The ATA (tax authority) is giving drivers who have somehow skipped paying Via Verde motorway tolls the worst news kind of news this New Year. Fines are being multiplied up to 15 times, so that some people will be opening letters revealing thousands of euros worth of “procedural charges”. One unlucky driver over Christmas was Luís Santos of Pombal who the ATA has charged €72,000.
As Luís explained to Correio de Manhã, charges mounted up after missed tolls of €1.60 were ‘fined’ over €330 a pop: €22,60 in standard fines and a further €313,80 in procedural charges.
Santos is not the only driver who will have found himself caught out by the automatic system.
He explained to CM that he had gone through the tolls originally, as the light was yellow, so he assumed he was cleared to go.
Driver fined over 70 thousand euros for non-payment of Via Verde
