The amendment, signed by Kapsch and former Transportation Minister Milan Šimonovský June 12, granted the firm a six-month reprieve in the launch deadline for part of the toll system, mandating that only 900 kilometers (560 miles) of the project open by Jan. 1, 2007. This was a reaction to a three-month delay in the project caused by investigations into the legality of the tender.

The amendment also pledged that the state would co-finance the operation of the toll bridges, an additional expense that places the country in a disadvantageous position, says Aleš Řebíček, the current transportation minister.

Řebíček announced Nov. 9 that his ministry would seek to restructure the amendment. The next day, Kapsch said it was open to discussions. The two are now in negotiations, ministry officials said, and declined further comment until a deal is struck.

The e-toll system will be operational on 900 kilometers of highways by January, with tolls operational on the 1,100 kilometers of remaining primary roads by June 30, 2007.

The ÚOHS says that its investigation of the amendment is unrelated to the negotiations between the ministry and Kapsch. ÚOHS spokesman Filip Vrána said the investigation is just now beginning because his office had not previously known about the amendment.

If the amendment is found to be illegal, it won't affect the initial contract signed with Kapsch, which has already survived investigations by the ÚOHS and the European Commission, he said.

The Transportation Ministry is also creating a new legal department of 35 people to reduce its reliance on outside lawyers. The department is primarily a reaction to the legal problems that have risen over the past two years from the e-toll tender.

Fines levied by the ÚOHS could increase, said Martin Pecina, chairman of the ÚOHS, in an interview with Hospodářské noviny Nov. 20. A new EU model for calculating anti-trust fines could begin by the new year, citing as an example a 370 million Kč ($16.8 million) fine assessed to RWE Transgas. Under the new model, that fine would be several billion crowns.