Order of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 10 October 2013 — Kovács

(Case C‑5/13)

‛Reference for a preliminary ruling — Article 45 TFEU — Free movement of workers — National legislation under which a driver using a vehicle with foreign registration plates must prove the lawfulness of its use on the spot, during a police inspection, on pain of a fine’

1. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Answer admitting of no reasonable doubt — Question to which the answer may be clearly deduced from the Court’s existing case-law — Application of Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure (Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 99) (see paras 15, 16)

2. Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Provisions of the Treaty — Scope ratione personae — National of a Member State in gainful employment in a Member State other than his State of residence — Included (Art. 45 TFEU) (see para. 18)

3. Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Restrictions — Workers resident in national territory and employed in another Member State — Use of a vehicle bearing a foreign registration plate — National legislation under which a driver using a vehicle with foreign registration plates must prove the lawfulness of its use on the spot, on pain of a fine — Not permissible — Justification based on the objective of combatting fraud — Limits — Failure to observe of the principle of proportionality (Art. 45 TFEU) (see paras 22, 23, 27-31, 33-35, 37-39, operative part)

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Szombathelyi Törvényszék — Interpretation of the law on non-discrimination, freedom of movement for workers and the right to a fair trial — National legislation on road traffic under which only vehicles that have administrative authorisation and registration plates granted by the national authorities may be used on the roads in the national territory, and the fulfilment of the requirements which allow a derogation from that provision may be established only during an inspection — Obligation for a person residing in Member State A, working in Member State B and having, for the purposes of travelling to his workplace, the use of a vehicle owned by his employer and bearing registration plates from Member State B, to prove during the police inspection that he is lawfully using the vehicle in Member State A — No possibility for the driver of the vehicle to provide the proof of that lawful use subsequently in an administrative procedure.

Operative part

Article 45 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which, in principle, only vehicles that have administrative authorisation and registration plates granted by the Member State in question may be used on the roads in that Member State and a resident of that Member State who seeks to rely on a derogation from that rule, on the ground that he uses a vehicle made available to him by his employer established in another Member State, must be able to prove on the spot, during a police inspection, that he fulfils the requirements for such a derogation, as laid down by the national legislation in question, on pain of the immediate imposition of a fine equivalent to that applicable in the event of infringement of the registration requirement, without there being any possibility of an exemption from that fine.

Order of the Court (Ninth Chamber) of 10 October 2013 — Kovács

(Case C‑5/13)

‛Reference for a preliminary ruling — Article 45 TFEU — Free movement of workers — National legislation under which a driver using a vehicle with foreign registration plates must prove the lawfulness of its use on the spot, during a police inspection, on pain of a fine’

1. Questions referred for a preliminary ruling — Answer admitting of no reasonable doubt — Question to which the answer may be clearly deduced from the Court’s existing case-law — Application of Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure (Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice, Art. 99) (see paras 15, 16)

2. Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Provisions of the Treaty — Scope ratione personae — National of a Member State in gainful employment in a Member State other than his State of residence — Included (Art. 45 TFEU) (see para. 18)

3. Freedom of movement for persons — Workers — Restrictions — Workers resident in national territory and employed in another Member State — Use of a vehicle bearing a foreign registration plate — National legislation under which a driver using a vehicle with foreign registration plates must prove the lawfulness of its use on the spot, on pain of a fine — Not permissible — Justification based on the objective of combatting fraud — Limits — Failure to observe of the principle of proportionality (Art. 45 TFEU) (see paras 22, 23, 27-31, 33-35, 37-39, operative part)

Re:

Request for a preliminary ruling — Szombathelyi Törvényszék — Interpretation of the law on non-discrimination, freedom of movement for workers and the right to a fair trial — National legislation on road traffic under which only vehicles that have administrative authorisation and registration plates granted by the national authorities may be used on the roads in the national territory, and the fulfilment of the requirements which allow a derogation from that provision may be established only during an inspection — Obligation for a person residing in Member State A, working in Member State B and having, for the purposes of travelling to his workplace, the use of a vehicle owned by his employer and bearing registration plates from Member State B, to prove during the police inspection that he is lawfully using the vehicle in Member State A — No possibility for the driver of the vehicle to provide the proof of that lawful use subsequently in an administrative procedure.

Operative part

Article 45 TFEU must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which, in principle, only vehicles that have administrative authorisation and registration plates granted by the Member State in question may be used on the roads in that Member State and a resident of that Member State who seeks to rely on a derogation from that rule, on the ground that he uses a vehicle made available to him by his employer established in another Member State, must be able to prove on the spot, during a police inspection, that he fulfils the requirements for such a derogation, as laid down by the national legislation in question, on pain of the immediate imposition of a fine equivalent to that applicable in the event of infringement of the registration requirement, without there being any possibility of an exemption from that fine.