Accreditation as an IT service provider for Electronic Consignment Notes (e-CMR)
Last update
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.
Please note:
In the Benelux countries, companies can make unlimited use of electronic consignment notes (e-CMR Benelux) as long as they are in the list of approved service providers listed below (see list at the end of the page, under "Related procedures and links" - Liste des fournisseurs des services informatiques de la lettre de voiture électronique).
Transport operators can make unlimited use of UNECE e-CMR electronic consignment notes between the countries which have ratified the UNECE e-CMR protocol.
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.
All subsequent correspondence should be addressed to the competent authorities in the selected country.
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.
The use of an invalid electronic consignment note is equivalent to the use of an invalid paper consignment note.
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.
Suppliers must also maintain a list of electronic consignments made using their technology. This list must include, for each consignment note:
- the number and date of issue;
- the names and addresses of the users.
It must be communicated at least every 3 months to Ministry of Mobility and Public Works and the VAT authority.
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.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
Department of Mobility and Transport
-
Ministry of Mobility and Public Works Department of Mobility and Transport
- Address:
-
4, place de l'Europe
L-1499
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
L-2938
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 84 400
- Email address:
- contact@tr.etat.lu
- Website:
- https://transports.public.lu
Related procedures and links
Links
Further information
Legal references
-
Décision du Comité de Ministres Benelux M(2017)12
relative à un projet pilote intra-Benelux portant sur la lettre de voiture électronique
-
Décision du Comité de Ministres Benelux M(2020)16
complétant la décision M(2017)12 relative à un projet pilote intra-Benelux portant sur la lettre de voiture électronique
-
Loi du 15 décembre 2017
portant approbation du Protocole additionnel à la Convention relative au contrat de transport international de marchandises par route (CMR) concernant la lettre de voiture électronique, fait à Genève, le 20 février 2008
- Protocole additionnel à la convention relative au Contrat de transport international de Marchandises par Route (CMR) concernant la lettre de voiture électronique
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