3. TRANSPORT 

3.3 Land Transport

A. Sub-Regional Sectoral Agreements

6 | 7 | 8  

 

6. Decision 399: “Transporte Internacional de Mercancías por Carretera, sustitutoria de la Decisión 257" (Decision 399: International Transport of Merchandise by Road, substitutive of Decision 257)

DATE: January 17, 1997

MEMBERS: Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela)

Summary of Provisions

Objective (Chapter II): Fundamental Principles
Article 2: This Decision establishes the conditions for the provision of the service of international transport of merchandise by road between the Member Countries of the Cartagena Agreement, with the purpose to liberalize its supply.

Article 3: The supply and provision of international transport is based on the following fundamental principles: freedom of operation; market access; national treatment; transparency; non-discrimination; legal treatment equality; free competition; and most-favored-nation.

Definitions (Chapter I):
Article 1: For the application of this Decision and of the other Community standards which regulate the international transport of merchandise between the countries of the Cartagena Agreement, the following definitions are used: 

“Customs of Cargo”, “Custom of Destination”, “Customs of Origin”, “Customs of Border Crossing”, ”Scope of Operation”, “Letter of International Freight by Road”, “National Center of Attention in the Border” or “Binational Center of Attention in the Border”, “Certificate of Qualification”, “Certificate of Suitability”, “Consignatary”, “Container”, “Contract of International Transport of Merchandise by Road”, ”Border Crossing”, “Declarant”, “Addressee”, “Equipment”, “Fleet”, “Qualification”, “Handbook of the Land Crew Member”, “Manifest of International Cargo”, “Operation of International Transport of Merchandise by Road”, “Competent National Entity": 

Bolivia: General Office of Land Transport; 

Colombia: General Office of Automotive Land Transport and Traffic; 

Ecuador: National Council on Land Traffic and Transport; 

Peru: General Office of Land Circulation; 

Venezuela: Autonomous Service on Land Transport and Traffic. 

“Country of Origin”, “Permit for Provision of Services”, Registration, “Remittent”, “Andean System of Roads”, “Traffic”, 

“International Transport of Merchandise": from now on “international transport”, the carrying of merchandise, which, protected by a Letter of International Freight by Road and a Manifest of International Cargo, is undertaken by the authorized transporter in qualified vehicles and unities of cargo, properly registered, from a place where the transporter takes or receives the merchandise under its responsibility, to another place that has been designated for its deliverance, located in different Member Countries.

“International Transport of Merchandise by Road on a Firm’s own Account”, “Authorized Transporter”, “Crew”, “Unity of Cargo”, “Qualified Vehicle”, “Bound Vehicle”.

Application Scope (Chapter III):
Article 5: The international transport of merchandise by road taking place between Member Countries of the Cartagena Agreement, or in transit through their territories, will be governed by this Decision and its complementary norms.

Article 7: The following traffic routes are established for the international transport by road:

a) Between neighbor Member Countries;

b) Between two Member Countries, crossing two or more Member Countries;

c) From a Member Country to a third country, passing through one or more Member Countries which are distinct from the country where the transport has initiated;

d) From a third country to a Member Country, passing through one or more Member Countries which differ from the country where the transport will end; and

e) From and to third countries, passing through two or more Member Countries.

The provisions of this Decision and its complementary norms are applied to the traffic covered in c), d) and e) only when traveling over Member Countries.

Article 8: The international transport carried by transporters of third countries through the territory of one or more Member Countries will be governed by national standards of each of the Member Countries through which the traffic takes place, or by what is established in current international agreements.

Article 9: The international transport will be carried through the routes that shape the Andean System of Highways and through qualified cross-border intersections, as well as through other routes or border intersections authorized by the Member Countries.

Article 12: The provisions of this Decision do not apply to the frontier transport, which will be governed by standards decided between the neighbor Member Countries.

Article 14: The Member Countries, in their respective territories, grant free transit to qualified vehicles and cargo unities which are properly registered to carry out the international transport.

National Treatment:
Article 15: The authorized transporter who has received a License to provide international transport services will receive treatment no less favorable than the treatment granted to the own authorized transporters of the country which has issued the License.

MFN Treatment:
Article 16: The Member Countries will accord to the authorized transporter, to whom the License for the Provision of Services has been granted, treatment no less favorable than the treatment accorded in similar circumstances to the transporters of a third country.

Transparency:
Article 17: When adopting a measure applying to international transport, regarding the circulation of qualified vehicles and cargo unities, as well as the crew, each Member Country will make it immediately available to the knowledge of the other Member countries and of the Board of the Cartagena Agreement.

The same procedure must be followed in the cases of signature, adherence to or ratification of bilateral or multilateral agreements with other Member Country or third countries, regarding the international transport of merchandise by road.

