Payments Guide
Kilometer Charging System
Table of Contents
Table of Contents......................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 2
List of abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... 2
1.
Concepts......................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1
OBU registration ............................................................................................................................. 3
1.2
OBU deposit ................................................................................................................................... 5
1.3
Payment methods ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.4
Couple – decouple an OBU ............................................................................................................ 7
1.5
Lock – unlock an OBU .................................................................................................................... 7
1.6
Tolling context & tariffs.................................................................................................................... 8
1.7
Warning limit ................................................................................................................................... 9
2.
Principles ...................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1
Fee versus tax statements ............................................................................................................ 10
2.2
Documents issued to the Road Users........................................................................................... 10
2.3
Refunds ........................................................................................................................................ 11
2.4
Collection of fines ......................................................................................................................... 11
Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
Introduction
From April 1st, 2016, Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) of over 3,5 tonnes, will have to pay a road
charge when driving on Belgian roads. This regulation will apply on motorways and a number of
regional and municipal roads. The installation and operation of the system will be done by Satellic,
a joint venture between T-Systems (76%) and Strabag (24%). Satellic is working under the
supervision of Viapass, an inter-regional entity representing the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels
regions. For more information visit www.viapass.be.
As of April 1st, 2016, every HGV will have to be equipped with an On-Board Unit (OBU). Using
satellite GNSS-technology and mobile data networks, the OBU will register which distances the
HGV cover on which roads. The number of tolled kilometres is sent to a data centre via mobile
wireless technology, and a fee/toll statement is then generated based on the total kilometres, the
type of road, the GVW, and the vehicle’s emission class.
List of abbreviations
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CDR
CS
GNSS
GPM
GVW
GCWR
HGV
LPN
OBU
RUP
TCA
VAT
Charge Data Record
Customer Support
Global Navigation Satellite System
Guaranteed Payment Method
Gross Vehicle Weight
Gross Combination Weight Rating
Heavy Goods Vehicle
License Plate Number
On Board Unit
Road User Portal
Toll Charging Authorities
Value Added Tax
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
1. Concepts
1.1
OBU registration
An OBU can be ordered via the web-based Road User Portal (RUP) in which case it is
shipped to the Road User. Alternatively, it can be obtained at a Service Point across Belgium
and in the vicinity of border crossings.
If the OBU is collected at a Service Point, the Road User can limit the registration of the OBU
to the information below, creating a fast-track account:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Licence Plate Number (LPN)
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR)
Emission Class
Country of Origin
Payment scheme (pre-paid or post-paid)
Bank account (optional for refund of deposit)
These conditions need to be supported by scans of the vehicle papers, which are verified
by Satellic. The Road User can scan the documents at the Service Point or upload scanned
documents on the RUP. If the Road User adds the additional information below (via the
RUP or at a first registration at a Service Point when not only registering but also upgrading
to a full account), a full account is created which grants access to the RUP. Please note
that it is only possible to have full access to all Satellic’s services if the Road User upgrades
his account to a full account via the Road User Portal or during the first registration at a
Service Point.
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•
•
•
•
Name
Address
EU VAT-number (if applicable)
Email address
User name
Please find in the below scheme an overview of the different functionalities of a full account
(which can be registered at the RUP or during first registration at a Service Point) on the one
hand and a fast-track account or anonymous account (which is only possible at a Service
Point) on the other hand.
FULL ACCOUNT
(RUP/First registration Service Point)
FAST-TRACK ACCOUNT
(Service Point)
Download tax/fee statements
No access to tax/fee statements
Modify data
Not possible to modify data
Possible to order multiple OBUs
Only single OBU order
The RUP allows the registered Road User to download the fee/tax statements generated and
to modify their reference data. Only fee/tax statements related to full accounts are available
on the RUP, regardless of the selected payment scheme. Fast-track accounts do not have
access to the anonymous fee/tax statements, which are generated by the system during the
bill runs. Furthermore, statements of the past (prior to the upgrade) cannot be regenerated
once the account is upgraded to a full account to include the Road User’s billing details. This
implies that the Road User cannot record the tolling cost in their accounts nor recuperate any
VAT for toll charges that were incurred on a fast-track account.
Several OBUs can be registered for the same full account.
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
Note that if the company details of a customer change (e.g. in case of a merger) which would
require the fee/tax statements to be billed differently as at certain point in time, the customer
has to return the existing OBUs, create a new full account and order new OBUs.
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
1.2
OBU deposit
Each HGV over 3,5 tonnes should have a working OBU when driving on any Belgian road.
For each OBU a deposit of €135 is charged. This deposit is reimbursed when the OBU is
returned undamaged. Only one OBU per registration can be ordered when registering a fasttrack account at a Service Point. Payment can be made by cash, Fuel Card or Credit Card.
Full accounts (registered on the RUP or during first registration at a Service Point) can choose
to order either one or several OBUs (up to 936 which is the number of OBUs on three pallet)
which are shipped to them within two to five working days. If only one OBU is ordered via the
RUP, the same payment methods applying for the fast-track account apply for the full account
as well. If several OBUs are ordered, the amount due is transferred via bank transfer.
Fast-track accounts can only return OBUs at a Service Point, unless they have upgraded
their account to a full account via the RUP or during the first registration at a Service Point.
Full accounts have the choice to return the OBU at a Service Point or by sending it back by
post. This is possible with or without an OBU return form (which can be found on the RUP).
In case of the latter, the OBU will only be locked after receipt by Satellic.
In order to be refunded for the deposit as well as for any remaining credit (top-up amount),
the Road User has to enter a bank account when returning the OBU at a Service Point or
when initiating the return at the RUP. If the Road User entered a bank account number when
registering the OBU, he/she is asked to either validate or modify the bank account number.
If a user returned his OBU without providing a bank account, he has the possibility to come
back to a Service Point at a later point in time to enter a bank account and finalize the OBU
return process.
The refund of the deposit and any remaining pre-paid amount is only transferred if Satellic
confirms that the OBU was refurbished successfully.
1.3
Payment methods
The payments methods which can be selected depend on the payment scheme, the account
type and whether the Road User is accessing via a Service Point or via the RUP.
User access
Account type
Payment scheme
Payment method at
October 1st 2015
Pre-paid scheme
Fuel Card
Cash
Credit Card
Fast-track account
Fuel Card
Post-paid scheme
Credit Card
Service Point
Cash
Pre-paid scheme
Fuel Card
Credit Card
Full account
Fuel Card
Post-paid scheme
Credit Card
Fuel Card
Pre-paid scheme
Road User Portal
Credit Card
Full account
Fuel Card
Post-paid scheme
Credit Card
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
Furthermore, the following parameters have been defined per payment method and per
payment transaction:
Defined parameters
SERVICE POINT
RUP
Payment methods – toll charges
Cash, Fuel Card,
Credit Card
Fuel Card and
Credit Card
Payment methods – single OBU order
Cash, Fuel Card,
Credit Card
Fuel Card and
Credit Card
Payment methods – bulk OBU order
N/A
Bank transfer
method1
€20, €50, €100 or €200
N/A
First top-up amount – other payment method2
€20, €50, €100 or €200
€20 - €500
Min top-up amount
€20
€20
Max top-up amount
€200
€500
€1.000
€1.000
First top-up amount – cash payment
Max top-up balance to hold
Currently there are 3 guaranteed payment methods (GPMs) for the incurred tolling charges:
1. Pre-paid balance (credited by cash, Fuel Card or Credit Card)
2. Post-paid guaranteed by Fuel Card
3. Post-paid guaranteed by Credit Card
These payment methods are referred to as GPMs as they ensure that payment default
towards Satellic is minimized.
Note that if an OBU is switched from pre-paid to post-paid, a possible remaining pre-paid
credit is not transferred to post-paid. Furthermore, the pre-paid credit remains on the OBU
and can thereby be transferred from one vehicle account to another vehicle using the coupledecouple process on the RUP (see 1.4. Couple-decouple an OBU). As a result any remaining
pre-paid credit is only refunded when the OBU is returned.
Once there is credit on the pre-paid account or a post-paid account is in place, the light on
the OBU will turn green as there is a GPM in place and the OBU is ready for usage.
