1.This Regulation governs admission to, and the pursuit of, the occupation of road transport operator.
2.This Regulation shall apply to all undertakings established in the Community which are engaged in the occupation of road transport operator. It shall also apply to undertakings which intend to engage in the occupation of road transport operator. References to undertakings engaged in the occupation of road transport operator shall, as appropriate, be considered to include a reference to undertakings intending to engage in such occupation.
3.As regards the regions referred to in Article 299(2) of the Treaty, the Member States concerned may adapt the conditions to be complied with in order to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, in so far as operations are fully carried out in those regions by undertakings established there.
4.By way of derogation from paragraph 2, this Regulation shall, unless otherwise provided for in national law, not apply to:
undertakings engaged in the occupation of road haulage operator solely by means of motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles the permissible laden mass of which does not exceed 3,5 tonnes engaged exclusively in national transport operations in their Member State of establishment;
undertakings engaged in the occupation of road haulage operator solely by means of motor vehicles or combinations of vehicles, the permissible laden mass of which does not exceed 2,5 tonnes;
undertakings engaged in road passenger transport services exclusively for non-commercial purposes or which have a main occupation other than that of road passenger transport operator;
undertakings engaged in the occupation of road transport operator solely by means of motor vehicles with a maximum authorised speed not exceeding 40 km/h.
For the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph, any carriage by road, other than carriage for hire or reward or on own account, for which no direct or indirect remuneration is received and which does not directly or indirectly generate any income for the driver of the vehicle or for others, and which is not linked to professional activity, is to be considered as carriage exclusively for non-commercial purposes.
5.Member States may exempt from the application of all or some of the provisions of this Regulation only those road transport operators engaged exclusively in national transport operations having only a minor impact on the transport market because of:
the nature of the goods carried; or
the short distances involved.