Source: https://gitd.gov.pl/en/viatoll/faq/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 18:10:23+00:00

Document:
How does the viaTOLL system work?
The basic principle of the system is the automatic calculation of tolls, through appropriate devices (so-called gantries) installed in the road lane of specific sections of national roads. The control stations establish communication with the viaBOX on-board unit, which every vehicle whose transit on the national road is covered by the obligation to pay the electronic fee should be equipped with. Every time a vehicle (equipped with a viaBOX) passes under a gantry, a toll for a given section of a toll road is charged. The process of calculating the fee is fully automatic.
In the case of vehicles with a metalized windscreen that interferes with proper communication, it is possible to obtain from the operator of the viaTOLL system an on-board device with an external antenna, so-called viaBOX 2. This fact together with the relevant manufacturer's certificate should be submitted during the registration of the vehicle in the viaTOLL system.
Who is charged with the electronic payment?
In accordance with the Act on Public Roads, "entities using public roads are obliged to pay electronic tolls for motor vehicles journeys domestic roads, within the meaning of art. 2 point 33 of the Act of 20 June 1997 - Road Traffic Law, which is also considered a set of vehicles consisting of a motor vehicle and a trailer or semi-trailer with a maximum permissible weight of over 3.5 tonnes, including buses regardless of their permissible total weight ".
In connection with the above, this obligation was imposed on owners/holder of vehicles or sets of vehicles that gross vehicle mass, (hereinafter GVM) (value in item F2 of the vehicle registration certificate, or the sum of these values) exceeds 3.5 tonnes and buses that move on paid sections of national roads. In the light of the Act of 20 June 1997 - Road Traffic Law (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 1137, as amended), an agricultural tractor is not a motor vehicle, but the bus is a motor vehicle designed to transport more than 9 people including the driver.
In addition, it should be clarified that the legislator, stipulating in art. 13ha paragraph 3 of the Act on Public Roads, the categories of vehicles for the purpose of determining the rate of electronic payment, used the gross vehicle mass of vehicles, not their own, actual or factual mass. When determining the gross vehicle mass of the set of vehicles, the gross vehicle mass of the motor vehicle and the trailer or semi-trailer (as marked in item F.2 of the registration certificate) is summed up.
Where does the National Electronic Toll Collection System run?
The list of toll sections of national roads is included in the regulation of the Council of Ministers of 22 March 2011 on national roads or their sections where electronic toll is charged and the electronic toll rates (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2013, item. 1263, as amended). The above document is available in the Internet System of Legal Acts at http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/index.jsp.
In addition, the current list of sections of national roads covered by the National Electronic Toll Collection System can be found on the viaTOLL system website at http://www.viatoll.pl.
Who is exempt from paying the electronic toll?
national road administrators that maintain these roads.
According to art. 4 point 27 of the Act on Public Roads emergency services include: fire protection units within the meaning of the Act of 24 August 1991 on fire protection (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2009 No. 178, item 1380, as amended) and rescue teams within the meaning of the Act of 8 September 2006 on State Emergency Medical Services (Journal of Laws of 2013, item 757, as amended). In accordance with art. 15 of the Fire Protection Act in fire protection units we include: the organizational units of the State Fire Service, organizational units of Military Fire Protection, company fire brigades, company rescue services, communal professional fire brigades, district (city) professional fire brigades, field rescue services, volunteer fire brigades, volunteer fire brigade unions, other rescue units established with the consent of the minister in charge of internal affairs. In accordance with art. 3 point 10 in conjunction from art. 32 para. 1 point 2 of the Act of 8 September 2006 on State Emergency Medical Services, medical emergency teams are: medical emergency teams, including air rescue teams for whom benefits have been concluded for the provision of healthcare services. The above list exhausts all categories of vehicles exempted from the obligation to pay an electronic payment.
Who collects the electronic payment?
Electronic fees are collected by the Chief Inspector of Road Transport and transferred to the account of the National Road Fund. General Inspectorate of Road Transport administrates the system from 3rd Novemver 2018.
What if I violate the obligation to pay the electronic fee?
- PLN 1500 - in other cases.
In accordance with art. 13k par. 4 of the Public Roads Act, penalty for violation of the obligation to pay electronic fees is imposed on the owner of the motor vehicle referred to in art. 13 para. 1 point 3, and if the vehicle is a combination of vehicles, it is the owner of the vehicle connected to the trailer or semi-trailer. If the owner is not the owner of the vehicle, the penalties are imposed on the entity in whose possession this vehicle was transferred.
The infringement in question arises in the situation of a complete failure to pay the electronic payment by the obligated entity, e.g.
- for other reasons, for example, using a stolen device that has been blocked by the system operator.
- Note - according to the content of art. 13k (8) of the Public Roads Act, a fine is not imposed if the violation of the obligation to pay the electronic fee referred to in art. 13 para. 1 point 3, is the result of the driver's violation of the obligation to bring the correct vehicle data to the device.
- category 3 - buses.
- PLN 750 in other cases.
Penalty for violation of the obligation to enter the correct data about the vehicle category into the device in accordance with the content of art. 13k par. 5 of the Public Roads Act is imposed on the driver of the vehicle.
- not switching a device into a toll mode for a vehicle with a DMC of over 12 tons (driving a trailer or semi-trailer) by the driver of a vehicle with a DMC of over 3.5 tonnes, but less than 12 tons, moving in a set, whose DMC exceeds 12 tons.
