Cabotage/cabotage carriage in road transport of goods means commercial carriage in the territory of the country in which the vehicle or company performing the order is not registered.
Regulation (EC) No 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and the Council regulates cabotage.
Cabotage carriage applies only to the countries of the European Union and EFTA (currently, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland belong to it).
We have a brush with cabotage when, for example, a Polish truck carrying out international transport from Poland to France, after unloading the goods, performs transports starting and ending on the territory of France.
It is worth remembering that according to the Mobility Package, the carrier can legally perform three cabotages. After the third transport, the car must leave the country's territory.
Cooling off
After cabotage, according to the regulations, the driver must wait 4 days before cabotage in the country from which he left. The rule applies regardless of the number of cabotage trips made.
How to count cooling off?
Cooling off is counted from full calendar days.
This means that if the vehicle left France after cabotage, for example, on a Monday, then 4 days are counted only from Tuesday to Friday. Thus, the next cabotage can only be done on Saturday.
The end times or the start of cabotage carriages are not important here.
Cooling off is counted according to the start of the day (00:00) and its end.
However, it should be remembered that cooling off will last a little longer if its days fall on days off work or a public holiday. Then the rule applies according to which the period between cabotages must last at least two working days.
How long can cabotage last?
The carrier has a maximum of 7 calendar days to end cabotage.
Again - this means that if the loading took place on a Monday, then 7 days count with the beginning of Tuesday, and it ends with the end of Monday - and within these 7 days the carrier must complete 3 cabotages.
It is worth mentioning that, unlike cooling off, there is no distinction between working days, those free from work, and holidays.
Regardless of whether cabotage is carried out in any EU or EFTA country - the same rules apply everywhere.
Regulation (EC) No 1072 of the European Parliament and the Council of 21 October 2009.
According to this Regulation - cabotage rules must comply with the rules of the Member State concerning:
✅ the rules of the contract of carriage;
✅ the dimensions and weight of lorries;
✅ the maximum working time of the drivers;
✅ the regulations concerning the transport of dangerous goods, animals and food products;
✅ the VAT.
Knowledge of the transport rules of the country where the cabotage is carried out is crucial, as there are also additional rules depending on the country, e.g. in Germany, it is necessary to have special OCP insurance.
The basic standards include having a transport license and CMR bills for international and cabotage transport.
Penalties for violating the rules of cabotage
Usually, these are high fines, which can amount to up to 20 thousand euros depending on the country.
In addition, the Carrier may be deprived of a license to operate international transport services within the Community, loss of cabotage insurance protection, or withdrawal of entries in the Community license.
It is also worth mentioning that the Driver or the Client can be charged with the above sanctions, not only the Carrier.
Comments