PART III FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS, SERVICES AND CAPITAL

CHAPTER 6 TRANSPORT
Article 47 1. Articles 48 to 52 shall apply to transport by rail, road and inland waterway.
2. Annex XIII contains specific provisions on all modes of transport.
Article 48 1. The provisions of an EC Member State or an EFTA State, relative to transport by rail, road and inland waterway and not covered by Annex XIII, shall not be made less favourable in their direct or indirect effect on carriers of other States as compared with carriers who are nationals of that State.
2. Any Contracting Party deviating from the principle laid down in paragraph 1 shall notify the EEA Joint Committee thereof. The other Contracting Parties which do not accept the deviation may take corresponding countermeasures.
Article 49 Aid shall be compatible with this Agreement if it meets the needs of coordination of transport or if it represents reimbursement for the discharge of certain obligations inherent in the concept of a public service.
Article 50 1. In the case of transport within the territory of the Contracting Parties, there shall be no discrimination which takes the form of carriers charging different rates and imposing different conditions for the carriage of the same goods over the same transport links on grounds of the country of origin or of destination of the goods in question.
2. The competent authority according to Part VII shall, acting on its own initiative or on application by an EC Member State or an EFTA State, investigate any cases of discrimination falling within this Article and take the necessary decisions within the framework of its internal rules.
Article 51 1. The imposition, in respect of transport operations carried out within the territory of the Contracting Parties, of rates and conditions involving any element of support or protection in the interest of one or more particular undertakings or industries, shall be prohibited unless authorized by the competent authority referred to in Article 50(2).
2. The competent authority shall, acting on its own initiative or on application by an EC Member State or an EFTA State, examine the rates and conditions referred to in paragraph 1, taking account in particular of the requirements of an appropriate regional economic policy, the needs of underdeveloped areas and the problems of areas seriously affected by political circumstances, on the one hand, and of the effects of such rates and conditions on competition between the different modes of transport, on the other.
The competent authority shall take the necessary decisions within the framework of its internal rules.
3. The prohibition provided for in paragraph 1 shall not apply to tariffs fixed to meet competition.
Article 52 Charges or dues in respect of the crossing of frontiers which are charged by a carrier in addition to transport rates shall not exceed a reasonable level after taking the costs actually incurred thereby into account. The Contracting Parties shall endeavour to reduce these costs progressively.