Heavy fines handed out following regular cabotage checks in Germany

Thanks to these inspections, deposits have been made on fines for tens of thousands of euros. The BAG have also revealed how a foreign operator will have to bear the severe financial consequences of its cabotage offences.

The BAG carried out an inspection campaign last week in 33 locations (including ports in Trier, Kiel, Rostock and Neuss, as well as motorway junctions in the Ruhr area and in the vicinity of car factories in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg).

Officials checked a total of 723 vehicles, 139 of which were found to have carried out cabotage operations. It turns out that in 46 cases, infringements were found. This means that one in three cabotage operations were in breach of the rules.  In total, this netted the BAG a total of €49,260 in deposits for future fines.

As a reminder, the BAG has been carrying out regular and intensive cabotage checks in recent months. Since July, at least one inspection campaign has taken place every month, and recently the office has been organising one every fortnight. It can therefore be expected that another cabotage inspection campaign could be launched at any moment.

One single carrier to pay €55,000 for illegal cabotage

In addition to the results of recent inspections, the BAG also reported on the outcome of the court proceedings in the case of a Polish transport company.

The company, which has received fines of four-figure amounts on several occasions, has denied committing any offences. In the proceedings, however, the court stated that the penalties imposed on the Polish carrier totalling almost €55,000 were justified. The company now has to pay €54,800, and the BAG will check whether the carrier’s customers have also committed any infringements.