The Ministry of Transport and Communications forgets agricultural incentives as it prepares to tax more roads

The Government supports the Ministry of Transport and Communications' proposal to extend the list of roads taxed for passenger and freight vehicles to 21 road sections, but proposes to provide for toll concessions for vehicles used in agriculture.

This decision was adopted by the Government at its meeting this week.

„There are more than 2 million cars in Lithuania and in recent years the number of cars has increased by about 3–4 per cent, and the number of trucks by about 4–6 per cent. Cargo and passenger transport by road, which declined during the COVID pandemic, has increased significantly in recent years," the Ministry of Transport and Communications argued.

The ministry said that by expanding the network of national roads taxed for freight transport, the funds collected from this tax will be allocated to the state budget to increase the funding of the Road Maintenance and Development Programme (RDPP).

The draft Decree provides for the increase of the network of such taxed roads (about 1.7 thousand km) to a significantly smaller extent (1.15 thousand km) than foreseen in the previous version of the draft Decree, which includes 21 road sections.

The Ministry forecasts that the entry into force of this decree would result in an additional payment of around €3.5 million to the state budget in road user charges by operators of passenger vehicles (M2, M3) and goods vehicles (N1, N2 and N3) in the first six months of 2025.

In 2023, it will amount to €60.1 million, in 2024 to €67.8 million.

To control the payment of the road user charge, a traffic control system would be installed (cameras with the necessary infrastructure) at a cost of around €3.8 million (excluding VAT).

If the draft Decree is adopted, the total length of the national road network subject to the road user charge would be 2.85 thousand km as of 1 July this year.