The preservation of the professional diesel is laid down in the current Arizonary Agreement, but one of the majority parties (Vooruit) wants to abolish it. The recent statements by chairman Conner Rousseau have led to a very substantiated response from Transport & Logistics Belgium.
Conner Rousseau has wanted to abolish the professional diesel for years. He repeated that last week in an interview with the Humo magazine. TLB (of which the chairmanship is currently covered by the UPTR) therefore wants to remind a few figures: the professional diesel system provides money for the state treasury because foreign carriers often come to refuel in Belgium. If we analyze the figures for the kilometer charge of ViaPass, we see that 52.6 % of the kilometers on the taxable network are covered by foreign trucks. If we look at the figures of the professional diesel, we see that 56 % of the income comes from foreign companies. Foreign carriers therefore refuel more proportionally in Belgium.
“They have plenty of time to refuel elsewhere than in Belgium. Yet they do that in Belgium. Certainly not to enjoy the quality of our resting places … but precisely because there is professional diesel in Belgium. After repayment of part of the excise duties paid (19 cents per liter paid at the pump), they left the modest VILD in Belgium in 2024,” where 716 million euros, “where to 716 million euros,” where to have 716 million euros, “where to have 716 million euros,” where in Belgium, “where in Belgium,” 716 million euros, “where in Belgium, they have,” where in Belgium, “, where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “, where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “, where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “, where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “, where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “, where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “, where in Belgium,”, where in Belgium, “where in Belgium. out.
The Belgian carriers, in turn, have received 253 million euros for professional diesel. Taking this reimbursement into account, they have paid 539 million euros in excise duties to the federal treasury. “In total, professional diesel yields a billion for the state treasury every year!”, Bruno Velghe continues. “It is a mathematical fact that we unfortunately have to repeat again and again.”
TLB also emphasizes two other elements to justify the preservation of professional diesel: on the one hand, alternative drives are not yet attractive enough for carriers. Although the number of electric trucks is increasing, it remains marginal, for example, since there are currently only 425, while there are 140,000 trucks (Belgian and foreign) on the Belgian roads every day. “On the other hand, Conner Rousseau seems to forget that in 2027 the ETS 2 guideline will come into force, so that the contribution of carriers to the state treasury will automatically rise,” continues Bruno Velghe. According to him, Belgian carriers would have to pay approximately 160 million euros extra excise duties on the basis of a price of 45 euros per tonne of CO2 (which will translate into a price increase of 12 cents at the pump) from 2027 and foreign carriers extra € 210 million extra.
