Cabotage is the national carriage of goods for hire or reward in a country other than that of the haulier. When carrying out cabotage transport, the relevant conditions must be met:
According to the Mobility Package Regulation, from 21.02.2022, hauliers may not carry out cabotage operations with the same vehicle in the same Member State for 4 days after completion of the cabotage operation.
The completion of cabotage is considered as:
In this case, cabotage operations may not be carried out again within a period of four days in the country concerned (this period is called the cooling-off period. Note that a day is counted from 00:00 to 24:00 - not to be confused with a clock day.
Example :
For both schedule 1 and schedule 2, once you have left Germany, you may not carry out cabotage in that country for 4 days using the same vehicle/combination of vehicles.
Below is a sample schedule of trips for a vehicle performing cabotage in Germany. These files are for illustrative purposes only, this is our interpretation of the regulations, they are not a legal basis. For more information on cabotage regulations, see the bottom of the article (in the source).
One of the most important changes introduced by the Mobility Package is the fact that international transport and return does not "reset cabotage", as it used to be. In addition, it is worth remembering that the expiry of the cooling-off period, i.e. the freezing of the vehicle for four days after a cabotage in a given country, does not "reset the cabotage" either. You still have to leave with a load in another country and return with a load from another country, as was the case previously. The haulier must also be in possession of evidence that he is acting in accordance with this Regulation during the inspection services. These include the following documents:
A novelty and at the same time an improvement for the driver carrying out the cabotage operation is the introduction of the provision in the mobility package that, during the roadside check, the driver may contact the company's head office or transport manager in order to present any evidence/documents before the roadside check is completed (including CMR letters). This means that the driver may as well present electronic evidence during the check.
the possibility of losing the licence allowing to carry out international transports within the Community countries
serious financial penalties
loss of the right to benefit from cabotage insurance cover
Sources:
