De Vlaamse Waterweg

Navigation Fees: Who, What & How?

For all travel movements of vessels intended for the transport of goods and raw materials (including empty vessels, tugboats, and push boats), navigation fees are calculated on the network of De Vlaamse Waterweg. The power and tonnage of the hull(s) are part of the calculation, as well as the distance traveled.
Good to know:

• The cost for operation at works of art is included in the general price and is not charged separately.
• Additional fees may apply on the Brussels-Scheldt Sea Canal.
• All rates for commercial navigation can be found on the page navigation fees.
• No navigation fees are charged on some waterway sections: here you will find a European overview of waterways where navigation fees are (or are not) due.

Procedure for invoicing navigation fees for commercial navigation

1) Source
The navigation fees due are calculated based on data from each navigation permit. Provide this data as accurately as possible via your electronic travel notification for smooth administrative processing. De Vlaamse Waterweg can, if necessary, supplement and/or correct this data.
⚠️ Anyone who provides incorrect or incomplete information in their travel notification risks a fine. Always fill in this data in your travel notification carefully and truthfully.

2) Communication
When issuing the navigation permit, an estimate of the navigation fees due is immediately made. This estimated cost is mentioned in the navigation permit and thus communicated to one and the same party.
The calculated costs can, like the navigation permit itself, be adjusted and revised by De Vlaamse Waterweg if necessary.
ℹ️ It is the responsibility of the captain or shipper to ensure that De Vlaamse Waterweg always has the correct contact details, both for issuing the navigation permit (the captain) and for sending the invoice to the correct party (the customer).

3) Invoicing: determination of debtor
For each travel notification made, De Vlaamse Waterweg must be informed to which party the navigation fees of a trip should be charged. The responsibility for providing this information lies with the captain or shipper.
De Vlaamse Waterweg provides two possible standard procedures:

1. Invoicing data via electronic travel notification
   To each travel notification made, the captain (or shipper) adds customer data, to which the invoice for each respective trip should be sent. The common travel notification software (BICS, Riverguide,...) provides the necessary functionality for this. Be very precise when entering this invoicing data, especially when registering the customer's VAT number.
2. Invoicing data via hull ↔ standard customer linkage
   If you do not wish or cannot provide customer or invoicing data for each travel notification, De Vlaamse Waterweg offers the possibility to link standard invoicing data to each main hull (naming vessel) of a voyage/convoy. Future travel notifications without attached customer data from this (main) hull can still be processed automatically via this fallback system. Contact scheepvaartrechten@vlaamsewaterweg.be if you wish to simplify your administration in this way.
   This arrangement still offers the necessary flexibility: Even for trips of a hull using this arrangement, you can still add different invoicing data to each individual travel notification if desired, as described above. This way, De Vlaamse Waterweg can always invoice directly to the correct party.

4) Modified procedure from May 2025
From May 2025, a modified procedure will come into effect for the invoicing of navigation fees at De Vlaamse Waterweg.

• For each navigation permit, the navigation fees due are charged to only one debtor for the entire trip, even for convoys. If these navigation fees need to be paid by different customers/parties, the primary customer (the one to whom De Vlaamse Waterweg invoices) must organize the necessary onward invoicing themselves.
• If the customer of a trip is not previously known to De Vlaamse Waterweg (based on the VAT number), the captain (or shipper) must manually verify and complete this data once. In such cases, the navigation permit contains a link to an online form to easily provide this data.
  Required data for invoicing are: Name, VAT number, country, postal address, contact (email and phone), and legal form of the company.
  Companies are validated based on the VAT number via the European VIES database (more info here). Invoicing data that do not pass the VIES verification are not accepted; the recipient of the navigation permit receives a notification in such a case.
• Even if you have not added invoicing data to the travel notification (and no standard invoicing data are linked to the main hull at De Vlaamse Waterweg), they can still be provided via this same form. In this scenario, you will also receive a link with your navigation permit.
• If the captain or shipper has not provided valid invoicing data within a reasonable period (a few days after the end of the trip), De Vlaamse Waterweg will automatically invoice the owner and operator of the ship, as determined by the Navigation Decree.

5) Invoicing: timing
To alleviate administrative pressure, De Vlaamse Waterweg bundles all costs from the previous month into one invoice. You will not receive a separate invoice for each navigation permit. The monthly settlement is made around the 12^th day of each month.
It is not possible to pay the navigation permits individually. Only the payment of the monthly invoice bundling the trips is valid.