If the OBU runs out of credit on the pre-paid account or there is no longer a valid post-paid
account, the Road User is considered a toll dodger because there is no longer a GPM in
place and the light on the OBU will turn red. This means that the Road User is no longer
compliant with the toll regulations and he risks a fine.
The following cash notes are accepted: €5, €10, €20, €50 and €100.
Only possible to top up with integer values; Eurocents are not possible.
3
Change is given in notes of €5 and €10.
1
2
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
Payment method
Fuel Card
Cash
Credit Card
Only at a Service Point
Bank Transfer
Only in case of multiple
OBU order via the RUP
Figure 1 - overview of Payment methods
1.4
Couple – decouple an OBU
It is always possible to couple and decouple an OBU to or from a vehicle. In order to transfer
an OBU from one vehicle to another vehicle, the OBU is first decoupled from the first vehicle
and then coupled to the new vehicle. The same applies if a General Payment Method (GPM)
is changed on the RUP. When an OBU is decoupled and coupled again, the Road User
always has to choose a GPM.
More concretely, the status of the OBU will first go to “decouple requested” until the OBU
acknowledges the request and has sent the last Charge Data Records (information about
tariffs, covered distance, etc. that is stored in the memory of the OBU) to the Satellic backoffice system for processing into a bill.
Once decoupled, the payment method of the OBU is automatically set to pre-paid, the OBU
light turns red and the Road User is no longer compliant with the toll regulations. This means
that the Road User risks a fine. As there is no longer a relationship with a vehicle (as it is
decoupled), it is now related to the account owning the vehicle it was previously linked to.
1.5
Lock – unlock an OBU
An OBU can be locked in several cases:
1. Vehicle papers cannot be verified by Satellic’s Customer Support
2. License plate number does not match the vehicle papers according to the review
by Satellic’s Customer Support
3. Lost/stolen OBU reported to Satellic’s Customer Support
4. No credit on a pre-paid account – General Payment Method no longer available
5. No valid Fuel Card or Credit Card on a post-paid account – General Payment
Method no longer available
In these cases the OBU light turns red.
In the case of a full account, the Road User is informed via e-mail of the locking of the OBU
and the actions to take.
If a Road User contacts Satellic’s Customer Support stating that the OBU light turned red
even though none of the above cases apply, the Road User may be granted 3 hours free
driving time to replace the defect OBU at the nearest Service Point and he remains compliant.
Unlocking the OBU is a manual process performed by Satellic’s Customer Support if the
OBU was locked by Customer Support. If the OBU was locked for financial reasons, it is
unlocked automatically as soon as a GPM is available again. Concretely this implies
performing a top-up via a Service Point or the RUP for the pre-paid accounts or replacing
the Credit Card/Fuel Card in the RUP with a valid one for the post-paid accounts.
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
1.6
Tolling context & tariffs
The tariff model, containing the tolling charges per km, is uploaded on each OBU. The tariffs
were set by the three regions in Belgium: Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.
The toll charging authority (TCA) refers to the 3 regions in Belgium. The TCAs define the toll
context, which lists the roads, in their respective region, on which toll charges are to be
applied. Concretely the toll context refers to a geographic region.
Furthermore, a private company (Sofico) acts on behalf of the Walloon region to collect the
tolling charges from Satellic as they manage part of the road network in Wallonia.
Satellic acts as a Single Service Provider to the TCAs and bills tolling on their behalf. For
Flanders and Brussels a tax statement is issued, while a fee statement is issued for Sofico
(Wallonia). VAT is only due on the fee statement issued on behalf of Sofico as it concerns a
private company.
A toll object is one defined and mapped track of road for which a tolling charge applies. This
can be a single road, several roads or part of a road e.g. E40 in Belgium is split into 3 toll
objects; 1 for each tolling context (region). Note that there are toll objects where the tolling
charge is zero, because over time these roads may become chargeable.
The GCWR and the Emission class (EMC) parameters are entered when registering the OBU
at the RUP or at the Service Point. If review of the vehicle papers by Customer Services
reveals that the GCWR or the EMC is incorrect, the highest rate will be applied until the
correct information is entered by the Road User. If the vehicle papers are not readable or the
License Plate Number entered by the Road User does not match the vehicle papers, the
OBU will be locked and the OBU light will turn red. A message is sent to the OBU informing
the Road User with the actions taken and instructing the Road User to correct his/her
information and/or contact Customer Support.
