On Friday 25 August, the European Commission concluded that the Polish company Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. (AWSA) was overcompensated for a change in Polish law on toll motorways and therefore ordered the company to pay back 895 million zloty, or around €210 million, to Poland.
In 2005, Poland revised a law on toll motorways to bring in an exemption for heavy goods vehicles with a valid vignette, thereby ending the double taxation of trucks on the territory. The measure allowed the Polish state to comply with the directive (1999/62) on the taxation of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructure. At the time, Poland decided to offer motorway operators compensation for the revenue lost due to the legislative change.
In August 2012, the Polish authorities notified the Commission that the compensation paid to AWSA between 1 September 2005 and 30 June 2011 was excessive, as the wrong method was used to calculate the company’s losses.
Following the in-depth investigation opened on 25 June 2014, the Commission concluded that the allocation of financial compensation to AWSA was justified. However, it confirmed that the calculation method used to define the amount was incorrect and that this had led to excessive compensation being awarded. It therefore considers that the difference between the compensation actually paid and estimates based on the actual figures corresponded to an undue economic advantage in favour of AWSA, contrary to the European rules. It has therefore ordered the company to pay back the sum of 895 million zloty, or around €210 million, plus interest, to the Polish state. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)