WRITTEN QUESTION E-1200/97 by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission (3 April 1997)

Subject: Temporary number plates for cars intended for sale

In the EU there are cars which are bought in one Member State and taken to other Member States to be sold. The country in which they are bought issues temporary number plates for the journey (e.g. 'Zoll-Nummer' plates in Germany and 'plaque de transit' plates in Belgium).

The issuing of such plates entails a hefty charge of approximately DM 700, with insurance cover, which is added to the final cost of the vehicle and must be paid by the consumer.

It is also worth noting that car traders in the EU possess test-drive plates (e.g. 'ÄÏÊ' in Greece, 'Genehmigung' in Germany and 'plaque de marchant' in Belgium) issued by their respective countries.

Consequently, such plates could perhaps be used to move vehicles intended for sale from one EU country to another, leaving responsibility for insurance cover to traders, bearing in mind that insurance companies can provide cover by means of the well-known green card.

Would the Commission consider the possibility of providing for the use of test-drive plates as a solution for the transport of vehicles intended for sale? Also, what is the Commission's position on the question of introducing one form of test-drive plates for the whole EU, as with the standard number plates that will be introduced in all Member States?

Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (3 July 1997)

Following an application by the owner of a vehicle, the authorities of a Member State register it after carrying out checks relating to taxation and technical matters (individual or type-approval and technical controls). Registration consists in the allocation to a vehicle by the authorities of a serial number known as the registration number, thereby enabling a vehicle and its owner to be identified when the vehicle is in use ((Established by Recommendation No 5 of 25.2.1949 by the Subcommittee on road transport of the Committee on domestic transport of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. )). A registration document certifying registration of the vehicle is then issued and a number plate bearing the serial number is attached to the outside of the vehicle in accordance with harmonized standards ((Proposal for a Council Directive on registration documents for motor vehicles and their trailers (COM(97) 248 final, 30.5.1997). )).

The registration certificate is the chief means by which the national authorities can identify the vehicle and its owner when the vehicle is in use.

In some Member States the authorities issue vehicle dealers established in their territory with registration certificates and special number plates which identify the owner only, not the vehicle. These special registration certificates enable dealers to travel there using any vehicle intended for commercial purposes. In principle, the special registration plates are valid only in the Member State where the dealer is established. The justification for this system is that it enables the national authorities to exercise effective control over dealers established in their territory.

This is why a vehicle purchased in a Member State by a person resident in another Member State must be provisionally registered in the Member State of purchase before it can be transferred to the Member State where the purchaser is resident. The costs associated with provisional registration vary from one Member State to another but are negligible in relation to the value of the vehicle itself.

According to the judgment of the Court of Justice of 20 February 1979 in Case 120/78 ('Cassis de Dijon'), obstacles to the free movement of goods 'must be accepted in so far as those provisions may be recognized as being necessary in order to satisfy mandatory requirements relating in particular to the effectiveness of fiscal supervision'.

The Commission takes the view that, if vehicle dealers resident in one Member State were allowed to use the special number plates issued to them in the territory of another Member State for the purpose of transferring vehicles from one Member State to another, the control which the authorities in the latter Member State would be able to exercise over vehicles covered by the special registration certificate while in use in their territory and over dealers resident in another Member State would be far too weak, if not non-existent. If controls were too weak, infringements of national regulations, particularly those concerning taxation, could occur. The Commission does not, therefore, envisage presenting a proposal in this field at present.

The Commission has not adopted a proposal for a directive on the harmonization of national laws on ordinary registration plates and has no plans to present a proposal on the special registration plates which are the subject of this question.

As regards matters relating to the insurance of a vehicle with a firm established in the Community, the following points should be spelt out.

Under Community motor vehicle insurance legislation, the place where a vehicle is registered is the decisive factor in determining the Member State where the risk is located. The fact that the location of risk is determined by the vehicle's place of registration is a consequence of the way in which the green card system ((Council Directive 70/222/EEC of 20 March 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the MemberStates relating to the space for mounting and the fixing of rear registration plates on motor vehicles and their trailers (OJ L 76, 6.4.1970, p. 25). )) operates; it is on this system that the arrangements for compulsory civil liability insurance for motor vehicles in the Community and those for monitoring compliance with the obligation to take out such insurance are based. The fact that a vehicle bears a special registration plate such as the temporary or test-drive plates to which the Honourable Member refers has no bearing on the location of risk; the arrangements applicable to permanent registration plates apply in such cases too.

Council Directive 72/166/EEC ((OJ L 103, 2.5.1972. )) stipulates that the Member State where the vehicle is registered must ensure that it is covered by a compulsory insurance policy against the civil liability resulting from its use. This compulsory insurance covers, on the basis of a single premium, all damage caused by the insured vehicle in the territory of the other Member States up to the level stipulated in the other Member States or in the Member State where the vehicle is registered, if the latter is higher ((Directive 90/232/EEC (OJ L 129, 19.5.1990). )).