CJEU judgment C‑61/23 on Road Toll Penalties

On 21 November 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a important decision in case C‑61/23 (Ekostroy EOOD vs. Agency Patna) concerning flat-rate fines for failing to pre-pay road tolls under Bulgaria’s toll-collection system. Although the case involves Bulgarian law, the CJEU’s interpretation applies across the EU, including to Poland’s e-TOLL system—currently the subject of hundreds of administrative proceedings. CJEU judgment C‑61/23

🔍 Key Legal Finding: The Principle of Proportionality

The CJEU ruled that Article 9a of Directive 1999/62/EC (as amended by Directive 2011/76/EU) requires penalties that are “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”. It clarified that „Article 9a of Directive 1999/62/EC (…) must be interpreted as meaning that the requirement of proportionality to which it refers precludes a system of penalties that provides for the imposition of a flat-rate fine or financial penalty for all offences, whatever their nature and gravity, under the rules on the obligation to make prior payment of the toll for use of a road infrastructure, including where that system provides for the possibility of being exempted from administrative criminal liability by paying a flat-rate ‘redress charge’.„

Accordingly, the Court held that the fixed-amount monetary penalties provided for under Bulgarian law for violations of the obligation to prepay for the use of public roads are incompatible with European Union law. More specifically, they violate the principle of proportionality as set out in Article 9a of Directive 1999/62/EC.

⚖️ Implications for Poland’s e-TOLL System

• The CJEU’s ruling addresses EU law, not national regulations.
• Article 9a is part of EU law and thus binding on all member states, including Poland.
• Accordingly, fines for e-TOLL violations in Poland likely must respect the principle of proportionality. Flat-rate financial penalties without flexibility could be open to legal challenge.

🧭 Broader Legal Context

Legal analysts have been critical of the harsh fines for registered but unpaid tolls since 2022, noting that evidence of toll usage—e.g., electronically tracked movement—should count when determining liability

The hope is that this CJEU decision, combined with upcoming deregulatory reforms, will curb excessive penalties within the Polish e-TOLL system—potentially prompting reductions or nullifications of disproportionate fines . You can read more: Wyrok TSUE C‑61/23 w sprawie kar dotyczących opłat drogowych. The complete text of the judgment can be accessed on the website.

Petition to the Polish Parliament

Our law firm has also submitted a petition to the Polish Parliament regarding the amendment of regulations that provide for fixed monetary penalties. The petition referred, among other things, to the aforementioned judgment of the CJEU. In response to the petition, an opinion was prepared by the Bureau of Expertise and Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Chancellery of the Parliament (dated June 12, 2025). The conclusions contained in the legal opinion confirm what we have pointed out from the very beginning of handling e-TOLL cases, namely that “the current system of penalties for failure to pay the electronic toll, based on fixed lump-sum monetary fines, is excessively repressive and may violate the principle of proportionality. (…) Therefore, it is advisable to amend Article 13k(1) of the Act on Public Roads, by moving away from fixed monetary penalties in favor of allowing the authority to adjust the amount of the fine.”

📝 Summary