Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009, (EC) No 1072/2009 and (EU) No 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the road transport sector

1 In order to satisfy the requirement laid down in point (a) of Article 3(1), in the Member State of establishment an undertaking shall: (a) have premises at which it is able to access the originals of its core business documents, whether in electronic or any other form, in particular its transport contracts, documents relating to the vehicles at the disposal of the undertaking, accounting documents, personnel management documents, labour contracts, social security documents, documents containing data on the dispatching and posting of drivers, documents containing data relating to cabotage, driving time and rest periods, and any other document to which the competent authority must have access in order to verify the undertaking’s compliance with the conditions laid down in this Regulation; (b) organise its vehicle fleet’s activity in such a way as to ensure that vehicles that are at the disposal of the undertaking and are used in international carriage return to one of the operational centres in that Member State at least within eight weeks after leaving it; (c) be registered on the register of commercial companies of that Member State or on a similar register whenever required under national law; (d) be subject to tax on revenues and, whenever required under national law, have a valid value added tax registration number; (e) once an authorisation has been granted, have at its disposal one or more vehicles which are registered or put into circulation and authorised to be used in conformity with the legislation of that Member State, regardless of whether those vehicles are wholly owned or, for example, held under a hire-purchase agreement or under a hire or leasing contract; (f) effectively and continuously conduct its administrative and commercial activities with the appropriate equipment and facilities at premises as referred to in point (a) situated in that Member State and manage its transport operations effectively and continuously using the vehicles referred to in point (g) with the appropriate technical equipment situated in that Member State; (g) on an ongoing basis, have at its regular disposal a number of vehicles that comply with the conditions laid down in point (e) and drivers who are normally based at an operational centre in that Member State, in both cases proportionate to the volume of transport operations carried out by the undertaking.

2 In addition to the requirements laid down in paragraph 1, Member States may require an undertaking to have, in the Member State of establishment: (a) proportionate to the size of the activity of the undertaking, duly qualified administrative personnel at the premises or the transport manager reachable during customary business hours; (b) proportionate to the size of the activity of the undertaking, operational infrastructure other than the technical equipment referred to in point (f) of paragraph 1 in the territory of that Member State, including an office which is open during customary business hours.’;

1 Member States shall designate a national contact point responsible for the exchange of information with the other Member States with regard to the application of this Regulation. Member States shall forward to the Commission the names and addresses of their national contact points by 4 December 2011. The Commission shall draw up a list of all contact points and forward it to the Member States.

2 The competent authorities of the Member States shall cooperate closely and shall swiftly provide one another with mutual assistance and with any other relevant information in order to facilitate the implementation and enforcement of this Regulation.

3 The competent authorities of the Member States shall exchange information on convictions and penalties for any serious infringements referred to in Article 6(2). A Member State which receives notification of a serious infringement referred to in Article 6(2) which has resulted in a conviction or a penalty in another Member State during the previous two years shall record that infringement in its national electronic register.

4 Member States shall reply to requests for information from all competent authorities of other Member States and shall carry out checks, inspections and investigations concerning compliance with the requirement laid down in point (a) of Article 3(1) by road transport operators established in their territory. Such requests for information may include access to documents required to prove that the conditions laid down in Article 5 are met. Requests for information by competent authorities of Member States shall be duly justified and reasoned. To this end, requests shall include credible indications of possible infringements of point (a) of Article 3(1), indicate the purpose of the request and specify in sufficient detail the information and documents which are being requested.

5 Member States shall submit the information requested by other Member States pursuant to paragraph 4 within 30 working days from the receipt of the request. A shorter time limit may be mutually agreed between the Member States.

6 Where the requested Member State considers that the request is insufficiently reasoned, it shall inform the requesting Member State accordingly within 10 working days from the receipt of the request. The requesting Member State shall further substantiate the request. Where the requesting Member State is unable to further substantiate the request, the requested Member State may reject the request.

