Drivers Will Be Required to Pay Road Fees; Reports in the Media Are False—Only Applicable to Vehicles Weighing 12 Tons or More

Drivers will be required to pay road fees; reports in the media are false—this only applies to vehicles weighing 12 tons or more. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure is proposing an amendment to the Republic of Armenia's Law on Automobile Roads, aimed at creating an electronic system for collecting road fees. This information is derived from the e-draft information system.

The law defines the term “road fee,” which is a mandatory payment to the state budget of the Republic of Armenia made in the manner and amount specified by the law. This payment is necessary to generate funds for the development of Armenia's network of automobile roads, as well as for the construction, renovation, and maintenance of state-owned automobile roads for public use.

According to the proposal, the use of state-owned automobile roads for public use is free of charge, with the exception of vehicles with a total permissible mass of 12 tons or more and in cases specified by the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law of the Republic of Armenia, involving roads that are designed, constructed, renovated, or maintained under PPP contracts, as well as other cases specified by law.

Roads that are designed, constructed, renovated, or maintained under the PPP program are alternative routes. Users of Armenian automobile roads registered (accounted) in the territory of Armenia as well as unregistered (unaccounted) vehicles with a total permissible mass of 12 tons or more are also subject to the road fee.

The draft proposes to set the rate for the road fee on state-owned (interstate and national significance) automobile roads at up to 50 Armenian drams per kilometer traveled. The Armenian government sets the rate for the road fee each year. In several cases, exemptions from the said fee are envisioned.

Specifically, unregistered (unaccounted) heavy vehicles will be exempt from the road fee when used on Armenian automobile roads for official purposes by foreign diplomatic missions and consulates registered in Armenia, as well as when transporting humanitarian and technical aid and cargo for charitable projects. Additionally, transports carried out by road fee payers for cargoes to and from Russian military bases located in Armenia are also exempt from these fees.

If the project is adopted, it will come into effect on July 1, 2021.