Cargo, Estonia, Taxation, Transport

The law was passed in the 101-chamber by 52 votes to 34.

The rate of the road user fee depends on the gross vehicle weight of the truck and the trailer, the EURO emission class and the number of axes of the vehicle. The daily rate of the fee will be 9–12 euros and the yearly rate 500–1,300 euros. It will be possible to pay the fee per week, per month and per quarter.

The fee will apply to trucks and trailers with a gross vehicle weight upwards of 3,500 kilograms.

An analysis commissioned by the Estonian Government Office in 2015 revealed that introducing a time based road user fee would be the best of the alternatives examined by the survey, as it entails lower investment and maintenance costs and will be similar to the system used in Latvia and Lithuania.

Collection of the road user fee will be managed by the Road Administration and the Tax and Customs Board.

Exempted from the road user fee are vehicles of the defense forces, the Kaitseliit (Defense League) volunteer corps, the armed forces of a foreign country, the Police and Border Guard Board, vehicles of rescue services and old time vehicles as defined in the Traffic Act.

The explanatory remarks accompanying the bill say that Estonia and Finland are the only EU member states not to have introduced a road user fee for trucks.

The adoption of the law also transposes into Estonian law the relevant EU directive on the taxation of heavy goods vehicles.