) taxe différentielle sur les véhicules a moteur,
—Ireland :
vehicle excise duty,
—Italy :
(a) tassa automobilistica;
(b) addizionale del 5 % sulfa tassa automobilistica,
—Cyprus :
Τέλη Κυκλοφορίας Οχηµάτων ,
—Latvia :
transportl īdzek ļa ikgad ējānodeva,1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 36, 9.2.1988, p. 33. Directive as last amended by Directive 96/1/EC
(OJ L 40, 17.2.1996, p. 1).▼A1
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▼A1
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—Lithuania :
(a) Transporto priemoni ų savinink ų ar valdytoj ų naudotojo
mokestis,
(b) Mokestis už Lietuvoje įregistruotas krovinines transporto prie-
mones,
—Luxembourg :
taxe sur les véhicules automoteurs,
—Hungary :
gépjárm űadó,
—Malta :
liċenzja tat-triq — road licence fee,
—Netherlands :
motorrijtuigenbelasting,
—Austria :
Kraftfahrzeugsteuer,
—Poland :
podatek od środków transportowych,
—Portugal :
(a) imposto de camionagem;
(b) imposto de circulaçao,
—Slovenia :
letno povra čilo za uporabo javnih cest za motorna in priklopna
vozila,
—Slovakia :
cestná da ň,
—Finland :
varsinainen ajoneuvovero — egentlig fordonsskatt,
—Sweden :
fordonsskatt,
—United Kingdom :
(a) vehicle excise duty;
(b) motor vehicles licence.
2. Member States which replace any tax listed in paragraph l with
another tax of the same kind shall notify the Commission, which shallmake the necessary amendments.
Article 4
Procedures for levying and collecting the taxes referred to in Article 3
shall be determined by each Member State.
Article 5
As regards vehicles registered in the Member States, the taxes referred
to in Article 3 shall be charged solely by the Member State of registra-tion.1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 6
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▼A1
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▼A1
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▼A1
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Article 6
1. Whatever the structure of the taxes referred to in Article 3,
Member States shall set the rates so as to ensure that the tax rate foreach vehicle category or subcategory referred to in Annex I is not
lower than the minimum laid down in that Annex.
Until two years after entry into force of the Directive, Greece, Italy,
Portugal and Spain shall be authorised to apply rates that are lower
than, but not less than, 65 % of the minima laid down in Annex I.
2. Member States may apply reduced rates or exemptions for:
(a) vehicles used for national or civil defence purposes, by fire and
other emergency services and by the police, and vehicles used for
road maintenance;
(b) vehicles which travel only occasionally on the public roads of the
Member State of registration and are used by natural or legalpersons whose main occupation is not the carriage of goods,
provided that the transport operations carried out by these vehicles
do not cause distortions of competition, and subject to the Commis-sion's agreement.
3. (a) The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the
Commission, may authorise a Member State to maintain furtherexemptions from or reductions in taxes on vehicles on thegrounds of specific policies of a socio-economic nature or linkedto that State's infrastructure. Such exemptions or reductions may
apply only to vehicles registered in that Member State which
carry out transport operations exclusively inside a well-definedpart of its territory.
(b) Any Member State wishing to maintain such an exemption or
reduction shall inform the Commission thereof and shall also
forward to it all necessary information. The Commission shall
inform the other Member States of the proposed exemption orreduction within one month.
The Council shall be deemed to have authorised maintenance of
the proposed exemption or reduction if, within a period of twomonths from the date on which the other Member States were
informed in accordance with the first subparagraph, neither the
Commission nor any Member State has requested that the matterbe examined by the Council.
4. Without prejudice to the second subparagraph of paragraph l and
to paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article or to Article 6 of Council Direc-tive 92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of commonrules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member
States (
1), Member States may not grant any exemption from, or any
reduction in, the taxes referred to in Article 3 which would render thechargeable tax lower than the minimum referred to in paragraph l ofthis Article.
CHAPTER III
Tolls and user charges
Article 7
1. Member States may maintain or introduce tolls and/or user
charges under the conditions set out in paragraphs 2 to 10.
2. (a) Tolls and user charges shall be imposed only on users of motor-
ways or other mufti-lane roads with characteristics similar to
motorways, or users of bridges, tunnels and mountain passes.
However, in a Member State where no general network of
motorways or dual carriageways with similar characteristicsexists, tolls and user charges may be imposed in that State on1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 7
(1) OJ L 368, 17.12.1992, p. 38.