Article 200: Each Member Country will timely communicate to the competent national entities of the other Member Countries, the required conditions for the circulation of registered qualified vehicles and cargo unities, which may not be, in any circumstances, more strict than the required conditions for the circulation of their own registered vehicles.

Transport Conditions (Chapter IV):
Article 18: Only the transporter with the authorizations which were established in this Decision may carry out the international transport of merchandise by road.

Article 21: The international transport of merchandise by road will be carried out through the following forms of operation:

a) Direct transport, with no vehicle (truck, tractor , tow) change;

b) Direct transport, with change of the traction unit, with no merchandise transfer.

The transfer of merchandise will be made only when explicitly agreed by the authorized transporter and the shipper, which should be included in the Letter of International Freight by Road.

Recognition:
Article 25: The licenses granted by a Member Country to conduce automotive vehicles, where the conductors are used in the international transport, will be recognized as valid in the other Member Countries through which the traffic takes place.

Article 29: The identification applied by a Member Country to vehicles which are registered there (plates or other specific identifications), and to the qualified vehicles and cargo unities, will be recognized as valid in the other Member Countries through which such vehicles or unities transit.

Insurance:
Article 30: The insurance policy mentioned in item d) of articles 39 and 40 of this Decision must be presented to the respective national competent entities before the provision of services starts.

The transporter may not carry the international transport when the insurance policy on civil responsibility is due.

Suspension of Services:
Article 31: The services of international transport may be suspended by:

a) Judicial Mandate;

b) National Competent Entity’s Order, as a consequence of an administrative procedure; or

c) Decision by an Authorized transporter.

In the case of c), the suspension will be notified to the national competent entity with at least fifteen calendar days of anticipation, before entering into force. 

Chapter V covers the Authorizations for the Transport, Chapter VI the Crew, Chapter VII the Qualification and Registration of Vehicles and Cargo Unities, Chapter VIII the Transport Contract, and Chapter IX the Rights and Obligations and the Responsibility of the Authorized Transporter, the Shipper and the Addressee.

Settlement of Disputes (Chapter X): the Jurisdiction and Competence
Article 152: Any conflict or difference arising from the application or execution of an international transport contract which does not involve this Decision’s norms of public order will be governed by the law anticipated in the contract. In face of the absence of agreement, the provisions of this Decision and its complementary norms will be applied, and in cases not covered by them, the national right norms will be applied.

Chapters XI and XII cover Customs and Migration Aspects, respectively. 

National Competent Entities:
Article 185: The national competent entities which are designated and accredited by the Member Countries will be responsible for the application of this Decision and its complementary norms in their respective territories.

Article 186: The national competent entities shall also:

a) Coordinate with their country’s other authorities the application of the operational and procedural aspects established in the Decisions and complementary norms regulating the international transport of merchandise by road;

b) Coordinate the execution of the operational aspects of the international transport of merchandise by road with the national competent entities of the other Member Countries;

c) Promote coordination mechanisms with the authorized transporters and users of the international transport of merchandise by road of their country;

d) Promote the establishment of the Commissions for Traffic and International Land Transport Facilitation; and

e) Supply the Committee’s Permanent Technical Secretariat and the Pro-Tempore Secretariat with any requested information regarding the international transport of merchandise by road, according to what is anticipated in this Decision and its complementary norms, as well as in the Agreements or Resolutions approved by the Andean Committee of Land Transport Authorities (CAATT).

Article 187: The national competent entities will carry a national record of authorized transporters, as well as of qualified vehicles and cargo unities which operate in their country. They will also carry a control of the modifications, suspensions or cancellations.

Chapters XIV and XV cover the National or Binational Centers of Attention in the Border and the Andean Record of Authorized Transporters and Qualified Vehicles, respectively.

Final Provisions:
Article 214: This Decision will substitute the Decision 257 of the Cartagena Agreement’s Commission.

Enter into Force:
Article 215: This Decision will enter into force after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Cartagena Agreement.

7. Decision 289: “Transporte Internacional de Pasajeros por Carretera” (Decision 289: International Transport of Passengers by Road)

DATE: March 21-22, 1991

MEMBERS: Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela)

Summary of Provisions

Objective (Chapter III): 
Article 8: The Member Countries grant, in their respective territories, freedom of transit to carry the International Transport of Passengers by Road under the terms and conditions of this Decision.

Article 9: The International Transport of Passengers by Road established by this Decision will be carried under the modality of direct transport.

Article 10: The Member Countries will agree, bilaterally or multilaterally, to the routes, schedules and frequencies to be exploited in the international transport of passengers by road.

