As autumn approaches you may be preparing for your festive season deliveries. This may include transporting goods to Europe for the shops, home delivery, and festive markets.

Users of vans and other light goods vehicles weighing between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes and which transport goods for hire or reward from the UK into, or through the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, now need an International Operators’ Licence. 

Without the necessary licence, your business may be disrupted and you could also face enforcement action. The type of action will depend on the country where you are stopped but could include fines, impounding, or being asked to return to the UK. 

You may also need to make posting declarations for journeys to the EU

If you’re transporting goods between two points in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway for commercial purposes, (known as cabotage or cross trade), you must now make a “posting declaration”, which means registering the operator, driver, driver employment details, dates of travel, and the vehicle used.

The information you need to sign up and start declaring is available on GOV.UK. Or you can access the EU Portal and FAQs now.  

Help or Assistance – Contact IoTA