Andorra plans to charge a fee to foreign vehicles that circulate on its roads

The Government of Andorra has proposed charging a fee to all foreign vehicles that intend to enter and circulate on the country’s roads. Within the framework of a broader bill for sustainable growth and the right to housing, the aim is to curb overcrowding after the country received nearly ten million inhabitants in 2023. According to the newspaper secretThe Executive believes that Andorra is approaching the maximum capacity limit to guarantee sustainability and that natural resources are sufficient.

“We want to continue being a tourist country, but we want a more qualitative tourism,” said the president of the Andorran Executive, Xavier Espot, today in statements to Catalunya Ràdio in which he justified the plan.

According to the information, the stipulated rate will not be fixed, but will vary depending on whether tourist demand is high or low and the time of year. In addition, the control of cars will be carried out by means of a vignette toll, which works by placing a sticker on the windshield confirming that the relevant rate has been paid, as explained by the authorities.

The establishment of long-term bonuses for regular workers from across the border is being considered

Although the Andorran government has made the measure public, it is only a preliminary draft and, according to the government, there are still several specific aspects to be considered. An example of this is whether cars will be required to pay the fee each time they enter the country, or whether different types of vouchers will be established for those vehicles that wish to enter for long periods.

Even so, the first to be affected by this measure, if it is approved, would be those Catalans who have to cross the border to go to work in the neighbouring country. In this regard, the president has assured that these types of cases will be taken into account: “If it is someone who stays overnight, we will not make them pay because we understand that they will spend the night in the country.”

Andorra is not the only country that intends to levy a tax on foreign vehicles. In fact, Switzerland and Austria have already implemented this law and have begun to charge the fee. In this regard, Espot has defended the proposal, arguing that the measure is focused primarily on day-trippers, that is, on those who are only “going to spend the day in Andorra.”