The new system for paying road tolls in Bulgaria – BGTOLL

From March 1, 2020, a new electronic distance tolling system – Toll Sistem – came into operation in Bulgaria. The new road toll payment system in Bulgaria is introduced on a total of 3,115 km of the Bulgarian road network, including 803 km of highway (see the list of toll roads on the official website of the National Toll Administration – www.bgtoll.bg ). The system is similar to the one introduced in Hungary, i.e. you have the option to make an advance payment via a transit ticket or an electronic payment device.

Tariffs for transit

The following toll rates (Bulgarian leva BGN/km) have been agreed for the use of toll roads:

In cases where it is not possible to determine the actual distance traveled by the vehicle, for reasons other than the technical failure of the electronic toll collection system, the fare shall be paid at the following maximum rate:

Payment options BGTOLL – The new system for paying road tolls in Bulgaria

• Through a transit ticket

The once-paid transit ticket is valid for 24 hours and gives the right to travel on the selected road sections.

When issuing the ticket, the following must be mentioned: the departure point, the destination point and a maximum of 4 intermediate points, the vehicle registration number, the country of registration, the vehicle category, the emission class, the number of axles and the dimensions of the vehicle.

Tickets can be purchased as follows:

• With any bank card at any terminal for self-payment (not cash), the terminals being located in the immediate vicinity of the border crossing points
• At the offices of the Regional Road Administrations (A.I.R.) – payment by credit card or cash;
• Online by accessing the website bgtoll.bg or the mobile application.

It is very important to note that the ticket can be purchased up to 7 days in advance by registered users and 24 hours in advance by non-registered users. Registration is done online and is a very simple process that only requires validating your email address.

• Through a GNSS device

Toll payment can be made through a device mounted on the vehicle as follows:

• The installed device will generate the necessary data for the correct calculation of the road tax
• The data is sent and then processed by the FNSCTR (National Providers of Services for the Collection of Road Taxes) or by the EETS (European Electronic Toll Service) providers and are transmitted to the Bulgarian authorities.
• Finally, the service providers then guarantee the payment of the tax owed by the road user.

If you opt for this option, it is mandatory to choose a supplier that can offer you this solution. Luckily CargoTrack can provide and install this special equipment for you so you can forget about paying tolls!

Penalties

In case of non-compliance with the payment obligations of the Bulgarian road networks, the possible penalties you can receive are between BGN 1800 and BGN 3000 (€920 – €1534). The control regarding the payment of the road tax is carried out by almost 300 stationary cameras and 105 vehicles, which in day/night mode check the vehicles in the system by reading the registration number.

Cases in which you can easily receive sanctions are:

1. Driving the vehicle on a toll road for which the obligations for determining the distance traveled have not been fulfilled or the payment related to the traveled section has not been made;
2. Partial payment of road tax as a result of an incorrect declaration of data;
3. Illegibility or covering of the registration number;
4. Insufficient balance for the payment of tolls;

We must emphasize that in case of driving without paying the road tax, the vehicle will be temporarily immobilized for up to one month, during which the owner is obliged to pay the road tax and the related fine.

General information

The Bulgaria vignette payment system is similar to the one introduced in Hungary, i.e. you have the option to make an advance payment via a transit ticket or an electronic payment device.

The new road tax payment system in Bulgaria applies to vehicles whose maximum permissible gross weight exceeds 3.5 tonnes and varies according to the characteristics of the vehicles:

• Vehicle category;
• Number of axes;
• Rainfall rate;
• Traveled distance;

The road tax can also vary depending on the category of roads as follows: