Consultation on the reduction of compensation for the cantons and FL for the enforcement of the heavy vehicle charge
On August 14, 2024, the Federal Council decided to open the consultation on reducing the compensation of the cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein for the enforcement of the heavy vehicle charge. The HVF lll will relieve the cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein of various HVF enforcement tasks from 2026. As a result, their compensation by the federal government will also be reduced in future. The consultation on the amendment of the corresponding ordinance will last until November 15, 2024.
The current HVC collection system will reach the end of its technical life in 2024 and must be replaced. On March 17, 2023, Parliament adopted the revised Heavy Vehicle Fees Act (SVAG), and on March 27, 2024, the Federal Council adopted the total revision of the Heavy Vehicle Fees Ordinance (SVAV). This came into force on 1 May 2024 and will form the basis for automating and digitizing the HVF collection system and harmonizing it with foreign toll systems. In addition, the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) will be relieved of the task of developing and issuing its own collection device.
The cantonal road traffic offices and the Office for Road Traffic of the Principality of Liechtenstein are responsible for various tasks relating to the enforcement of the HVC, for which they are remunerated by the Confederation. Some tasks of the cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein, such as the classification of vehicles under registration law, will remain in place even with the HVF lll and are essential for the smooth collection of the HVF by the BAZG. Other tasks of the cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein will no longer apply, such as checking whether a valid emotach test report from an authorized assembly centre is available when the vehicle is placed on the market or the daily transmission of data to the BAZG. As already announced in the Federal Council’s dispatch of August 31, 2022 on the amendment of the SVAG, the reduced enforcement effort of the cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein can be taken into account with a reduction in compensation.
The BAZG commissioned the Association of Road Traffic Offices (asa) to draw up a cost calculation for the remaining tasks. This was examined and approved by the BAZG. In future, the annual compensation of all road traffic offices can be reduced by an estimated half from a total of around CHF 9 million per year to CHF 4.2 million per year. The annual saving of around CHF 4.8 million will lead in full to a corresponding increase in the earmarked revenue from the heavy vehicle charge (net revenue).
In order for the compensation of the cantons and the Principality of Liechtenstein to be reduced, the FDF Ordinance on the Compensation of Cantonal Authorities for the Enforcement of the Heavy Vehicle Fee must be amended accordingly. The consultation on the amendment of the FDF ordinance will last until November 15, 2024, and the amended ordinance is due to enter into force on January 1, 2026.
Source: Federal Office for Customs and Border Security BAZG
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