7 Where it is difficult to comply with a request for information or to carry out checks, inspections or investigations, the requested Member State shall inform the requesting Member State accordingly within 10 working days from the receipt of the request, giving the reasons for the difficulty. The Member States concerned shall discuss with each other with a view to finding a solution to any difficulty raised. In the event of persistent delays in the provision of information to the requesting Member State, the Commission shall be informed and shall take appropriate measures.

8 The exchange of information referred to in paragraph 3 shall take place through the message exchange system, namely the European Registers of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU) established by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1213/2010 . The administrative cooperation and mutual assistance between the competent authorities of the Member States provided for in paragraphs 4 to 7 shall be implemented through the Internal Market Information System (IMI), established by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council . For this purpose, each Member State may designate the contact point referred to in paragraph 1 as the competent authority and shall inform the Commission thereof through IMI.

9 Member States shall ensure that the information transmitted to them pursuant to this Article is used only in respect of the matter(s) for which it was requested. Any processing of personal data shall be carried out solely for the purposes of complying with this Regulation and shall be in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

10 Mutual administrative cooperation and assistance shall be provided free of charge.

11 A request for information shall not preclude the competent authorities from taking measures in line with the relevant national and Union law to investigate and prevent alleged breaches of this Regulation.

1 The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2 The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 8(9) shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 20 August 2020.

3 The delegation of power referred to in Article 8(9) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4 Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in line with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making .

5 As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6 A delegated act adopted under Article 8(9) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

‘4 The Community licence and the certified true copies shall correspond to the model set out in Annex II, which also lays down the conditions governing its use. They shall contain at least two of the security features listed in Annex I. In the case of vehicles used for the carriage of goods, the permissible laden mass of which does not exceed 3,5 tonnes and for which the lower financial requirements established in the second subparagraph of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 are applied, the issuing authority shall write in the “particular remarks” section of the Community licence or of the certified true copy thereof: “≤ 3,5 t”. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14b to amend Annexes I and II in order to adapt them to technical progress.’;

‘4 The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14b to amend Annex III in order to adapt it to technical progress.’;

‘2a Hauliers are not allowed to carry out cabotage operations, with the same vehicle, or, in the case of a coupled combination, the motor vehicle of that same vehicle, in the same Member State within four days following the end of its cabotage operation in 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 comply with this Regulation if the haulier can produce clear evidence of the preceding international carriage and of each consecutive cabotage operation carried out. In the event that the vehicle has been in the territory of the host Member State within the period of four days preceding the international carriage, the haulier shall also produce clear evidence of all operations that were carried out during that period.’;

‘4a Evidence referred to in paragraph 3 shall be presented or transmitted to the authorised inspecting officer of the host Member State on request and within the duration of the roadside check. It may be presented or transmitted electronically, using a revisable structured format which can be used directly for storage and processing by computers, such as an electronic consignment note (e-CMR) under the Additional Geneva Protocol to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR) concerning the Electronic Consignment Note of 20 February 2008. During the roadside check, the driver shall be allowed to contact the head office, the transport manager or any other person or entity in order to provide, before the end of the roadside check, any evidence referred to in paragraph 3.’;

‘5 Any haulier entitled in the Member State of establishment to carry out the road haulage operations for hire or reward specified in points (a) to (ca) of Article 1(5) in accordance with that Member State’s legislation 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.’;

‘3 The Commission shall examine the situation on the basis in particular of the relevant data and, after consulting the committee established pursuant to Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council shall decide within one month of receipt of the Member State’s request whether safeguard measures are necessary and shall adopt them if they are necessary.

