Belarus will raise charges for using its electronic BelToll network from 1 September, increasing the cost of road transport and putting further pressure on prices for goods and services.
The changes, reported by Belarusian media on 27 August 2026, will mainly affect goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes. The increase means businesses and hauliers operating in Belarus will face higher charges at a time when logistics costs are already rising, external markets are shrinking and sanctions restrictions are complicating trade.
Higher rates for heavy goods vehicles
For two-axle lorries, the toll will rise from €0.117 to €0.121 per kilometre. The rate for three-axle vehicles will increase from €0.146 to €0.152 per kilometre, while vehicles with four or more axles will pay €0.182 per kilometre, up from €0.176.
The authorities are also raising one-off charges for unpaid journeys. For cars, the penalty will increase from €14 to €15. For lorries, the charge for completely unpaid travel will rise from €37 to €38, while the charge for partial non-payment will increase from €18.50 to €19.
Although the individual increases are measured in cents, the impact is cumulative for commercial vehicles covering long distances. Road transport operators must absorb the additional cost directly or include it in the price of moving goods. In practice, the burden is likely to feed through into transport charges and the final cost of products reaching consumers.
Extra charge on routes into Minsk
The most significant change for freight operators is the introduction of a higher coefficient on a number of roads leading towards Minsk. The measure will apply to lorries weighing more than 3.5 tonnes when they pass through two or more specified toll sections within an hour.
The affected routes are the M-2, M-3, M-4, M-6/E-28, R-1, R-23 and R-28. The arrangement creates an additional financial barrier for vehicles approaching the capital, particularly those using several designated sections during the same journey.
Belarus’s transport ministry says the new system is intended to redirect transit lorries to special routes and reduce pressure on approaches to Minsk for public and private transport. That explanation places the policy within a traffic-management framework, but it also means that the cost of reaching or crossing the capital will rise for the freight businesses affected.
Costs passed through the supply chain
The increase represents another transfer of the state’s growing road-maintenance costs to businesses and carriers. Hauliers already operating under sanctions-related restrictions and more expensive logistics will now have to calculate higher toll payments into their routes and pricing.
For companies, the extra charge is not limited to the toll booth or the electronic account. It becomes part of the cost of delivering food, manufactured goods and other supplies. Where transport contracts do not allow operators to absorb the increase, the additional expense will be passed to customers through higher delivery prices. Those costs can then be reflected in the prices paid by households for goods and services.
The new coefficient on the approaches to Minsk is particularly revealing. Rather than resolving the infrastructure and logistics difficulties that create congestion, the authorities are seeking to influence traffic through higher payments. That may alter the routes chosen by some operators, as the ministry intends, but it also adds another layer of expense to a sector already facing restricted commercial options.
The immediate question is whether the surcharge will genuinely redistribute freight away from the capital’s approaches or simply make transport more expensive without removing the underlying pressure on the roads. For Belarusian businesses and consumers, the first consequence is clearer: the cost of moving goods is set to rise from September.
Should Belarus prioritise higher tolls to manage traffic, or invest in easing the logistical pressures facing hauliers?
