MPF questions the legality of charging the electronic toll model

The Federal Public Ministry filed a lawsuit asking for the annulment of fines applied through the Free Flow system on concessioned federal highways. The model, which eliminates physical toll plazas and uses electronic reading for billing, is being questioned because, according to the MPF, it transfers an obligation that belongs to the concessionaire to the driver.

According to the Public Ministry’s understanding, Free Flow is a service offered by the concessionaire and cannot function as a fine trap. The agency maintains that the driver is not required to have an app, register in advance or use an electronic tag to pay the toll.

The central argument is that the right to pay for the use of the highway must be guaranteed in a simple and direct way. When arriving at the toll booth, even electronically, the user needs to have a clear, accessible and immediate payment option, without the imposition of digital bureaucracy or dependence on technological platforms.

For the MPF, the absence of alternative and intuitive means of paying the toll ends up transforming the system into an automatic penalty mechanism, which violates basic principles of transparency and reasonableness in the provision of the public service granted.

If the action progresses and the understanding is accepted by the courts, the impact could be significant. The Free Flow system may undergo structural adjustments across the country, forcing concessionaires to review their charging processes and the way they communicate with users of federal highways.

The topic gains relevance at a time of expansion of electronic tolls in Brazil, especially in large logistics corridors, where the volume of vehicles and interstate circulation expand the scope of the penalties applied by the current model.