Community's tough sanctions for quota rule violations
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• Serious violations by international road hauliers of the "Community Quota" regulations for goods transport by road may lead to a three-month suspension of an authorization for a first offence and its complete withdrawal if another offence is committed during the same year. Less stringent penalties would be applied to minor infractions.
The proposed penalties are contained in a recommendation by the European Commission to member states concerning the implementation of the Community Quota for intra-community goods road transport. The quota system giving authorized persons the right to operate transport without limitation throughout the Community began—in theory—at the beginning of the year.
Member states should have consulted the European Commission on details of national implementation procedures, offering • each other mutual assistance for enforcing the regulations. In fact, only one member state consulted the Commission in advance; others told the Commission of measures taken at national level after the event. Some countries have yet to present promised drafts defining their attitude to the regulations.
At a February meeting called by the Cornmission, national authorities considered that the best approach to the achieving of "a certain degree of uniformity" would be a Commission recommendation indicating "outlines for the implementing measures".
It has been found that some member states demand relatively high fees for issuing a Community authorization or even for examining an application for an authorization. Other states examine applications and issue authorizations free of charge. Hired vehicles are allowed by some states under cover of a Community authorization but not by others. Sanctions applied by states to penalize violations differ considerably.
The Commission therefore recommend that Community authorizations should be issued free of charge or in exchange for payment of a sum covering administrative costs; that holders of authorizations should be allowed to use their own or hired vehicles; that infractions should be notified to member states issuing a Community authorization within 15 days; that, inter alia, the transfer of Community authorizations to third parties be permitted.
Administrative sanctions beginning with a warning, then a two-week suspension, then a twoor three-month suspension would be imposed for minor offences with a complete withdrawal of the authorization as an ultimate sanction for serious offences.