"There are many millions of euros in tolls that are being unduly collected throughout the country", said the president of PSD Algarve, Cristóvão Norte, and author of the action, adding that the action will be filed at the Administrative and Fiscal Court of Loulé.

According to Cristóvão Norte, the action in question, aims to “force the Government to comply with the law", namely, to ensure that the 50 percent reduction approved in the proposed amendment to the 2021 State Budget is executed, which was not the case.

He added, that it also aims to require “compliance with the 75 percent reduction for electric vehicles that is yet to be regulated and which was approved at the same time”.


Incorrect reduction?


The president of the PSD Algarve recalled that, at the end of 2020, amendments to the 2021 State Budget were approved, with the PS voting against, which established a 50 percent reduction in toll rates on all old roads at no cost to the user (SCUT), as well as, for the same routes, a 75 percent reduction for electric vehicles.

However, the Government "understood to apply an average reduction of 28 percent on all vehicles", underlined the leader.

“In the following budgets, the PSD parliamentary group presented proposals to regularise the situation, but they were rejected by the PS majority”, he concluded.


Algarve toll promises


More recently, in October last year, the Minister for Territorial Cohesion stated that in 2023 there would be a reduction in the price of tolls on the Interior motorways and on the A22, in the Algarve, but declined to advance any figure.

According to Ana Abrunhosa, who was speaking in Barcelos (Braga), on the sidelines of the Regional Industry Forum, the reduction would be part of a “more complete” mobility and accessibility program to encourage the use of public transport.

“The commitment is to reduce tolls [on the Interior motorways and on the A22]. We are going to study what toll reduction we can do in a broader program”, she said at the time.

Also according to the minister, the mobility and accessibility study should be completed in the first quarter of 2023.