A pilot project within the framework of the Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road, which started on 1 December 2017, authorises the use of electronic consignment notes for the transportation of goods within the Benelux countries for a period extended until 20 August 2025.

IT service providers should submit a request to the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works (Ministère de la Mobilité et des Travaux publics) to become accredited as a supplier of electronic consignment notes.

Who is concerned

IT service providers are eligible for this accreditation.

Prerequisites

To become accredited, IT service providers supplying electronic consignment notes must conduct a business activity in Luxembourg.

Deadlines

Suppliers who have already been admitted to the pilot project during the period 2017-2020 are also admitted to the pilot project which started on 1 December 2020 provided that these suppliers have not indicated that they no longer wish to participate in the pilot project.

These suppliers, who already have ministerial accreditation, have 3 months to implement the technology relating to the date of entry into force of the common access point specification to be adopted by the Benelux Committee of Ministers.

IT service providers who do not yet have ministerial accreditation must submit their application on the date of entry into force of the common access point specification.

How to proceed

Filing an application

To become accredited, IT service providers must:

• fill in the appropriate form; and
  
• send it by email to the Department of Mobility and Transport of the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works at the following address: transportlogistic@tr.etat.lu.

If the service provider has multiple branches or conducts business activities linked to the provision of information technology in multiple Benelux countries, it should file the application in only one of these countries.

Supporting documents

IT service providers must submit the following documents with the application form:

• documents related to the company's incorporation:
  • an extract from the Trade and Companies Register (Registre de commerce et des sociétés - RCS);
  • an extract of the business permit from the Ministry of the Economy;
  • a recent extract from the register of criminal records for companies for the applicant service provider, or the recent criminal records of individuals legally authorised to represent the company;
  • the service provider's last 3 balance sheets;
    
• any documents relating to the proposed technical solution:
  
  • a brief and clear presentation of the functioning of the electronic consignment note showing that the procedures referred to in the law are fulfilled (steps of the procedure, signature method, data retention, etc.);
  • a brief description of the software used and the means to ensure the security and authenticity of the electronic consignment note in order to avoid fraud;
  • the model (with unique number) of the electronic consignment note submitted to the supervisory authorities;
  • a description of the checks of the electronic consignment note on the road (legibility, authenticity, etc.);
  • a description of how access to and verification of the application will be granted to the controllers and the supplier's customers.

Decision

The supplier will be informed in writing of the approval or refusal of his participation in the pilot project within 3 months of the submission of the request.

Suppliers' obligations

After approval, suppliers can make their technology available to shippers and transport companies, enabling them to use the electronic consignment note (e-CMR) instead of the paper version.

They must immediately inform the Department of Mobility and Transport at the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works of each carrier, shipper, and commission agent or user of its IT services platform.

Suppliers must notify the Department of Mobility and Transport of the Ministry of Mobility and Public Works of any changes to the system at least once every 3 months.

Exclusion

Suppliers are excluded when their technology no longer meets the conditions of the Benelux Decision and/or the protocol:

• the electronic consignment note no longer contains the same information as the paper consignment note;
• the process used for the establishment of the note no longer guarantees the integrity of the information contained in it (full and unaltered indications) from the moment when it was drawn up for the first time in its final form;
• the information contained in the note can no longer be supplemented or modified.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact