RS 0.741.619.172 Agreement of 25 February 1975 between the Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on international road transport (with prot.)

Original Language Title: RS 0.741.619.172 Accord du 25 février 1975 entre le Conseil fédéral suisse et le Gouvernement du Royaume de Belgique relatif aux transports internationaux par route (avec prot.)

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0.741.619.172

Original text

Agreement between the Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium on international road transport

Concluded on 25 February 1975
Entered into force 24 July 1975

The Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium

Wishing to facilitate the transport by road of persons and goods between Switzerland and Belgium using commercial vehicles, as well as in transit through their respective territories,

Agreed to the following:

Art. 1 Scope of application

The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to the carriage of persons and goods to or from the territory of one of the Contracting Parties or in transit through that territory, effected by means of vehicles registered In the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Art. 2 Definitions

1. The term "carrier" means a natural or legal person who, either in Switzerland or in Belgium, has the right to transport persons or goods by road in accordance with the provisions in force in his country.

2. The term "vehicle" means a mechanically driven road vehicle, as well as, where appropriate, its trailer or semi-trailer which is used for transport

(a): More than eight persons seated, not including the driver;
(b): Of goods.

3. The term "authorization" means any concession or authorization required under the law applicable by each of the Contracting Parties.

Art. 3 Transportation of persons

(1) The carriage of persons shall be subject to authorisation under the national law of the Contracting Parties.

2. However, the transport of persons fulfilling the following conditions shall be exempt from authorisation:

(a)

The transport of the same persons by the same vehicle during a journey where the points of departure and arrival are located in the country of registration of the vehicle, no person being cared for or posted along the route or to the Stops outside the said country (closed door circuit);

(b)

The transport of a group of persons from a place in the country of registration of the vehicle at a place in the other Contracting Party, the vehicle leaving the territory of that Contracting Party;

(c)

Or travel to the territory of the other Contracting Party for the purpose of carrying out, at the same place, persons who have been:

-: Be grouped by contract of carriage before their arrival at the place of their taking care, provided that such persons are not brought back to that territory;
-: Carried out previously, by the same carrier, in a service involving the return journey;
-: Be invited to travel to the country in which the vehicle is registered, the transport costs being borne by the inviting person. These persons form a group that is not constituted solely for the purpose of this voyage;
-: Be driven by a vehicle that has failed;

(d)

Or journeys in transit in charge or in transit, by the territory of the other Contracting Party, with the exception of shuttle races carried out regularly at intervals of less than 16 days.

Art. 4 Transport of goods

1. Subject to prior authorization, any carrier of a Contracting Party shall have the right to temporarily import an empty or loaded vehicle in the territory of the other Contracting Party for the purpose of transporting goods

(a): Between any place in the territory of a Contracting Party and any place of the territory of the other Contracting Party; or
(b): From the territory of the other Contracting Party to a third country or from a third country to the territory of the other Contracting Party, provided that the vehicle transits, during the same journey and according to the normal itinerary, the Country in which it is registered.

2. Are subject to authorisation but placed out of quota:

(a): The carriage of objects and works of art for exhibitions or for commercial purposes;
(b): Occasional transportation of objects and material intended exclusively for advertising or information;
(c): Transportation of removals by companies with specialized personnel and equipment;
(d): The transport of equipment, accessories and animals to or from theatrical, musical, cinematographic, sports, circuses, fairs or kermasses, as well as those intended for recordings Radio, film or television viewing;
(e): Temperature-driven transport under the CEMT Resolutions referring to this category of transport;
(f): The transport of live animals by specially adapted vehicles.

3. The following are exempt from authorisations:

(a): Occasional shipments of goods to and from airports in the event of deviations from air services;
(b): The carriage of luggage by trailers coupled to vehicles for the transport of persons, as well as the transport of luggage by all types of vehicles to and from airports;
(c): Postal transport;
(d): The entry of recovery and towing vehicles and the transport of damaged vehicles;
(e): The transport of corpses of animals intended for rendering;
(f): Bee and nursery transport;
(g): Funeral transportation;
(h): Clean-account transport;
(i): Transport by means of vehicles of which the total authorised load, including that of the trailer, does not exceed 6 tonnes or whose authorised payload, including that of the trailer, does not exceed 3.5 tonnes;
(j): Transport in transit through the territory of the other Contracting Party;
(k): Transport for disaster relief;
1): The transport of precious metals or values by means of vehicles specially adapted for this purpose;
(m): Transportation by rail-routing system.

