Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19)

(1) Regulations may prohibit the operator of a goods vehicle from using it on a journey to, in or through a country outside the United Kingdom in relation to which there is a relevant international agreement unless— (a) the use of that vehicle in that country is authorised by (and takes place in accordance with) a permit granted by the Secretary of State, and (b) the permit is carried on the vehicle. (2) A permit granted by the Secretary of State for the purposes of regulations under subsection (1) (referred to in this Part as an “ international road transport permit ”)— (a) may be in any form the Secretary of State considers appropriate; (b) may be in any language the Secretary of State considers appropriate; (c) may be a document or other thing which was given to the Secretary of State by an authority in a country outside the United Kingdom. (3) A prohibition imposed by regulations under subsection (1) may be limited— (a) to journeys of a specified description, (b) to vehicles of a specified description, or (c) in any other way provided for by the regulations; for example, a prohibition relating to Ireland may be limited so that it does not prohibit journeys beginning in Northern Ireland. (4) In this section “ relevant international agreement ” means— (a) in relation to a country other than Ireland, an international agreement— (i) to which the United Kingdom is a party, and (ii) which relates to the transport of goods by road to, in or through the country; (b) in relation to Ireland, an international agreement— (i) to which the United Kingdom is a party, (ii) which the Secretary of State has certified as an agreement to which the Government of Ireland has consented, and (iii) which relates to the transport of goods by road to, in or through Ireland. (5) In this Part— “ goods vehicle ” means a motor vehicle registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 which (alone or in combination with one or more other vehicles drawn by it) is constructed or adapted to carry or to haul goods or burden of any description; “ motor vehicle ” means a mechanically-propelled vehicle which is intended or adapted for use on roads; “ operator ”, in relation to a goods vehicle, means— (a) the driver of the vehicle, if the vehicle belongs to the driver or is in the driver's possession under an agreement for hire or hire-purchase, or a loan; (b) in any other case, the person whose employee or agent the driver is; “ regulations ” means regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(1) Regulations may make provision as to how it is to be decided whether to grant an international road transport permit, including provision— (a) for the number of permits available for a country to be determined in accordance with a relevant international agreement in relation to that country; (b) for the number of permits available in respect of a class of applicants to be determined by the Secretary of State; (c) as to how the Secretary of State is to decide whether to grant an application for a permit, including provision specifying criteria or other methods of selection (which may include first come, first served or an element of random selection); (d) for a number of permits determined by the Secretary of State to be available for grant in cases in which the Secretary of State considers it inappropriate for provision made under paragraph (c) to be applied, for example because of an emergency or other special need. (2) Regulations may make further provision about international road transport permits, including provision— (a) authorising the Secretary of State to grant a permit subject to conditions determined by the Secretary of State; (b) as to the consequences of failure to comply with a condition (for example, provision for the cancellation of a permit); (c) about the duration, variation, renewal or cancellation of a permit; (d) about the procedure in relation to an application for, or for the variation or renewal of, a permit, including provision specifying— (i) when an application is to be made, or that the time when an application is to be made is to be determined by the Secretary of State; (ii) how an application is to be made; (iii) what an application is to contain. (3) In this section “ relevant international agreement ” has the meaning given by section 1(4).