Order of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 10 October 2013 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Szombathelyi Törvényszék — Hungary) — Ferenc Tibor Kovács v Vas Megyei Rendőr-főkapitányság

(Case C-5/13) (1)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 45 TFEU - Free movement of workers - National legislation under which a driver using a vehicle with foreign registration plates must prove the lawfulness of its use on the spot, during a police inspection, on pain of a fine))

2014/C 102/09

Language of the case: Hungarian

Referring court

Szombathelyi Törvényszék

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Ferenc Tibor Kovács

Defendant: Vas Megyei Rendőr-főkapitányság

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Szombathelyi Törvényszék — Interpretation of the law on non-discrimination, freedom of movement for workers and the right to a fair trial — National legislation on road traffic under which only vehicles that have administrative authorisation and registration plates granted by the national authorities may be used on the roads in the national territory, and the fulfilment of the requirements which allow a derogation from that provision may be established only during an inspection — Obligation for a person residing in Member State A, working in Member State B and having, for the purposes of travelling to his workplace, the use of a vehicle owned by his employer and bearing registration plates from Member State B, to prove during the police inspection that he is lawfully using the vehicle in Member State A — No possibility for the driver of the vehicle to provide the proof of that lawful use subsequently in an administrative procedure.

Operative part of the order

Article 45 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that that it precludes national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which, in principle, only vehicles that have administrative authorisation and registration plates granted by the Member State in question may be used on the roads in that Member State and a resident of that Member State who seeks to rely on a derogation from that rule, on the ground that he uses a vehicle made available to him by his employer established in another Member State, must be able to prove on the spot, during a police inspection, that he fulfils the requirements for such a derogation, as laid down by the national legislation in question, on pain of the immediate imposition of a fine equivalent to that applicable in the event of infringement of the registration requirement, without there being any possibility of an exemption from that fine.

(1)  OJ C 114, 20.4.2013.