Art. 5 Authorizations for the transport of goods

Transport authorisations shall be issued to undertakings by the competent authorities of the country of registration of the vehicles by means of which transport is carried out and, where appropriate, within the limit of the quota fixed each year of a Agreed by the Contracting Parties.

2. Authorizations are of two types:

(a): Authorization on time:
Valid for an unlimited number of trips and for a specified period not exceeding one year;
(b): Travel authorization:
Valid for one or more trips and for a maximum of two months.

3. Transport shall be in accordance with the terms of the authorisation; the authorisation shall be on board the vehicle and shall be presented at the request of the screening officers.

Art. 6 Implementation of national legislation

For all matters not covered by this Agreement, the carriers of a Contracting Party and their servants shall be required to comply with the provisions of the laws and regulations of the other Contracting Party, when their vehicles On the territory of the latter.

Art. 7 Prohibition of inland transport

A carrier of a Contracting Party shall be prohibited from carrying out inland transport in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Art. 8 Offences

The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall ensure that the carriers comply with the provisions of this Agreement.

2. Carriers and their servants who, in the territory of the other Contracting Party, have committed infringements of the provisions of this Agreement or of the laws and regulations relating to road transport or road traffic in In force on that territory may, at the request of the competent authorities of that country, be the subject of the following measures to be taken by the authorities of the country of registration of the vehicle:

(a): Warning;
(b): Temporary, partial or total abolition of the right to transport in the territory of the Contracting Party where the offence was committed.

The authority which has taken such action shall inform the competent authority of the other Contracting Party.

4. Remain reserved for sanctions that may be applied under national law by the courts or competent authorities of the Contracting Party in whose territory such offences have been committed.

Art. Implementing rules

The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall agree on the terms of application of this Agreement by means of a Protocol ¹ Established at the same time as the latter.

¹ Not published to OR. This protocol is available from the Federal Transportation Agency.

Art. 10 Joint Commission

The competent authority of one of the Contracting Parties may request the meeting of a joint committee made up of representatives of the two Contracting Parties to deal with matters arising from the application of this Agreement; that committee shall be Competent to amend the protocol referred to in s. 9. Any changes will be confirmed by an exchange of diplomatic notes. The committee shall meet alternately in the territory of each of the Contracting Parties.

Art. 11 Entry into force and duration of validity Protocol

This Agreement shall enter into force on a date fixed by mutual agreement after each Contracting Party has notified the other that it has complied with the constitutional requirements relating to the conclusion and implementation of the International agreements.

2. The Agreement shall be valid for an indefinite period of time; it may be denounced by each Contracting Party for the end of a calendar year with a written notice of at least three months.

3. On the date of entry into force of this Agreement, shall be repealed:

(a): The arrangement for road transport between Switzerland and Belgium on 24 December 1948 ¹ As well as its amendments of 30 March 1956;
(b): Tax arrangements by exchange of diplomatic notes on 16 June 1949, 18 and 27 December 1950 ².

In witness whereof, The undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Brussels, on 25 February 1975, in two originals in the French language.

¹ Not published to OR.
² Not published to OR.

Protocol

In accordance with Art. 9 of the Agreement between Switzerland and Belgium on international road transport signed in Brussels on 25 February 1975, it agreed as follows:

1. Transport of persons (art. 3)

With regard to the carriage referred to in Art. 3, para. 2 of the agreement, no control document is required.

Applications for authorization for the transportation of persons who do not meet the requirements of s. 3, para. 21 of the agreement (e.g., shuttle races) shall be submitted to the competent authorities of the other Contracting Party through the competent authorities of the country of registration of the vehicle.

The authority issuing the authorisation shall inform the competent authority of the other Contracting Party by sending a copy of the document issued to it.

Authorisations must be on board vehicles and must be presented at the request of the supervisory bodies.

2. Transport of goods (art. 4)

The provisions of the Agreement shall apply to coupled vehicles only to the extent that the towing vehicle is registered in one of the Contracting Parties.

In order to cover the needs of the road traffic to be carried out by the carriers, the competent authorities shall determine each year by mutual agreement the quota and shall recover the forms free of charge.

Authorizations on time are charged to the contingent due to 30 trips.

