According to the proposed law on amendments to the Youth and Sports Services Law and specific other laws and decree laws, which is scheduled to be discussed on March 13 at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye's (TBMM) Planning and Budget Committee, foreign-plated vehicles will not be allowed to leave Türkiye without paying the toll fees and fines incurred on highways operated by private companies.
Based on information gathered by an Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent from the proposed law, which was signed by Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lawmakers, a new regulation aims to prevent foreign-plated vehicles from leaving Türkiye without paying toll fees on highways operated by private companies.
It has been determined that due to the absence of a legal framework, foreign-plated vehicles have been using highways operated by private companies without paying toll fees and then exiting Türkiye without settling their dues.
As these vehicles do not have a fixed address in Türkiye, it has been observed that the absence of a collection mechanism under general legal provisions and the ability to leave the country without payment have been exploited.
Following an increase in the number of foreign-plated vehicles bypassing toll payments on privately operated highways, a proposal has been submitted to the TBMM Presidency to amend Article 30 of the Highway Transport Law.
With this amendment, a similar practice will be applied to foreign-plated vehicles on highways operated by private companies, just as it is already enforced on highways managed by the General Directorate of Highways. If toll fees remain unpaid, these vehicles will not be permitted to exit the country.
Foreign-plated vehicles will not be allowed to leave Türkiye without paying the toll fees and fines imposed on them. These outstanding amounts may be collected at border gates by authorized units without the need for prior notification, as long as the driver is informed.
Of the collected amounts, 60% will be recorded as revenue in the general budget as a service fee, while the remaining 40% will be transferred to the General Directorate by the end of the following month for disbursement to the relevant operator.
