The introduction of the Truck Tax Act in the Netherlands will mean additional transportation costs for Dutch and foreign trucks when passing through the country.
The Royal Dutch Steel Federation, Koninklijke Staalfederatie, is supporting its members with calculation patterns to obtain an understanding of the truck levy.
The truck levy entered into force in July and applies to Dutch and foreign vehicles with truck owners paying per kilometre.
A truck of Category Euro 5 is charged a levy of €0.236/km ($0.30) according to European emission standards. The levy applies on highways, and on some provincial and municipal roads. Each truck must have its own toll box on board that works in the Netherlands.
National steel distributors federation Staalfederatie has raised awareness among its member that the introduction of charge will have an impact on logistics processes, transport rates and cost price calculations within the steel industry. It has established a working group to work out a practical translation of the consequences of the levy, and developed a model cost calculation, for members to gain insight into extra costs.
Staalfederatie tells Kallanish that it is up to the partners in a transaction how to deal with the costs. They might be added in a price-per-tonne, or price-per-order, or not handed down at all, depending on the individual relationship to the customer.
According to Dutch national government, Rijksoverheid, the truck levy contributes to a level playing field for international freight transport. On the dedicated Truck Tax Act website, it notes that the levy is broadly in line with the systems of other countries, such as Germany, Belgium and Denmark, but also the Dutch approach differs on several points.
