Directive (EU) 2022/738 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 amending Directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road (Text with EEA relevance)

‘1 Each Member State shall allow the use within its territory of vehicles hired by undertakings established on the territory of another Member State provided that:’;

‘2 Proof of compliance with the conditions referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (d), shall be provided by presentation of the following documents in paper or in electronic form, which shall be on board the vehicle:’;

1 Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that undertakings established on their respective territories may use hired vehicles for the carriage of goods by road under the same conditions as vehicles owned by them, provided that the conditions laid down in Article 2 are satisfied.

2 Where a hired vehicle is registered or put into circulation in compliance with the laws of another Member State, the Member State of establishment of the road transport undertaking may: (a) limit the time of use of the hired vehicle on its territory provided that the use of the hired vehicle by the same road transport undertaking is allowed for a period of at least two consecutive months in any given calendar year; in that case the Member State may require that the contract of hire last no longer than the time limit set by that Member State; (b) require that the hired vehicle be registered in accordance with its national registration rules after a period of no less than 30 days; in that case the Member State may require that the contract of hire last no longer than the period of circulation prior to the registration requirement; (c) limit the number of hired vehicles that may be used by an undertaking provided that the minimum number of vehicles allowed shall be at least 25 % of the goods vehicle fleet which is at the disposal of the undertaking pursuant to Article 5(1), point (g), of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 either on 31 December of the year preceding the use of the hired vehicle or on the day when the undertaking begins to use the hired vehicle, as determined by the Member State; however, in the case of an undertaking which has an overall fleet of more than one and less than four vehicles, it shall be allowed to use at least one such vehicle; the minimum number in accordance with this point refers to the goods vehicle fleet at the disposal of the undertaking on the basis of the vehicles registered or put into circulation in conformity with the laws of that Member State; (d) limit the use of such vehicles for own-account transport operations.’;

1 Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the number of a hired vehicle used by an undertaking which engages in the carriage of goods by road for hire or reward is entered in the national electronic register referred to in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009.

2 The competent authorities of the Member States shall cooperate closely and shall swiftly provide one another with mutual assistance and with any relevant information in order to facilitate the implementation and enforcement of this Directive. To that end, each Member State shall designate a national contact point responsible for the exchange of information with the other Member States.

3 The exchange of the information referred to in paragraph 1 shall take place through the European Registers of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU) as specified by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/480 .

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

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

6 A request for information shall not preclude the competent authorities from taking measures in accordance with the relevant Union and national law to investigate and prevent alleged breaches of rules resulting from the transposition of this Directive.

7 Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the processing of the data referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article complies with the requirements for the information referred to in Article 16(2), point (g), of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 as specified in Article 16(2), third and fifth subparagraphs, and in Article 16(3) and (4) of that Regulation.

8 No later than 14 months after the adoption of an implementing act establishing a common formula for calculating the risk rating as referred to in Article 9(1), second subparagraph, of Directive 2006/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council , the Commission shall adopt implementing acts, laying down the minimum requirements concerning the data to be entered in the national electronic registers in order to enable the interconnection of registers, and specifying the functionalities necessary in order to make that information accessible to the competent authorities during roadside checks. Those minimum requirements and functionalities shall comply with the requirements and functionalities established pursuant to Article 16(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 5b(2) of this Directive.

9 Member States shall ensure that the data referred to in paragraph 1 is accessible to the competent authorities during roadside checks.

By 7 August 2027, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation and effects of this Directive. That report shall include information on the use of vehicles hired in a Member State other than the Member State of establishment of the undertaking hiring the vehicle. The report shall pay particular attention to the impact on road safety, on the environment, on tax revenues and on the enforcement of the cabotage rules in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009. On the basis of that report, the Commission shall assess whether it is necessary to propose additional measures.

1 The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee established by Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council . That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

2 Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

1 Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 6 August 2023. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.

2 Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.