Transport authorisations are personal and non-transferable; they must be accompanied by a travel account. This account, duly completed by the care of the holder of the authorisation or his authorised representative, shall be stamped on each journey by the customs of the other Contracting Party. It should refer to:

-: The loading and unloading point of the goods;
-: The nature of the goods being transported;
-: The weight of the goods transported.

Authorisations and travel accounts shall be on board vehicles and shall be presented at the request of the supervisory bodies. Authorisations give carriers the right to take back cargo.

After use or after the expiration of their validity in the case of non-use, the transport authorisations and records are returned by the beneficiaries to the service that issued them.

The competent authority of a Contracting Party shall, at the end of each year, submit to the authority of the other Contracting Party a statement of the authorisations issued during the year.

At present, the Swiss authorities are abstaining from applying the authorisation scheme to Belgian carriers. Consequently, the latter may carry out without further formalities transport to or from Switzerland and may load return cargo in Switzerland.

However, the Swiss authorities expressly reserve the right to apply reciprocity to Belgian carriers.

3. Application of national legislation (art. 6)

Contracting Parties shall take note that s. 6 of the Agreement refers in particular to the legislation on road transport, on road traffic, on the weights and dimensions of vehicles, on the duration of the work and rest of the crew of vehicles and on periods of driving in the Flying.

4. Competent Authorities

The competent authorities for the implementation of the agreement are:

For Switzerland: The Federal Department of Transport and Communications and Energy, Office of Transport. CH-3003 Berne (telex 33179 eav ch ¹, tel. Bern 614111);

For Belgium: The Ministry of Communications and Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones, Transport Administration, Cantersteen 12, B-1000 Brussels (tel. 513 18 30, telex 23285).

5. Vehicle Weights and Dimensions

With regard to the weight and size of on-road vehicles, each Contracting Party undertakes not to subject vehicles registered in the other Contracting Party to conditions more restrictive than for vehicles registered on Its territory.

Where vehicles exceed the maximum weights and dimensions set by the national legislation of each of the Contracting Parties, the following procedures shall apply respectively:

For Switzerland: Vehicles registered in Belgium may enter Switzerland in the area close to the border fixed by the Federal Department of Justice and Police, subject to authorisation, either by the Swiss customs office or by Federal Police Division ², road traffic division, Bern.

For transportation beyond this area, the Federal Police Division ³), Traffic Division CH-3003 Berne (telex 32153 ⁴, will issue special authorizations only for the undivided goods and if the road conditions permit the granting of the authorization. Requests must be made in advance to this authority.

In no case shall the total weight recorded in the movement permit be exceeded.

For Belgium: Derogations are granted by the Ministry of Public Works Road Transport Service Chaussée de Louvain, 550 B-1030 Brussels, Belgium Telephone: 02/735 20 12 Telex: Robru 22804

6. Customs system

Fuels and fuels contained in the normal tanks of vehicles imported temporarily are admitted free of import duties and taxes and without import prohibitions or restrictions.

Spare parts imported for use in the repair of a specified vehicle, already temporarily imported, shall be admitted temporarily free of entry fees and taxes without prohibitions or import restrictions. Contracting Parties may require that such documents be placed under the cover of a temporary importation title. Superseded parts are released, re-exported or destroyed under customs control.

7. Relief of duties and taxes

The current Swiss legislation does not impose any right or tax on transport or traffic on Belgian carriers operating in Switzerland governed by the provisions of the agreement by means of vehicles registered in Belgium. On a reciprocal basis, Belgium grants the exemption from the movement tax on vehicles and the daily subsistence tax to Swiss carriers operating in the territory of Belgium governed by the agreement by means of Vehicles registered in Switzerland. It is specified that the current Belgian legislation provides for exemption from the value added tax for international road haulage services.

Remains reserved for the collection of concession fees and the value added tax on remunerated transport of persons, as well as, where appropriate, rights for roads, bridges, tunnels and to authorise derogations from the Legislation on road traffic, such as overpassing weights, vehicle dimensions or driving bans on Sundays.

Done at Brussels, on 25 February 1975, in two originals in the French language.

For the

Swiss Federal Council:

For the Government

Kingdom of Belgium:

Monfrini

R. Van Elslande

RO 1975 1442

¹ Currently "telex 912 791 bar ch".
² Currently "Federal Police Office".
³ Currently "Federal Police Office".
⁴ Currently "telex 912 240 bap ch".

Status November 5, 1999