Verifying a Carrier’s Authorisations Using the Polish National Electronic Register of Road Transport Undertakings (KREPTD)

Under applicable law, carrying out road freight transport activities requires the appropriate authorisations. Under the Polish Road Transport Act, this may include, among other things:

• obtaining an authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, 
• obtaining a Community licence, 
• demonstrating the required financial standing, 
• appointing a transport manager, 
• meeting the good repute requirement. 

The Act also imposes specific obligations and restrictions, such as the prohibition on holding more certified copies than permitted under Article 11a of the Act, as well as the obligation to notify changes in registered details under Article 14.

It’s fair to say that the days when verification of a carrier’s authorisations could be limited either to checking that the carrier was registered on a freight exchange – because, after all, “the exchange must have checked them” – or simply obtaining a scan of a permit or licence are long gone.

KREPTD

The KREPTD register, maintained by the Polish Chief Inspectorate of Road Transport (GITD), makes it possible to carry out a relatively detailed verification of a potential counterparty in terms of the authorisations required by law to provide road transport services. 

The register allows searches using, among other things, the company’s NIP tax identification number, the KREPTD reference number, the company name, the permit number, the licence number. 

Once a specific company has been found in the KREPTD database, the search result is divided into several sections: “Basic Information”, “Transport Managers”, “Certified Copies of the Authorisation”, “Certified Copies of the Licence”, “Legal Representatives”.

“Basic Information”

• general company details (company name, legal form, NIP number, an address) – It is advisable to check whether these details are consistent with the documents provided by the counterparty and with information available in other official registers.
• Authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator for the carriage of goods – It is advisable to check: whether the authorisation number matches the document provided, the status of the authorisation (for example whether it has been marked as “withdrawn”), whether the relevant dates are consistent, the number of vehicles registered under the authorisation. 
• Community licence for the carriage of goods – It is advisable to check: whether the licence number is correct, the status of the licence (for example whether it has been marked as “withdrawn”), whether the dates are consistent, the number of vehicles registered under the licence, whether this number corresponds to the number of vehicles registered under the road transport operator authorisation.

“Transport Manager” 

This section should contain details of the transport manager or the natural person referred to in Article 7c of the Polish Road Transport Act.

It is advisable to check whether the carrier has at least one person registered as:

• a transport manager, or a natural person referred to in Article 7c of the Road Transport Act.

“Certified Copies of the Authorisation”

This section contains information on the number of certified copies of the authorisation issued by the competent authority at the carrier’s request.

It is advisable to check:

• how many certified copies are listed, 
• whether the number of the certified copy matches the scan provided by the carrier, if the carrier supplied a copy rather than the original authorisation, 
• whether the number of certified copies corresponds to the number of vehicles registered under the authorisation. 

It is worth remembering that:

• the original authorisation may be carried in one of the vehicles. This means that the number of certified copies may legitimately be one lower than the number of registered vehicles. If the total number of certified copies plus the original document corresponds to the number of registered vehicles, it is highly likely that the carrier is complying with the applicable legal requirements; 
• if a vehicle has also been registered under a Community licence, obtaining a certified copy of that licence removes the need to hold a certified copy of the underlying authorisation, pursuant to Article 12(3) of the Road Transport Act.

“Certified Copies of the Licence”

This section contains information on the number of certified copies of the Community licence issued by the competent authority at the carrier’s request.

It is advisable to check:

• how many certified copies are listed, 
• whether the number of the certified copy matches the scan provided by the carrier, if the carrier supplied a certified copy rather than the licence itself, 
• the status of the specific certified copy presented by the carrier, 
• whether the number of certified copies corresponds to the number of vehicles registered under the licence. 

As with the authorisation, the original licence may be carried in one of the vehicles. It is therefore acceptable for the number of certified copies to be one lower than the number of vehicles registered under the licence.

“Legal Representatives”

This section contains information on any legal representatives appointed by the company.

There is no general requirement for a carrier to have such a representative, so if the register displays “Items found: 0”, this should not in itself be treated as a cause for concern.

In practice, the vast majority of carriers do not have a legal representative listed, and this section is therefore often empty.

What else is worth knowing?

1. The KREPTD register is generally maintained with considerable care, but some entries may occasionally be inconsistent with the actual situation. This can result from ordinary human error, for example mistakes made when entering data into the register. If, for example, KREPTD contains no information about a particular licence but the carrier provides a scan of the licence and its existence is also confirmed by an entry in CEIDG, the licence most likely does exist. In such a situation, the most reasonable approach is to ask the carrier to clarify the matter directly with GITD. Once the data in KREPTD have been updated, the carrier’s authorisations can be verified again.
2. KREPTD also allows users to search for a transport manager / natural person referred to in Article 7c of the Road Transport Act. Such a person can be searched for from the main page using first name, surname, or the number of the Certificate of Professional Competence.
3. It is advisable to verify how many companies a particular transport manager is associated with.Under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator:

   “Where an undertaking does not satisfy the requirement of professional competence laid down in Article 3(1)(d), the competent authority may authorise it to pursue the occupation of road transport operator without a transport manager designated in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, provided that:

   (a) the undertaking designates a natural person residing in the Community who satisfies the requirements laid down in Article 3(1)(b) and (d), and who is entitled under contract to carry out the duties of transport manager on behalf of the undertaking;

   (…)

   (c) in his capacity as transport manager, the person referred to in point (a) may manage the transport activities of up to four different undertakings carried out with a combined maximum total fleet of 50 vehicles. Member States may decide to lower the number of undertakings and/or the total size of the fleet which that person may manage;

   (…).”

   Article 4(2)(c) therefore makes it clear that in the case of the so-called “lending” of Certificates of Professional Competence, the person making their certificate available:

   • may not act as transport manager for more than four transport undertakings, 
   • may not manage transport operations where the combined fleet of those undertakings exceeds 50 vehicles. 
4. It should also be noted that KREPTD does not contain a register of domestic transport licences issued before the introduction of the authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, i.e. before 15 August 2013.Such authorisations remain valid, so their absence from KREPTD may be entirely justified.
5. The number of vehicles registered under a Community licence should not exceed the number of vehicles registered under the authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator.

   Article 11a of the Polish Road Transport Act provides that an undertaking holding an authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator or a Community licence is prohibited, among other things, from using vehicles for domestic or international road transport that have not been notified to the authority issuing the authorisation.

   Furthermore, Article 11 of the Act of 26 January 2022 amending the Road Transport Act, the Drivers’ Working Time Act and certain other acts provides that where a road carrier had registered a vehicle under a Community licence before the amendment entered into force, but had not registered that vehicle under the authorisation to pursue the occupation of road transport operator, the carrier was required to notify that vehicle under the authorisation within three months of the amendment entering into force.

As with many other verification methods, the ability to use the information available in KREPTD properly – and to analyse it carefully – can significantly reduce the risk faced by the party commissioning the transport.

Author: Kamil Krasuski

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