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Sanctioning of infringements by the Member State of establishment

1. In the event of a serious infringement of Community road transport legislation committed or ascertained in any Member State, in particular with regard to the rules applicable to vehicles, driving and rest periods for drivers and the provision without authorisation of parallel or temporary services, as referred to in the fifth subparagraph of Article 5(1), the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment of the carrier who committed the infringement shall take appropriate action, which may include a warning if provided for by national law, to pursue the matter. This may lead, inter alia, to the imposition of the following administrative penalties:

(a) the temporary or permanent withdrawal of some or all of the certified true copies of the Community licence;

(b) the temporary or permanent withdrawal of the Community licence. These penalties may be determined after the final decision on the matter has been taken and shall have regard to the seriousness of the infringement committed by the holder of the Community licence and to the total number of certified true copies of that licence held in respect of international traffic.

2. The competent authorities of the Member State of establishment shall communicate to the competent authorities of the Member State in which the infringements were ascertained, as soon as possible and at the latest within 6 weeks of their final decision on the matter, which, if any, of the penalties provided for in paragraph 1 have been imposed. If such penalties are not imposed, the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment shall state the reasons therefor.

3. The competent authorities shall ensure that the penalties imposed on the carrier concerned are, as a whole, proportionate to the infringement or infringements which gave rise to such penalties, taking into account any penalty for the same infringement imposed in the Member State in which the infringement was ascertained.

4. This Article is without prejudice to the possibility of the competent authorities of the Member State of establishment of the carrier instituting proceedings before a national court or tribunal. In the event that such proceedings are brought, the competent authority in question shall inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which the infringements were ascertained thereof.

5. Member States shall ensure that carriers have the right to appeal against any administrative penalty imposed on them pursuant to this Article.