Customs to Collect Road Charges

Customs Agency will issue the permits for transportations on the territory of the state and will collect the road fees, which were up to now under the Road Infrastructure National Agency. The size of the international transports fees will be determined by the ministers of finance and of regional development, instead of the minister of transport, as by now. These are some of the amendments to the Law on Roads as accepted at second reading by MPs form the parliamentary Committee on Regional Development. The aim of the amendment, proposed by MP Emil Dimitrov from Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (CEDB) is to avoid the now existing duplication of functions of the two institutions and improve the control over transports on the territory of the country. The idea is that we disposed of the full information on what enters the country so that we were able to better control imports too, head of the Customs Agency Vanio Tanov explained.

The vignettes collection shall not be changed and the fees will enter, as by now, the roads agency’s cash-boxes,

Deputy Minister of Finance Vladislav Goranov informed. Former Minister for EGIONAL Development and Public Works Assen Gagausov, now MP from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), voiced a concern that fees collection by the Ministry of Finance and redistribution to the roads agency would hold up roads construction financing. According to his colleague from the Movement for Rights and Freedoms Remzy Osman, this decision would increase red tape. Roumen Petkov (BSP) also does not find the idea very good as one institution is to administer and bear the responsibility for the revenues from these fees (the customs), and another will spend it (the roads agency). Vladislav Goranov believes yet, that the system would not get financially corrupt, but through increasing the control at entering the county road fees collectability would grow instead, and hence – the money the agency would dispose of for spending on repair works and maintenance of the republican roads.

The National Agency is transformed into executive agency with the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works

upon proposal of Minister Rossen Plevfneliev. Thus from first level spending unit the structure becomes second level unit and all decisions of its management board will have to be approved by the infrastructure minister. The two-level management structure with management and supervisory boards shall be removed. The Roads Infrastructure Agency (RIA) shall be represented by the chair of its management board, which will have two other members named by the regional development ministry.

The MPs did not approve of the proposal of MP from nationalist Attack party Nikolay Pehlivanov for the Agency to be managed by 5-member management board including apart from the regional ministry representatives also two deputy ministers – of transport and of finance. Pehlivanov’s arguments were that thus there would be better coordination between the ministries at setting roads policy and the agency’s financing. But the majority in the parliament voted in favour of the proposal for the institution to be directly subordinate to the regional development minister who would also bear the whole responsibility for its activities. Setting the policy in the sector and concluding international agreements shall remain in the powers of the transport minister who controls the Transport Operational Program, where RIA is the major beneficiary. Securing contracts implementation will be a duty of the regional development minister. In the capacity of principal to the agency, Minister Rossien Plevneliev shall be entitled to request of its management to report on their work at any time. Yet, upon proposal of MP Ivan Ivanov from Democrats for Strong Bulgaria (DSB), the MPs put down in the law, that

by March 31 RIA will have to present to the regional minister annual reports on its activity.

The Management Board will make the decisions on planning and constructing road lots, procedures held and contracts concluded with construction subcontractors, and will be entitled to propose to the minister changes to the lost of republican roads and procedures for giving some of them under concessions. The rules for the Board’s activity shall be determined by the regional development minister.