The Eurovignet is gone
Since the toll took effect, transport companies no longer need to buy the Eurovignet to use Dutch roads. If your finance team is still budgeting for it or setting reminders to renew it, this is the moment to strike it from the books for good.
Your vehicle tax bill has already changed
Alongside the toll, the Dutch government adjusted motor vehicle tax, and the direction depends on your fleet’s weight class. Trucks under 12 tonnes now pay no motor vehicle tax at all. Trucks above 12 tonnes still pay, but at the European minimum rate, a real reduction compared to what operators paid before July. Combined with the toll itself, this has reshuffled the total cost picture per vehicle, not just the new toll line on your invoice.
How to reduce the effect for your business? Please contact team Trasegro.
Your toll provider choice still matters, even now
Every truck on the network needs a contract with a toll service provider, and if yours is not settled yet, it is not too late to get this right. There are two routes. Nedlinq is the government appointed main provider, obligated to accept any customer who applies, but it only covers driving within the Netherlands. Commercial EETS providers are the alternative, bringing their own onboard units that also work across several European countries, though once approved for the Dutch network they can choose their own customers.
Fleets running purely domestic routes may find Nedlinq perfectly sufficient. International operators are often better served by a provider whose coverage actually matches their lanes, and switching providers now, rather than living with a poor fit for years, is worth the paperwork.
How the system tracks your kilometres
Every participating truck needs a GPS onboard unit. It registers where and how far the vehicle drives on the toll network and sends that data via satellite to your provider, who then issues the invoice. Worth noting: toll gantries along Dutch roads are not used to read this data or generate bills. The whole mechanism runs through the onboard unit itself, the same approach already used in several neighbouring countries.
Exemptions exist, but enforcement is already active
Not every vehicle falls under the toll, and a handful of exemptions apply depending on vehicle type and use. What is not optional is compliance now that the scheme is live. European member states share registration data with one another, so unpaid tolls do not simply disappear at the border. Non-payment can lead to a fine, and in persistent cases, the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport has the authority to detain the vehicle until matters are settled.
Where does the money actually go
Here is a detail many operators still miss. The net proceeds of the toll are managed by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and they are earmarked for innovation and sustainability projects in the transport sector, with a particular focus on electric and hydrogen vehicles. This link between what the sector pays and what gets reinvested in it is the direct result of lobbying by organisations including TLN, who continue to have a say in how these funds are spent.
It is important to understand that this is not an automatic rebate landing in every operator’s account. The scheme runs through subsidy applications, so businesses that want to benefit from it need to actively apply rather than wait for money to arrive.
How to reduce the effect for your business? Please contact team Trasegro.
Calculating your real cost increase
Research from Panteia already confirms that the toll has raised costs, but by how much varies enormously depending on your fleet, your routes, and your client base. Getting a reliable number for your own operation, now that a few months of real data exist, means three things: knowing your total costs, establishing how many of your kilometres actually fall on the toll network, and calculating how those toll costs should be allocated across your business.
TLN offers tools built specifically for this. A cost price calculator helps establish your baseline costs, and a route planning tool helps pin down exactly how many toll kilometres your operations generate. From there, allocating and forecasting the toll’s true impact on your margins becomes a matter of the right model rather than guesswork.
Catching up is still worth it
With the toll several weeks old, some fleets have their provider, their tax situation, and their cost model sorted. Others are still running on assumptions rather than actual numbers. The good news is that none of this is too late to fix. Reviewing your provider contract, checking whether your vehicles qualify for a lower tax bracket, and finally running the real cost calculation can still meaningfully change what the rest of this year looks like on your books.
Trasegro: Anything except standard, logistics solutions for complex requirements
With a strong focus on personal service and professionalism, Trasegro supports clients in navigating complex logistics challenges with flexible, reliable solutions.