‘7 In addition to paragraphs 1 to 6 of this Article and by way of derogation from Article 4 of Directive 92/106/EEC, Member States may, where necessary to avoid misuse of the latter provision through the provision of unlimited and continuous services consisting in initial or final road legs within a host Member State that form part of combined transport operations between Member States, provide that Article 8 of this Regulation apply to hauliers when they carry out such initial and/or final road haulage legs within that Member State. With regard to such road haulage legs, Member States may provide for a longer period than the seven-day period provided for in Article 8(2) of this Regulation and may provide for a shorter period than the four-day period provided for in Article 8(2a) of this Regulation. The application of Article 8(4) of this Regulation to such transport operations shall be without prejudice to requirements following from Directive 92/106/EEC. Member States making use of the derogation provided for in this paragraph shall notify the Commission thereof before applying their relevant national measures. They shall review those measures at least every five years and shall notify the results of that review to the Commission. They shall make the rules, including the length of the respective periods, publicly available in a transparent manner.’;

1 In order to further enforce the obligations laid down in this Chapter, Member States shall ensure that a coherent national enforcement strategy is applied on their territory. That strategy shall focus on undertakings with a high risk rating as referred to in Article 9 of Directive 2006/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council .

2 Each Member State shall ensure that the checks provided for in Article 2 of Directive 2006/22/EC include a check on cabotage operations, where relevant.

3 At least twice per year, Member States shall undertake concerted roadside checks on cabotage operations. Such checks shall be undertaken at the same time by the national authorities in charge of enforcing the rules in the field of road transport of two or more Member States, each national authority operating in its own territory. Member States may combine those activities with those provided for by Article 5 of Directive 2006/22/EC. The national contact points designated in accordance with Article 18(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 shall exchange information on the number and type of infringements detected after the concerted roadside checks have taken place.

Member States shall lay down rules on sanctions against consignors, freight forwarders, contractors and subcontractors for non-compliance with Chapters II and III, where they knew, or, in the light of all relevant circumstances ought to have known, that the transport services that they commissioned involved infringements of this Regulation.

1 The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2 The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 4(4) and Article 5(4) is conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 20 August 2020.

3 The delegation of power referred to in Article 4(4) and Article 5(4) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4 Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in line with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making .

5 As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

6 A delegated act adopted under Article 4(4) and Article 5(4) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

1 By 31 March of every second year, at the latest, Member States shall inform the Commission of the number of hauliers possessing Community licences on 31 December of each of the previous two years and of the number of certified true copies corresponding to the vehicles in circulation on that date. Reports relating to the period after 20 May 2022 shall also include a breakdown of these items by road haulage operators engaged in international transport operations solely by means of vehicles the permissible laden mass of which does not exceed 3,5 tonnes and the remaining road haulage operators.

2 By 31 March of every second year, at the latest, Member States shall inform the Commission of the number of driver attestations issued in each of the previous two calendar years, as well as the total number of driver attestations in circulation on 31 December of each of the previous two years. Reports relating to the period after 20 May 2022 shall also include a breakdown of these items by road haulage operators engaged in international transport operations solely by means of vehicles, the permissible laden mass of which does not exceed 3,5 tonnes, and the remaining road haulage operator.

3 By 21 August 2022, at the latest, Member States shall forward to the Commission their national enforcement strategy adopted pursuant to Article 10a. By 31 March of every year, at the latest, Member States shall inform the Commission on the enforcement operations performed in the previous calendar year pursuant to Article 10a, including, where appropriate, the number of checks performed. This information shall include the number of vehicles checked.

4 The Commission shall draw up a report on the state of the Union road transport market by 21 August 2024. The report shall contain an analysis of the market situation, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of controls and the evolution of employment conditions in the profession.

5 The Commission shall evaluate the implementation of this Regulation, in particular the impact of the amendments to Article 8 introduced by Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and of the Council , by 21 August 2023 and report to the European Parliament and the Council on the application of this Regulation.

6 Following the report referred to in paragraph 5, the Commission shall regularly evaluate this Regulation and submit the evaluation results to the European Parliament and the Council.

7 Where appropriate, the reports referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6 shall be accompanied by relevant legislative proposals.

In the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 the following point is added: ‘15. Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repealing Council Directive 96/26/EC : Article 18(8).

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 21 February 2022.