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users of the highest category of road from the technical point of
view.
(b) Following consultations with the Commission, and in accor-
dance with the procedure laid down in the Council Decision of21 March 1962 instituting a procedure for prior examination and
consultation in respect of certain laws, regulations and adminis-
trative provisions concerning transport proposed in MemberStates (
1),
(i) tolls and user charges may also be imposed on users of
other sections of the primary road network, particularly
— where there are safety reasons for doing so,
— in a Member State where no coherent network of motor-
ways or dual carriageways with similar characteristics
exists in the major part of the State, in that part of thecountry, but only on roads used for international andinterregional heavy goods transport, provided that thetraffic demand and population density do not economic-ally justify the construction of motorways or of dual
carriageway roads with similar characteristics;
(ii) special arrangements for border areas may be made by the
Member States concerned;
(iii) Austria may exempt from the Austrian user charge the
stretch of motorway between Kufstein and Brenner.
3. Tolls and user charges may not both be imposed at the same time
for the use of a single road section. However, Member States may also
impose tolls on networks where user charges are levied for the use of
bridges, tunnels, and mountain passes.
4. Tolls and user charges may not discriminate, directly or indir-
ectly, on the grounds of the nationality of the haulier or the origin ordestination of the vehicle.
5. Tolls and user charges shall be applied and collected and their
payment monitored in such a way as to cause as little hindrance aspossible to the free flow of traffic and avoid any mandatory controlsor checks at the Community's internal borders. To this end, MemberStates shall cooperate in establishing methods for enabling hauliers to
pay user charges 24 hours a day, at least at the major sales outlets,
using all common means of payment, inside and outside the MemberStates in which they are applied. Member States shall provide adequatefacilities at the points of payment for tolls and user charges so as tomaintain normal road-safety standards.
6. A Member State may provide that vehicles registered in that
Member State shall be subject to user charges for the use of the wholeroad network in its territory.
7. User charges, including administrative costs, for all vehicle cate-
gories shall be set by the Member State concerned at a level which is
not higher than the maximum rates laid down in Annex II.
On 1 July 2002 and every second year thereafter these maximum rates
shall be reviewed. When necessary, the Commission shall make propo-sals for appropriate adjustments and the European Parliament and theCouncil shall act on them, in accordance with the conditions laid
down in the Treaty.
Member States applying a user charge shall, until two years after entry
into force of this Directive, apply a 5O % reduction in the rates of usercharges for vehicles registered in Greece because of its geopoliticalposition. The Commission may decide to authorise an extension of
this reduction by these Member States from year to year.
8. User-charge rates shall be in proportion to the duration of the use
made of the infrastructure.1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 8
(1) OJ 23, 3.4.1962, p. 720/62. Decision as last amended by Decision 73/402/
EEC (OJ L 347, 17.12.1973, p. 48).
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A Member State may apply only annual rates for vehicles registered in
that State.
9. The weighted average tolls shall be related to the costs of
constructing, operating and developing the infrastructure networkconcerned.
10. Without prejudice to the weighted average tolls referred to in
paragraph 9, Member States may vary the rates at which tolls are
charged according to:
(a) vehicle emission classes, provided that no toll is more than 5O %
above the toll charged for equivalent vehicles meeting the strictest
emission standards;
(b) time of day, provided that no toll is more than 100 % above the toll
charged during the cheapest period of the day.
Any variation in tolls charged with respect to vehicle emission classes
or the time of day shall be proportionate to the objective pursued.
Article 8
1. Two or more Member States may cooperate in introducing a
common system for user charges applicable to their territories as awhole. In that case, those Member States shall ensure that the Commis-sion is closely involved therein and in the system's subsequentoperation and possible amendment.
2. A common system shall be subject to the following conditions in
addition to those in Article 7:
(a) the common user-charge rates shall be set by the participating
Member States at levels that are not higher than the maximum rates
referred to in Article 7(7);
(b) payment of the common user charge shall give access to the
network as defined by the participating Member States in accor-
dance with Article 7(2);
(c) other Member States may join the common system;
(d) a scale shall be worked out by the participating Member States
whereby each of them shall receive a fair share of the revenues
accruing from the user charge.
