Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) are expected to reach a political agreement on Friday 4 November on the draft revision of the ‘Eurovignette’ Directive, which deals with the taxation of heavy goods vehicles, ahead of the Ecofin Council on Tuesday 8 November.
While the proposal on road charges has been adopted (see EUROPE 12893/15), the Czech Presidency of the EU Council has resumed discussions between Member States on the proposal for heavy vehicle taxation in the Working Party on Tax Questions.
According to the European Commission, lowering the minimum tax rates for heavy goods vehicles would have a minimal impact on the relocation incentives of road haulage companies and should not negatively affect the tax bases of Member States.
The Commission proposed to give Member States more room for manoeuvre to reduce taxes on heavy goods vehicles, to achieve a gradual reduction in minimum tax rates. As this idea was not retained, the Czech Presidency preferred the possibility of lowering the minimum rates to zero as soon as the Directive enters into force, in order to allow Member States to keep their existing heavy vehicle tax rates. This proposal was welcomed by most Member States.
However, some of them expressed concerns about the start of the application of the Directive and its alignment with the other ‘Eurovignette’ rules. The Presidency then proposed a first postponement of the entry into force, to 25 March 2025, and to add a revision clause, but this did not convince all Member States. In its second proposal, the Presidency proposes to postpone the entry into force until 1 January 2026.
To consult the draft revision of the ‘Eurovignette’ Directive: https://aeur.eu/f/3wj (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)