The tolling models on the OBUs can be updated using an over-the-air update via the mobile
data network. In case of a required tolling model update, the OBUs will be updated in groups
to limit mobile bandwidth usage.
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
1.7
Warning limit
Warning limits are defined per General Payment Method:
GPM
Warning limit
Pre-paid
€15
Post-paid – CC
€20
Post-paid – FC
Not applicable
In case of pre-paid, a warning limit is defined to inform the Road User in due time of their
low remaining credit and to allow the Road User to add credit to the OBU. The warning limit
was set at €20 which is approximately the amount needed to get to the nearest Service
Point. If the remaining credit falls below 0 euro, this results in a request to lock the OBU for
financial reasons. The lock request will trigger the OBU to send the last CDR and turn the
OBU light red.
In case of post-paid via Credit Card, falling below the defined warning limit will result in a
pre-authorization request but will not result in a notification towards the Road User. Should
the pre-authorization request fail, the Road User is informed of this failure without locking
the OBU which allows him/her to take action regarding the registered Credit Card. A new
pre-authorization request will be initiated for each CDR recorded in the back-office following
the failed pre-authorization until it is either successful or until the freeze limit is crossed.
Once the 0 euro is crossed, the OBU will be locked for financial reasons.
9
Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
2. Principles
2.1
Fee versus tax statements
Satellic generates fee/tax statements on behalf of the Toll Charging Authorities: Brussels,
Flanders and Wallonia. Wallonia is represented by Sofico as Sofico manages part of the road
network in Wallonia. Sofico is a private company which means that instead of a tax statement, a
fee statement is issued on which VAT is applied.
The highways and regional roads are considered Sofico roads, while the local roads are
granted to Sofico by Wallonia for billing purposes. As no toll is charged for the local roads in
Wallonia, they will appear on the fee statement with a zero amount on which 0% VAT is
applied.
2.2
Documents issued to the Road Users
Road users with a full account have access to the following documents on the RUP:
• Issued per full account after each biweekly bill run
• Lists all OBU instances linked to the
account and the total amount due
Collective
Payment Order
• Issued per OBU instance after each
bi-weekly bill run
• Lists the net and VAT amounts due
for the 3 fee/tax statements for the
billing period
• Issued per OBU instance after each
bi-weekly bill run
• Lists the charged distance (km > 0)
per day and the related net and
VAT amounts per toll context
• Provides detail on the included
external environmental and internal
infrastructure cost
“Fleet
summary”
Recapitulation
sheet
Tax Statement
Flanders
• Issued per OBU instance after each
bi-weekly bill run
• Lists the trips made per day* in
chronological order throughout the
different toll contexts and the total
amount due per day per toll context
• Each trip provides details on route,
toll context, time, distance, tariff
and amount due
Tax Statement
Brussels
Itemisation
document
Fee Statement
Sofico
“Detailed Trip
Statement”
Optional document
Standard document
Note that these documents are generated during the bill run on the first business day
following 14 calendar days of toll charging.
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99
2.3
Refunds
Deposits are only refunded if Satellic confirms that the OBU can be refurbished and is.
Partial refunds are not applied. Photographic evidence of the damaged OBU is stored for
reference purposes when a deposit is not refunded.
Both the deposits and any remaining credit on an OBU can only be refunded if a bank
account number is provided at the Service Point or in the RUP.
2.4
Collection of fines
When the OBU light turns red, either by decoupling or by locking the OBU, the Road User
driving with the red OBU light is considered as a toll dodger and can be fined by
enforcement when caught on the Belgian road network.
Enforcement is operated by the 3 regions, in cooperation with Viapass, and can collect
fines which are disbursed directly to the TCAs.
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Satellic NV • Airport Plaza • Stockholm Building • Leonardo Da Vincilaan 19 • B-1831 Diegem • [email protected] • www.satellic.be
Customer Support: T 00800-72 83 55 42 or +32 78 1515 15 • F +32 2 416 02 99