Hiring of vehicles for the carriage of goods

SUMMARY OF:

Directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?

It sets out European Union (EU) rules on the use of vehicles* hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road.
Amending Directive (EU) 2022/738 updates these rules with a view to removing the remaining restrictions on using hired vehicles* in international transport and establishing a uniform regulatory framework to give transport operators across the EU more equal access to the market for hired vehicles.

KEY POINTS

USE OF VEHICLES HIRED BY UNDERTAKINGS ESTABLISHED ON THE TERRITORY OF ANOTHER MEMBER STATE

Each EU Member State must allow the use within its territory of vehicles hired by undertakings established on the territory of another Member State, provided that:

the vehicle has been registered or put into circulation in compliance with the laws of any Member State, and, if applicable, used in compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 on road haulage operating rules (see summary) and Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 on rules on accessing the EU road haulage market (see summary);
the contract relates solely to the hiring of a vehicle without a driver and is not accompanied by a service contract concluded with the same undertaking covering driving or accompanying personnel;
the hired vehicle is at the sole disposal of the undertaking using it during the period of the hire contract;
the hired vehicle is driven by personnel of the undertaking using it.

Documentation

The following documents in electronic or paper form, providing proof of the vehicle’s compliance with the requirements, must be carried on board:

the contract of hire, or a certified extract from that contract giving in particular the name of the lessor, the name of the lessee, the date and duration of the contract and the identification of the vehicle;
where the driver is not the person hiring the vehicle, the driver’s employment contract or a certified extract from that contract giving in particular the name of the employer, the name of the employee and the date and duration of the employment contract or a recent payslip.

Conditions for use of hired vehicles for the carriage of goods

Member States must 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.
However, since national vehicle taxation rates differ significantly, and to avoid fiscal distortion, Member States are still able to restrict the use of vehicles that their own companies hire in another Member State.
The restrictions mainly involve the share of such hired vehicles in a company’s fleet and the lease period, with guaranteed minimums of 25% and 30 days, respectively.
To improve enforcement, Member States’ competent authorities have to record the registration numbers of vehicles hired from another Member State in their national electronic registers of road transport undertakings.

Reporting

The European Commission must submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the implementation and effects of this directive by 7 August 2027.

The directive does not affect the application of EU rules concerning:

the organisation of the market for the carriage of goods by road for hire or reward or on one’s own account, and in particular access to the market and to quota restrictions on road capacities;
prices and conditions for the carriage of goods by road;
the setting of hire prices;
the import of vehicles;
the conditions governing access to the activity or occupation of road-vehicle lessor.

FROM WHEN DO THE RULES APPLY?

The updated rules introduced by amending Directive (EU) 2022/738 have to be transposed into national law by 6 August 2023.

BACKGROUND

Directive 2006/1/EC codified and replaced previous legislation: Directive 84/647/EEC.

Until the adoption of amending Directive (EU) 2022/738, EU rules offered haulage companies the possibility to use hired vehicles, but also allowed Member States to restrict this. As part of the 2017 road transport mobility package, the Commission proposed to soften the existing restrictions and establish a uniform regulatory framework to give transport operators across the EU equal access to the market for hired vehicles.
For further information, see:
- Europe on the move: Questions and answers on the initiatives for clean, competitive and connected mobility – press memo (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Vehicle. A motor vehicle, a trailer, a semi-trailer, or a combination of vehicles intended exclusively for the carriage of goods.

Hired vehicle. Any vehicle which, for remuneration and for a determined period, is put at the disposal of an undertaking which engages in the carriage of goods by road for hire or reward or for its own account on the basis of a contract with the undertaking which makes the vehicles available.

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Directive 2006/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road (codified version) (OJ L 33, 4.2.2006, pp. 82–85).

Successive amendments to Directive 2006/1/EC have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.