Always purchase highway vignettes for the Czech Republic from official outlets9/1/2022|Press releasesElectronic highway vignettes have been valid in the Czech Republic for a year. The system administrator, the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure, would like to draw consumers’ attention to the risks associated with purchasing electronic vignettes from unofficial distributors. Not only are these purchases more expensive for customers, but they can also result in significant complications involving the administration of the electronic vignettes. Unfortunately, the numbers of these purchases are on the rise and increasingly numbers of drivers have contacted the customer line operators who are unable to help them in the majority of cases. Drivers must always receive a Confirmation of Payment, regardless of where and how they purchase their electronic highway vignette. This document includes a so-called authorisation code that is used to administer the vignette. It can be used, for example, to change the licence plate number or to check or modify the tax vignette’s validity date prior to its expiry. Unofficial vendors do not provide any such confirmation. As such, the customer has no absolute certainty that they have actually purchased a real highway vignette and they are open to the risk of a fine, if they are stopped at a police checkpoint. “Unofficial vendors admittedly do not overcharge for the highway vignettes themselves, but they often charge a significant handling fee during the sale. They sometimes also request payment in cash only and use a very unfavourable exchange rate when doing so. In some cases, they also offer highway vignettes for motorcycles; however, motorcycles are exempt from any motorway tax in the Czech Republic and as such this is against the law“, pointed out Jan Paroubek, the head of the CENDIS state enterprise, the system operator. The prices for the electronic highway vignettes in the Czech Republic have been set on the basis of a decree of the Government of the Czech Republic and they are available in three variants; a year-long vignette for 1500 CZK (the eco-price: 750 CZK), a thirty-day vignette for 440 Kč (the eco-price: 220 CZK) a ten-day vignette for 310 CZK (the eco-price: 155 CZK). Anybody who requests a different amount for the purchase of a vignette is breaking the law. This involves, for example, the websites e-vignettes.com or e-vignette.cz. Legal steps are being taken against them. “If anybody purchases a highway vignette outside an official point of sale, it is not possible to guarantee either the price or any assistance when resolving any complaints or other problems. We therefore always recommend purchasing them only from official sales channels,” warned Paroubek. Motorists have several ways of purchasing an electronic highway vignette. The simplest involves making an online purchase in the state e-shop at edalnice.cz, which is available in 5 language versions; English, German, Polish, Hungarian and Russian. This enables drivers to purchase their electronic vignette online at any time and from anywhere, using either a computer or a smart phone. Yet another purchase option involves 14 self-service kiosks. They are mainly located in the border areas and are able to communicate with foreigners in English, German, polish, Hungarian and Russian. They only accept payment using a payment card. The list of self-service kiosks is available on the edalnice.cz website. There is also a network of official distributors, namely the branches of the Czech Post Office and EuroOil petrol stations. When making an online purchase on the edalnice.cz website, it is sufficient to enter the vehicle’s country of registration and licence plate number and to select the type of electronic vignette and set the starting date for its validity. The payment can be made using a payment card or a bank transfer. However, bank transfers can only be used, if the start of the vignette’s validity is set at least 5 days from the payment date. If you want to set off straight away, you have to pay by card.