On 18 April 2016, the President of the Court of First Instance of Liège, Liège Division, rejected all claims filed in summary proceedings by the professional union for transport and logistics, UPTR, and carrier Defraine against Viapass and the single service provider. Eubelius assisted Viapass in these proceedings.
The judge rejected UPTR's claim due to the absence of a personal interest in attacking the kilometre charge. As for carrier Defraine, the judge ruled that possible complaints by this company cannot constitute a reason for suspending the kilometre charge system, nor for designating an expert witness as had been requested. With this judgment, the judge follows Viapass in its defence, as presented by Eubelius.
At the same time, this decision represents confirmation for Viapass that there is no reason whatsoever to reconsider the kilometre charge, which would have led to a significant financial loss for the authorities – whereas, in functional terms, the Belgian kilometre charge system was conceived in total accordance with European regulation and has been made accessible to all service providers, who are thus being treated equally.
Viapass is the interregional entity coordinating and controlling the introduction of and compliance with the kilometre charge for trucks in excess of 3.5 tonnes in Belgium. The kilometre charge has been launched as from 1 April 2016. On behalf of the three Regions, Viapass monitors the compliance of service providers with the requirements laid down and the proper implementation and operation of money and information flows. It also takes care of co-ordination among the various service providers and communication with the authorities regarding the kilometre charge.