General principle
1. Any haulier for hire or reward who is a holder of a Community licence and whose driver, if he is a national of a third country, holds a driver attestation, shall be entitled, under the conditions laid down in this Chapter, to carry out cabotage operations.
2. Once the goods carried in the course of an incoming international carriage have been delivered, hauliers referred to in paragraph 1 shall be permitted to carry out, with the same vehicle, or, in the case of a coupled combination, the motor vehicle of that same vehicle, up to three cabotage operations following the international carriage from another Member State or from a third country to the host Member State. The last unloading in the course of a cabotage operation before leaving the host Member State shall take place within 7 days from the last unloading in the host Member State in the course of the incoming international carriage.
Within the time limit referred to in the first subparagraph, hauliers may carry out some or all of the cabotage operations permitted under that subparagraph in any Member State under the condition that they are limited to one cabotage operation per Member State within 3 days of the unladen entry into the territory of that Member State.
3. National road haulage services carried out in the host Member State by a non-resident haulier shall only be deemed to conform with this Regulation if the haulier can produce clear evidence of the incoming international carriage and of each consecutive cabotage operation carried out.
Evidence referred to in the first subparagraph shall comprise the following details for each operation:
(a)
the name, address and signature of the sender;
(b)
the name, address and signature of the haulier;
(c)
the name and address of the consignee as well as his signature and the date of delivery once the goods have been delivered;
(d)
the place and the date of taking over of the goods and the place designated for delivery;
(e)
the description in common use of the nature of the goods and the method of packing, and, in the case of dangerous goods, their generally recognised description, as well as the number of packages and their special marks and numbers;
(f)
the gross mass of the goods or their quantity otherwise expressed;
(g)
the number plates of the motor vehicle and trailer.
4. No additional document shall be required in order to prove that the conditions laid down in this Article have been met.
5. Any haulier entitled in the Member State of establishment, in accordance with that Member State’s legislation, to carry out the road haulage operations for hire or reward specified in Article 1(5)(a), (b) and (c) shall be permitted, under the conditions set out in this Chapter, to carry out, as the case may be, cabotage operations of the same kind or cabotage operations with vehicles in the same category.
6. Permission to carry out cabotage operations, within the framework of the types of carriage referred to in Article 1(5)(d) and (e), shall be unrestricted.
Rules applicable to cabotage operations
1. The performance of cabotage operations shall be subject, save as otherwise provided in Community legislation, to the laws, regulations and administrative provisions in force in the host Member State with regard to the following:
(a)
the conditions governing the transport contract;
(b)
the weights and dimensions of road vehicles;
(c)
the requirements relating to the carriage of certain categories of goods, in particular dangerous goods, perishable foodstuffs and live animals;
(d)
the driving time and rest periods;
(e)
the value added tax (VAT) on transport services.
The weights and dimensions referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph may, where appropriate, exceed those applicable in the haulier’s Member State of establishment, but they may under no circumstances exceed the limits set by the host Member State for national traffic or the technical characteristics mentioned in the proofs referred to in Article 6(1) of Council Directive 96/53/EC of 25 July 1996 laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international traffic ( 14 ) .
2. The laws, regulations and administrative provisions referred to in paragraph 1 shall be applied to non-resident hauliers under the same conditions as those imposed on hauliers established in the host Member State, so as to prevent any discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of establishment.
Safeguard procedure
1. In the event of serious disturbance of the national transport market in a given geographical area due to, or aggravated by, cabotage, any Member State may refer the matter to the Commission with a view to the adoption of safeguard measures and shall provide the Commission with the necessary information and notify it of the measures it intends to take as regards resident hauliers.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1:
‘serious disturbance of the national transport market in a given geographical area’ means the existence on the market of problems specific to it, such that there is a serious and potentially enduring excess of supply over demand, implying a threat to the financial stability and survival of a significant number of hauliers,
‘geographical area’ means an area covering all or part of the territory of a Member State or extending to all or part of the territory of other Member States.
3. The Commission shall examine the situation on the basis in particular of the relevant data and, after consulting the committee referred to in Article 15(1), shall decide within 1 month of receipt of the Member State’s request whether or not safeguard measures are necessary and shall adopt them if they are necessary.
Such measures may involve the temporary exclusion of the area concerned from the scope of this Regulation.
Measures adopted in accordance with this Article shall remain in force for a period not exceeding 6 months, renewable once within the same limits of validity.
The Commission shall without delay notify the Member States and the Council of any decision taken pursuant to this paragraph.
4. If the Commission decides to adopt safeguard measures concerning one or more Member States, the competent authorities of the Member States involved shall be required to take measures of equivalent scope in respect of resident hauliers and shall inform the Commission thereof. Those measures shall be applied at the latest as from the same date as the safeguard measures adopted by the Commission.
5. Any Member State may refer to the Council a decision taken by the Commission pursuant to paragraph 3 within 30 days of its notification. The Council, acting by a qualified majority may, within 30 days of that referral, or, if there are referrals by several Member States, of the first referral, take a different decision.
The limits of validity laid down in the third subparagraph of paragraph 3 shall apply to the Council’s decision. The competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall be required to take measures of equivalent scope in respect of resident hauliers, and shall inform the Commission thereof. If the Council takes no decision within the period referred to in the first subparagraph, the Commission decision shall become final.
6. Where the Commission considers that the measures referred to in paragraph 3 need to be prolonged, it shall submit a proposal to the Council, which shall take a decision by qualified majority.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