CHAPTER IV
Final provisions
Article 9
1. This Directive shall not prevent the application by Member States
of:
(a) specific taxes or charges:
— levied upon registration of the vehicle, or
— imposed on vehicles or loads of abnormal weights or dimen-
sions;
(b) parking fees and specific urban traffic charges;
(c) regulatory charges specifically designed to combat time and place-
related traffic congestion.
2. Neither shall this Directive prevent the Member States from attri-
buting to environmental protection and the balanced development oftransport networks a percentage of the amount of the user charge, orof the toll, provided that this amount is calculated in accordance withArticle 7(7) and (9).
Article 10
1. For the purpose of this Directive, the rates of exchange between
the euro and the national currencies of the Member States which havenot adopted the euro shall be those in force on the first working day of1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 9
▼B
October and published in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities ; they shall have effect from 1 January of the following calendar
year.
2. Member States which have not adopted the euro may maintain
the amounts in force at the time of the annual adjustment madepursuant to paragraph 1 if the conversion of the amounts expressed ineuro would result in a change of less than 5 % when expressed innational currencies.
Article 11
1. By the dates referred to in the second subparagraph of Article
7(7), the Commission shall present a report to the European Parliamentand the Council on the implementation of this Directive, taking account
of developments in technology and traffic congestion.
2. Member States shall forward the necessary information to the
Commission no later than six months before the dates referred to inparagraph 1 in order to enable the Commission to draw up the abovereport.
3. Member States introducing electronic toll and/or user-charging
systems shall cooperate with the aim of achieving an appropriate level
of interoperability.
Article 12
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and
administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by l
July 2000. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt such measures, they shall contain a refer-
ence to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at thetime of their official publication. The procedure for such a referenceshall be adopted by Member States.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of
the main provisions of domestic law which they adopt in the field
covered by this Directive. The Commission shall inform the otherMember States thereof.
Article 13
This Directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 14
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 10
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ANNEX I
MINIMUM RATES OF TAX TO BE APPLIED TO VEHICLES
Moteur vehicles
Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden
weight
(in tonnes)Minimum rate of tax
(in euro/year)
Not less than Less thanDriving axle(s) with air
suspension or recognised
equivalent (1)Other driving axle(s)
suspension systems
Two axles
12 13 0 31
13 14 31 86
14 15 86 121
15 18 121 274
Three axles
15 17 31 54
17 19 54 111
19 21 111 144
21 23 144 222
23 25 222 345
25 26 222 345
Four axles
23 25 144 146
25 27 146 228
27 29 228 362
29 31 362 537
31 32 362 537
(1) Suspension recognised as equivalent in accordance with the definition in Annexe II to Council Directive 96/53/
EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum
authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international
traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59).
VEHICLE COMBINATIONS (ARTICULATED VEHICLES AND ROAD TRAINS)
Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden
weight
(in tonnes)Minimum rate of tax
(in euro/year)
Not less than Less thanDriving axle(s) with air
suspension or recognised
equivalent (1)Other driving axle(s)
suspension systems
2 + 1 axles
12 14 0 0
14 16 0 0
16 18 0 1418 20 14 32
20 22 32 75
22 23 75 97
23 25 97 1751999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 11
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Number of axles and maximum permissible gross laden
weight
(in tonnes)Minimum rate of tax
(in euro/year)
Not less than Less thanDriving axle(s) with air
suspension or recognised
equivalent (1)Other driving axle(s)
suspension systems
25 28 175 307
2 + 2 axles
23 25 30 70
25 26 70 115
26 28 115 169
28 29 169 204
29 31 204 33531 33 335 465
33 36 465 706
36 38 465 706
2 + 3 axles
36 38 370 515
38 40 515 700
3 + 2 axles
36 38 327 454
38 40 454 628
40 44 628 929
3 + 3 axles
36 38 186 225
38 40 225 336
40 44 336 535
(1) Suspension recognised as equivalent in accordance with the definition in Annex II to Council Directive 96/53/
EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum
authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international
traffic (OJ L 235, 17.9.1996, p. 59).1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 12
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ANNEX II
MAXIMUM AMOUNTS IN EURO OF USER CHARGES, INCLUDING
ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 7(7)
Annual
maximum three
axlesminimum four axles
NON-EURO 960 1 550
EURO I 850 1 400EURO II and cleaner 750 1 250
Monthly and weekly
Maximum monthly and weekly rates are in proportion to the duration of the use
made of the infrastructure.
Daily
The daily user charge is equal for all vehicle categories and amounts to EUR 8.1999L0062 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 13