Bulgaria’s anti-trust regulator has dismissed a complaint submitted by a local company against procedural rules of a public tender for the introduction of a road toll collection system in the country.

The Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) has established that the complaint filed by Marhengineering EOOD company was unfounded, according to the text of the decision posted on the CPC website on Friday.

Bulgaria’s Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) called a public tender in early April for the introduction of an electronic tolling system that would replace the vignette stickers attached to the windshields of motor vehicles at present.

Vehicles with gross weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes will pay toll taxes pegged to the distance they travel on national roads, while vehicles with total weight below 3.5 tonnes will buy electronic vignettes for fixed periods of time from the date of purchase, according to the requirements of the public tender.

If Marhengineering EOOD appeals the CPC decision at the Supreme Administrative Court, the tender procedure will be delayed by a month or two.  

RIA Board Chairman Lazar Lazarov has said that they plan to introduce electronic vignettes from the beginning of next year. He has warned that a series of complaints is expected to follow the announcement of the tender, as “the introduction of a tolling system and electronic vignettes will affect economic interests of large carriers - both Bulgarian and European ones, as well as non-European ones”.

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