Geel continues to charge extra fee on GAS fines despite legal questions

A resident of Tessenderlo-Ham recently received a speeding ticket in Geel, Belgium, and was surprised to find a 10 euro administrative fee added to her 58 euro fine. This practice has drawn criticism from Flemish Minister Hilde Crevits, who declared that local authorities lack a legal basis for such surcharges. Consequently, cities like Mechelen have already eliminated these extra costs.

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For such surcharges, there is no legal basis.

However, the city of Geel is contesting the minister's position. Kris Vangeel, Geel's alderman for Mobility, stated that their legal services found sufficient arguments to challenge Flanders' viewpoint. He believes administrative fees and late payment charges are being incorrectly conflated, asserting they possess distinct legal foundations.

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According to our legal services, there are sufficient arguments to dispute Flanders' position.

Minister Crevits reiterated her stance, emphasizing that while speeding fines are legitimate, local governments cannot arbitrarily add administrative surcharges to GAS 5 tickets. She noted that the fine amounts are legally fixed and cannot be increased through local additions. While Crevits cannot directly intervene against municipalities that continue to charge these fees, she indicated that affected individuals can dispute the surcharge by following the procedure outlined on the penalty notice.

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Anyone who drives too fast must of course pay their fine. There is no discussion about that. But local authorities cannot simply charge an additional administrative surcharge on top of a GAS 5 fine. There is no legal basis for that today.