Announcement by the bmvit

As of 21 December 2007, following enlargement of the Schengen Area, permits for road haulage consignments entering, exiting and transiting through Austria [licences of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT), single-journey permits granted under international road haulage agreements and single-journey permits under Article 7, paragraph 1 (3) of the Carriage of Goods by Road Act (GüterbefG)] will no longer be subject to checks at Austria's borders with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

Please note that the Ministry will in future be increasing the number of spot checks performed inside Austria's borders – either by "flying" police patrols or at fixed vehicle inspection points.

Remember that:

Validation of the above-named single-journey permits (advice: not required for ECMT licences) must always be done before entering Austria either

• by the vehicle driver himself, recording the date of entry manually at the designated point on the paper permit or
• using a validation machine (electronic time and date printer). These machines are prominently positioned at many border crossing points and are identified by signs in several languages. They are already in place at border posts with Germany and Italy and have recently been installed at crossings with the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

Consequently the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology wishes to point out, for the legal certainty of haulage companies and their drivers, that production of a non-validated or incorrectly validated permit will incur a severe administrative penalty, and payment of a temporary bond (security) of 1 453.00 Euro will be required before the vehicle is allowed to proceed.