Parliament is in favor of mandatory licensing for delivery vans in border traffic
Published: Tuesday, Dec 19th 2023, 09:30
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In future, road hauliers will have to apply for a license for delivery vans weighing two and a half tons or more. Until now, a license has only been required for goods vehicles weighing three and a half tons or more. However, there are to be exceptions.
On Tuesday, the Council of States, as the second chamber, approved several amendments to the Federal Act on the Licensing of Road Transport Companies in the overall vote by 40 votes to 0. Minor differences remain.
With the revision, the Federal Council wants to make cross-border freight transport by road more competitive and bring it into line with the EU. To this end, it is also proposing a license requirement for 2.5-tonne delivery vans of companies that offer this type of transport. The federal government argues that the new regulation would create a level playing field for van and truck transporters.
In Switzerland, around a thousand additional companies would be affected by this step, as stated in the dispatch on the amendment to the law. So far, just over 7000 transport companies in cross-border goods and passenger transport need a license.
Exceptions in the law
Companies that transport goods commercially in Switzerland should not require a license in the future either. The National Council explicitly enshrined in law that delivery vans do not require a license for non-transport-oriented activities, such as the transport of goods for services or spare parts.
The Council of States specified that the new registration requirement should not apply to companies that transport goods solely for the purpose of providing the service they offer. In addition, the small chamber unanimously decided to remove two data collection requirements from the register of road transport companies, namely the number of persons employed and the vehicle registration numbers.
The National Council will discuss these differences again next year.
New EU regulations
The adjustments are necessary due to the EU's "mobility package" with new regulations for the cross-border transportation of people and goods. The license requirement is intended to ensure that companies operating in road transport are reliable, financially efficient and professionally suitable.
An adjustment to the control of letterbox companies should also prevent companies from undermining the Swiss ban on cabotage, i.e. the ban on transportation from place to place within Switzerland, by setting up such companies. It should also put a stop to dumping in terms of social or technical standards.
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