Definitions (Chapter I):
Article I: For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions are used:

“Temporal Admission”, “Ticket of Admission”, “Certification of Qualification”, “Closed Circuit”, “Baggage”, “Equipment”, “Handbook of the Land Crew Member”, “List of Passengers”, “Member Country”, “Passenger”, “Complementing Permit for the Provision of Services”, “Original Permit for the Provision of Services”, “Authorized Transporter”, “Crew”, “Vehicle”, “Qualified Vehicle”, and

“International Transport of Passengers by Road”: the operations carried by authorized transporters under the terms of this Decision, consisting in regularly transporting persons according to the approved routes, schedules and frequencies, from a place of origin to another place of destination and between cities of different Member Countries, or in transit toward third countries.

Application Scope (Chapter II):
Article 2: The Member Countries will apply this Decision to the International Transport of Passengers by Road.

Article 3: This Decision will not impose, under any circumstances, restrictions to the facilities for the free traffic and transport of persons, vehicles or merchandise, or over the cross-border transport, which have been or may be granted between each other or with third countries, through bilateral or multilateral agreements or treaties.

Article 5: The International Transport of Passengers by Road which is the object of the present Decision, considers the following traffics:

a) Between Member Countries;

b) In transit through Member Countries toward third countries, dropping and picking up international Passengers.

Recognition (Chapter III): Conditions for the Provision of Transport Services
Article 12: The licenses to conduct vehicles, granted by any of the Member Countries, will be recognized as valid by the other Member Countries.

Article 15: The way in which each Member Country identifies the vehicles used by the authorized transporter (plates and other specific identifications), will be recognized by the other Member Countries.

Regulations:
Article 13: The vehicles’ crew will work under the standards and legal provisions regulating the traffic of the Member Country where they operate.

Article 14: The circulation of qualified vehicles will take place in conformity with the current provisions of the Member Countries through which territories this circulation of vehicles is undertaken.

Transparency and National Treatment:
Article 14: Each Member Country will communicate to the other countries the requirements for such circulation, which in no circumstances can be different from the required for the circulation, in this category, of the vehicles registered in its territory.

Chapter IV covers the Authorization of Transporters and Qualification of Vehicles.

Chapter V covers the Transport Contract.

Chapter VI: Provisions on Customs Issues
Article 41: For the purposes of the International Transport of Passengers by Road, the customs authorities will allow, according to the case, the temporal exit and entry of qualified vehicles under the regime of temporal admission.

Article 42: For the better functioning of the services of International Transport of Passengers by Road, the Member Countries will accord, bilaterally or multilaterally, to the operative procedures of the cross-border services in general.

Chapter VII: Aspects on Migration
Article 46: Each Member Country will allow, in and out of its territory, the crew of qualified vehicles operating the International Transport of Passengers by Road, with the presentation of the Handbook of the Land Crew Member.

Chapter VIII: The Andean Committee of Land Transport Authorities
Article 51: The implementation of this Decision will be under the responsibility of an Andean Committee of Authorities on Land Transport.

Article 52: For the purposes of this Decision the Andean Committee of Land Transport Authorities has the following functions, besides the attributes established in Chapter VIII of Decision 257:

a) To approve the necessary regulation for the correct application of this Decision. 

b) To determine the formats and contents of the documents established in this Decision.

c) To bring to the Board of the Cartagena Agreement the recommendations related to the modifications of this Decision.

d) To propose a solution for the problems arising in this area to the Competent National Entities of the Member Countries. 

e) To evaluate and supervise the accomplishment of the agreements adopted by the Andean Committee of Land Transport Authorities, as well as the necessary regulation for the application of this Decision.

f) To propose to the National Competent Authorities the orientation and/or work documents to achieve the necessary actions for the implementation of this Decision.

g) To recruit representatives of transporters, users and other public or private sectors involved with the International Transport of Passengers by Road.

h) To carry, through the Permanent Technical Secretariat, what is mentioned in Article 63 of Decision 257, records of the transporters and vehicles, authorized and qualified by each Member Country; of the Permits for the Provision of Services demanded in each Member Country; and of the technical conditions for the qualification and circulation of the vehicles required by each Member Country for the transport which is the object of this Decision, with the purpose of disseminating them.

i) To process and circulate, through the Permanent Technical Secretariat, technical statistics on the International Transport by Road, reorganized through the National Competent Entities.

j) To promote, in coordination with the Member Countries, the harmonization of technical standards and legal provisions of the Member Countries, in the application field of the International Transport of Passengers by Road.

k) To propitiate the harmonization of bilateral or multilateral commitments relating to the routes, schedules and frequencies for the application of this Decision.

l) To recommend fixing the total coverage of the insurance policies to be contracted by the authorized transporters, according to paragraphs c) of Articles 19 and 29 of this Decision.

Article 54: The Andean Committee of Land Transport Authorities will modify and extend its own internal regulations.

Chapter IX: The National Competent Entities
Article 55: The National Competent Entities designated by the Member Countries will be responsible for the full implementation of this Decision in their territories.

