On October 28, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment in case C-321/19 concerning Directive 1999/62, which imposes an obligation to establish tolls on the trans-European road network. Infrastructure costs are taken into account when setting tolls – the costs of maintaining and developing the infrastructure network, as well as construction and operating costs. The CJEU judgment states that traffic police costs cannot be included in the calculation of the aforementioned tolls, which were collected in Germany in violation of EU law. Responsibility for police actions rests with the state, acting in the exercise of public authority, and not as the operator of the road infrastructure. These costs cannot be considered operating costs. Therefore, transport companies that have paid the fees may seek reimbursement. When seeking reimbursement, entitled entities may invoke the judgment in question before national courts if the state has transposed the legislation incorrectly or within an inappropriate timeframe. Action should be taken as soon as possible due to the limitation period. It follows from the judgment that courts should also apply the provision to those legal relationships that arose before the issuance of the judgment in question, if the conditions for initiating proceedings in a case related to the application of such a norm are met.
Legal basis:
- judgment of the CJEU of 28 October 2020 in case reference C-321/19,
- Article 7(9) of Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures,
- Directive 2006/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006.
