News / Warning to EU hauliers as already complex liability rules tighten

Hauliers are being urged to familiarise themselves with the complex EU regulations to avoid liability issues and fines.

And the fragmented sector is proving a challenge to police in member states.   

Global law firm Kennedys has warned European hauliers of the heightened risk of acting as an ‘indirect agent’ – the importer on record – when it comes to product liability. 

Importing from a ‘third country’ into the EU could result in liability falling on the importer in the event of a defective product causing injury or property damage, under the EU Product Liability Directive (PLD). 

While the manufacturer is responsible for a defective product, liability could include the provider of a related service – the importer, fulfilment service provider or distributor. 

“A distributor of a defective product can also be liable where an economic operator established in the EU cannot be identified, and where the distributor fails to identify such economic operator or its own distributor (when requested by the injured person to do so),” advised Kennedys.  

The revised PLD contains elements intended to make it easier for claimants to succeed in product liability claims against a wider range of potential defendants. 

“This means contracts will need to be checked to establish whether a haulier is indeed acting an importer, by virtue of the agreement with the customer, and how certain customs documents are completed,” added Kennedys. “And when it comes to insurance protections, underwriters of freight liability policies may not envisage their insureds being deemed to be importers and thus exposed to the potential liabilities that such a role attracts.”  

Each EU member state has until 9 December 2026 to incorporate the revised PLD into their national law. 

Meanwhile, a recent article published by German news source DVZ raised another important compliance step for hauliers, but underscored the difficulty of regulating such a large and fragmented sector.  

The EU has strict regulations regarding the movement of goods between two places in one country if the haulier originates from a different member state.  

For example, there is a rule allowing only three such cabotage operations in seven days, which period must start with an international loaded journey entering another member state.  

The prior international loaded operation also must be fully unloaded before any cabotage operations can start, and hauliers must provide clear evidence for cabotage activity. 

But DVZ reports that the legal framework enforcing this is “complicated” and “susceptible to manipulation”.  

It explained that freight forwarders that arrange transport often do not have access to required documents, and shippers often lack personnel with transport law expertise at the loading and unloading ramps.   

And logistics consultant Götz Bopp urged that anyone who trusts only a transport company’s assurances  that it complies with the regulations “must expect high fines for violations”, adding that freight forwarders and transport companies are jointly liable, even if they are unaware. 

Logistics manager Jörg Cremer, told DVZ that if his paint company “does not commission carriers directly, [we] expect [our] freight forwarders to select transport companies that adhere to the cabotage rules”. 

Mr Bopp estimated that a precise examination of previous transport processes would take around 15 minutes – provided the individual has the appropriate competence and experience. 

He called for a “significant expansion of state controls to relieve the burden on companies”, but admitted the enormity of such a task.  

According to cross-border transport statistics published by the Federal Motor Transport Authority, around 5.9m cabotage journeys took place in Germany alone in 2023 – around 30% of all movements – on which non-domestic companies moved some 82.1m tonnes of goods. 

DVZ also reported that German hauliers felt “systematically disadvantaged” compared with their predominantly Eastern European competitors, due to the high non-compliance with cabotage rules.