Article 56: Besides what is established in the previous Article, the National Competent Entities shall: 

a) coordinate the application of the operational and procedural aspects of this Decision with the respective national authorities; 

b) coordinate the execution of the operative aspects of the International Transport of Merchandise by Road with the National Competent Entities of the other Member Countries; 

c) establish mechanisms of coordination with the authorized transporters and users of the International Transport of Merchandise by Road of their country; 

d) participate in the establishment of Commissions for Traffic Facilitation at national and border levels, with appropriate capacity and suitability for the solution of problems of users and authorized transporters, in the International Transport of Merchandise by Road; and 

e) provide information relating to the International Transport of Passengers by Road, to the Permanent Technical and Pro Tempore Secretariats, as mentioned in Article 63 of Decision 257.

Entry into Force:
Article 61: This Decision will enter in vigor after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Cartagena Agreement.

8. Decision 359: Reglamento de la Decisión 289 “Transporte Internacional de Passajeros por Carretera” (Decision 359: Regulation of Decision 289 on “International Transport of Passengers by Road”)

DATE: May 25-27, 1994

MEMBERS: Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela)

Summary of Provisions

Objective: To approve the Regulation of Decision 289 “International Transport of Passengers by Road”.

Definitions (Chapter I):
Article 1: For the purposes of the implementation of Decision 289 and this Decision, the following definitions are used:

“Competent National Entity”, the entity responsible for the transport by road in each of the Member Countries, as well as for the full implementation of Decision 289.The “Competent National Entities” are: 

Bolivia: General Office of Automotive Transport; 

Colombia: General Office of Automotive Land Transport and Traffic; 

Ecuador: National Council on Land Traffic and Transport; 

Peru: General Office of Land Circulation; 

Venezuela: Autonomous Service on Land Transport and Traffic.

Other Definitions: “Cross-border Intersections”, “Itinerary”, “Country of Origin”, “Andean System of Highways”, “Authorized Transporter”, “Bound Vehicle”.

Conditions for Operations of the International Transport of Passengers by Road (Chapter II):
Article 2: The international transport of passengers by road may only be carried by juridic persons, who are constituted and established in one of the Member Countries of the Cartagena Agreement.

Article 6: The international transport of passengers by road will be carried under the direct transport modality, except in properly justified exceptional cases.

Article 7: The authorized transporter may pick up and drop passengers and parcels in any country of the Subregion and transport them to other Member Country. Likewise, the authorized transporter may pick up passengers and transport them to a third country, passing through one or more Member Countries different from the operation’s country of origin, or vice-versa.

Article 8: The operations of the international transport of passengers by road will take place through the routes that shape the Andean System of Highways, using the cross-border intersections established in Decision 271. Such operations may also take place through the routes and cross-border intersections to which the Member Countries have agreed through bilateral or multilateral agreements.

Chapter III covers the authorizations to operate, what includes issues relating to the certificate of suitability, the permit for the Provision of Services, and modifications of the scope of operation.

Chapter IV covers the qualification of vehicles, Chapter V covers the records of the qualified enterprises and vehicles, Chapter VI the removal or unbinding of qualified vehicles, Chapter VII the legal representative of the authorized transporters, Chapter VIII covers the documents necessary for the provision of transport services, Chapter IX covers the assignment of routes, frequencies and itineraries, and Chapter X cover transport in a closed circuit.

The Civil Responsibility Insurance Policy for authorized transporters in the issue of Chapter XI, and the Handbook of the Land Crew Member is the issue of Chapter XII. Chapter XIII cover the request for duplicates of transport documents.

Private Sector Participation in the Committee’s Meetings:
Article 129: The organizations of authorized transporters for the international transport of passengers by road will be represented in the meetings of the Andean Committee of Land Transport Authorities called by the Permanent Technical Secretariat.

Article 131: The representative of the organizations of the authorized transporters for the international transport of passengers by road will be accredited to the presidency of the Andean Committee of Land Transport Authorities and to the Cartagena Agreement’s Board before each meeting, through its corresponding organization.

Other Provisions (Chapter XV):
Article 133: The authorized transporter and the international passengers shall follow the provisions on migratory control, customs, public health, phyto and zoo-sanitary which are required in each of the Member Countries through which the international transport of passengers by road takes place.

Article 134: The authorized transporter shall communicate to the competent national entity of its country of origin any modifications which may be introduced to the statutes of the enterprise. For such it will have a period of five (5) business days, considered from the date of the corresponding entry, registration or record, and communicate, when necessary, to the other competent national entities which have been granting it a Permit for the Provision of Services.

Article 136: It is created an Andean Record of Authorized Transporters and Qualified Vehicles for the International Transport of Passengers by Road, which will be the responsibility of the Cartagena Agreement’s Board.

Entry into Force:
Article 139: This Decision will enter into force after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Cartagena Agreement.