Any carrier who operates road passenger transport services for hire or reward and who holds a Community licence shall be permitted, under the conditions laid down in this Chapter and without discrimination on grounds of the carrier’s nationality or place of establishment, to operate the cabotage operations as specified in Article 15.
Cabotage operations shall be authorised for the following services:
special regular services provided that they are covered by a contract concluded between the organiser and the carrier;
occasional services;
regular services, performed by a carrier not resident in the host Member State in the course of a regular international service in accordance with this Regulation with the exception of transport services meeting the needs of an urban centre or conurbation, or transport needs between it and the surrounding areas. Cabotage operations shall not be performed independently of such international service.
1.The performance of the 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 passengers, namely schoolchildren, children and persons with reduced mobility;
(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 carrier’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 Directive 96/53/EC.
2.Save as otherwise provided in Community legislation, cabotage operations which form part of the transport services provided for in Article 15(c) shall be subject to the laws, regulations and administrative provisions in force in the host Member State regarding authorisations, tendering procedures, the routes to be operated and the regularity, continuity and frequency of services as well as itineraries.
3.The technical standards of construction and equipment which must be met by vehicles used to carry out cabotage operations shall be those laid down for vehicles put into circulation in international transport.
4.The national laws, regulations and administrative provisions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be applied to non-resident carriers under the same conditions as those imposed on carriers established in the host Member State, so as to prevent any discrimination on grounds of nationality or place of establishment.
1.Cabotage operations in the form of occasional services shall be carried out under cover of a journey form as referred to in Article 12 which shall be kept on board the vehicle and be presented at the request of any authorised inspecting officer.
2.The following information shall be entered in the journey form:
(a)the points of departure and arrival of the service;
(b)the date of departure and the date on which the service ends.
3.The journey forms shall be supplied in books as referred to in Article 12 certified by the competent authority or body in the Member State of establishment.
4.In the case of special regular services, the contract concluded between the carrier and the transport organiser, or a certified true copy thereof, shall serve as the control document.
However, a journey form shall be filled out in the form of a monthly statement.
5.The journey forms used shall be returned to the competent authority or body in the Member State of establishment in accordance with procedures to be laid down by that authority or body.