According to art. 13i para. 4b of the Public Roads Act, the owner of the motor vehicle and its owner are obliged to use a device referred to in paragraph. 3, according to its intended use. It should be pointed out that the basic purpose of the viaBOX device is to pay the toll for the vehicle to which it was assigned by the toll collecting agent.
Penalty for violation of the obligation to use the device in accordance with the intended use in accordance with the content of art. 13k par. 4 of the Public roads act is imposed on the owner of the motor vehicle referred to in art. 13 para. 1 point 3, and if the vehicle is a combination of vehicles, it is the owner of the vehicle connected to the trailer or semi-trailer. If the owner is not the owner of the vehicle, the penalties are imposed on the entity in whose possession this vehicle was transferred.
When analysing the provisions of the Public Roads Act and the functioning of the electronic toll collection system, it should be pointed out that the use of the device in a vehicle for which it was not assigned or used for other purposes than paying the fee is to be considered a violation of the obligation to use the device in accordance with its intended purpose. The described cases do not result directly from the Public Roads Act, but from general conditions to the contract concluded between the user and the fee-collecting party. In addition, it should be emphasized that the Act provides for the sanctioning of only those infringements, which resulted in the payment of an incomplete fee.
- during a mobile inspection consisting in checking the correctness of electronic payment made directly by the controlling inspector of the Road Transport Inspection.
If any irregularities are detected, this information along with the automatically generated photo of the vehicle is sent to the control centre. The employees of the control centre verify the above information. If the violation of the obligation to pay fees is confirmed, on the basis of a registration record and data from the Central Register of Vehicles and Drivers, it is determined who is the owner of the vehicle from which the transit involves the violation of the obligation to pay the electronic payment.
In the case of a violation of the obligation to enter the correct vehicle category data into the device, a “call of the owner / vehicle holder to indicate the driver” is directed to a fixed owner or vehicle holder, to determine who was in charge when the violation was noted. This is necessary for the correct determination of the party to the proceedings.
We would like to remind you that in accordance with art. 78 paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Road Traffic Law Act, the owner or the holder of the vehicle is obliged to indicate who was driving a given vehicle at the moment of the violation. The statement sent by the Chief Inspectorate of Road Transport should be filled according to the instructions found in the “Instructions and sample documents” booklet, and sent within 14 days from the date of receipt to the Chief Inspectorate of Road Transport address, or submitted directly to the Inspectorate. However, in accordance with art. 96 paragraph 3 of the Code of Offenses, refusal to indicate the person whose owner or holder of the vehicle gave the vehicle to drive or use within a certain time is an offense for which a fine of up to 5,000 PLN may be imposed. This means that in the case of refusal to indicate the driver, or the person whom has vehicle has been given to use, the authority conducting the proceedings will apply to the court for punishment of the person who refused to indicate the driver.
In the case of violations for which the owner/holder of the vehicle is responsible, the authority determines the party to the proceedings based on data from the Central Register of Vehicles and Drivers.
Bearing in mind the above, the Chief Inspector of Road Transport reminds that in accordance with art. 78 paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Law, the owner of a registered vehicle is obliged to notify the head of a county in the period not exceeding 30 days about purchasing or selling a vehicle. Failure to comply with this obligation is an offense under art. 97 of the Act of 20 May 1971. Code of Offenses (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2013, item 482, as amended) and is subject to a fine of up to PLN 3000 or a penalty of reprimand.
After establishing the entity responsible for the infringement, an administrative procedure is initiated in the course of which every violation must be clarified. Subsequently, in case of confirmation of non-payment of the electronic payment, an administrative decision is issued imposing a fine or, in the event of incorrect recording of the violation, a decision discontinuing the proceedings.
Supervising and sanctioning the failure to fulfil obligations related to the payment of electronic toll for transit on national roads is also carried out as part of a mobile inspection by inspectors of the Road Transport Inspectorate. Their task is to stop the offending vehicle, and then to draw up a record of the inspection and to decide whether to initiate administrative proceedings to enforce the administrative penalty.
If it is determined that a foreign entity with a registered office or place of residence in a country which the Republic of Poland is not bound by a contract or agreement on cooperation in the mutual recovery of receivables or the possibility of debt recovery is not directly implied by international regulations and regulations of that country, in accordance with art. 13m par. 2 of the Act on Public Roads, the person conducting the inspection collects a deposit in the amount corresponding to the expected penalty. If the controlled foreign entity does not make a deposit, the inspector conducting the inspection directs or removes the vehicle, at the expense of the obliged entity, to the nearest guarded car park.
When analysing the indicated provision of the Act, it is worth stressing that the recognition as a foreign entity is decided by the place of residence or registered office of the obliged entity. Therefore, Polish citizens living outside the country will be treated as foreign entities. This provision will not apply to foreigners who reside in the territory of the Republic of Poland.
What if a penalty is imposed on me?
The administrative decision is the end of each case. When the Chief Road Transport Inspector decides that the proceedings are devoid of purpose, the case will be discontinued. Otherwise, a fine is imposed in an amount depending on the type of violation found.
The decision is for the party to request a reconsideration of the matter to the Chief Road Transport Inspector, within 14 days from the date of delivery of the decision.
In addition, after receiving a decision imposing a penalty, the penalized person may submit an application to the General Director of National Roads and Motorways for redemption in whole or in part, spreading the instalments or postponing the payment date of all or part of the amount, due to the administrative penalty.

References: art. 2
 art. 13
 art. 4
 art. 15
 art. 3
 art. 32
 art. 13
 art. 13
 art. 13
 art. 13
 art. 13
 art. 13
 art. 13
 art. 13
 art. 78
 art. 96
 art. 78
 art. 97
 art. 13