Van transport services and the mobility package – changes in 2022

From 2020, the Mobility Package is gradually introducing regulations that revolutionize the European transport industry. In May this year, the license requirement for vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of 2.5 to 3.5 tons entered into force. But this is not the end of changes.

The concept of the Mobility Package is a set of European legal acts that regulate issues related to international road transport. The changes provided by the Mobility Package were once a source of heated discussions in Poland. No wonder as they have a real impact on increasing costs and reducing the competitiveness of Polish companies on the European transport services market. The new regulations concern, among others, the method of posting drivers, driving time and drivers’ rest periods, fair competition or tachographs.

The Mobility Package 2022

The year 2022 brings many changes in the field of posting drivers, the obligation to input a country in the tachograph after crossing the border (within the European Union) for digital tachographs (in the case of analogue tachographs, this requirement applies from August 2020), as well as changes in regulations related to market access. However, the biggest revolution concerns companies that carry out their transport services using vehicles up to 3.5 tons, i.e. vans. From May 2022, they are subject to the obligation to own a Community license which entitles them to do an international transport of goods with vehicles with a GVM exceeding 2.5 tonnes.

These changes are related to the need to define uniform regulations at the Community level to ensure a minimum level of professionalisation of the constantly growing sector of vehicles with a GVM of 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, and to equalize the conditions of competition between carriers. It is estimated that these changes affect nearly 37,000 vehicles in Poland.

Community license – conditions and costs

The Community license allows one to accept and conduct international transport. The first step to obtain it is receiving an authorization to practice as a carrier. The requirements to be met in order to apply for such a permit are regulated by the provisions of the Road Transport Act of September 6, 2001. The mentioned requirements include having: the required professional competences (Certificate of Professional Competence issued by the Motor Transport Institute in Warsaw), a real and permanent seat in one of the Member States, adequate financial capacity and good reputation. The permit is issued by the district governor, and the cost of issuing it amounts to PLN 1,000.00.

Similar requirements are related to applying for a Community license, commonly referred to as an international license. The application should be addressed to the Chief Inspector of Road Transport, but it is worth knowing that if the entrepreneur does not have a permit to practice as a carrier, he/she may submit both applications to the General Inspectorate of Road Transport at the same time. The costs of obtaining a Community license depend on its period of validity. In the case of a 5-year license the cost is PLN 4,000, a license with a validity period of 5 to 10 years is the cost of PLN 8,000. The costs of separate entries for each used vehicle should be added to these amounts – respectively PLN 440 (valid for 5 years) and PLN 880 (valid for 5-10 years).

Penalties and exceptions

Although the need to apply for a Community license involves additional costs that will be particularly felt by micro and small enterprises, thus it is not worth ignoring this obligation. Lack of a license may result in a fine of up to PLN 12,000 for each roadside inspection and the risk of losing your good reputation. The requirement to obtain a Community license does not apply to domestic and international passenger transport, only domestic transport of goods and international own-account transport.

The future of transport with vehicles up to 3.5 tons

The changes from this year, that had to be made by carriers owning vehicles with GVM from 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, are just the beginning of the revolution that awaits them. In the longer term, they have to prepare for the necessity to meet the next requirements that have so far been subject to heavy transport. From July 1, 2026, van drivers will be subject to the standards of driving time, breaks and rests, as set out in Regulation (EC) 561/2006, and vans will have to be equipped with tachographs. The version of smart tachographs will be mandatory, they will automatically record, among others, crossing the borders and places of loading and unloading.

Our team monitors all changes resulting from the new regulations of the Mobility Package on an ongoing basis. Contractors are informed in advance of upcoming modifications affecting the transport. In this way, we can properly plan transports and avoid interruptions in the supply of our services.