European Communities (Motor Vehicles Type Approval) Regulations, 1978

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 305/1978
• Year: 1978

S.I. No. 305 of 1978.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MOTOR VEHICLES TYPE APPROVAL) REGULATIONS, 1978.

I, DESMOND O'MALLEY, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy, in exercise of the power conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and the Industry and Commerce (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1977 ( S.I. No. 306 of 1977 ), and for the purpose of giving effect to the Community Directives specified in Schedule 1 to the following Regulations, in so far as those Directives apply to the type approval of motor vehicles, trailers and components, hereby make the following Regulations:— 1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Motor Vehicles Type Approval) Regulations, 1978, and shall come into operation on the 24th day of November, 1978. 2. (1) In these Regulations—

"Act of Accession" means the Act of Accession to the Treaty relating to the accession of Ireland to the European Economic Community and to the European Atomic Energy Community, signed at Brussels on the 22nd day of January, 1972;

"certificate of conformity" means a document in the form specified in Schedule 2 to these Regulations;

"component", in relation to a vehicle, means a part, aspect or feature (including a system or parts which form a separate technical unit) which is the subject of a scheduled Directive and includes any part of the equipment of a vehicle and anything intended for the protection of a person in a vehicle, whether or not it forms part of the vehicle;

"information document", in relation to a particular provision of these Regulations, means the appropriate document provided by the Institute for the purpose of that provision, having regard to the provisions of the scheduled Directives;

"the Institute" means the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy;

"the relevant aspects of design, construction, equipment or marking", in relation to a vehicle or component, means those aspects of design, construction, equipment and marking which are the subject of a scheduled Directive;

"scheduled Directives" means the Community Directives specified in Schedule I to these Regulations;

"type approval certificate" means, in relation to a complete vehicle, a document (to which is attached the appropriate information document duly completed) in the form specified in Schedule 3 to these Regulations and, in relation to a component, a document (to which is attached the appropriate information document duly completed) in the form specified in the relevant scheduled Directive;

"type approval mark" means a mark authorised by the Institute under Regulation 5 in accordance with the appropriate scheduled Directive;

"type approval requirements" means the appropriate requirements, relating to the design, construction, equipment and marking of vehicles or components, of the scheduled Directives.

(2) In these Regulations a word or phrase to which a meaning has been assigned by a scheduled Directive has that meaning except where otherwise indicated. 3. These Regulations apply in relation to a vehicle (including a trailer) which is the subject of a scheduled Directive and to a component of such a vehicle. 4. (1) An application for an approval (in these Regulations referred to as a "type approval") under these Regulations of a vehicle or component to which these Regulations apply shall be made in writing to the Institute by the manufacturer of the vehicle or component or his authorised representative.

(2) An application under this Regulation shall be accompanied by an information document duly completed and by any other documents required by the information document.

(3) Where a manufacturer or his authorised representative has made an application under this Regulation, neither he nor his representative shall make a similar application in another member State in respect of the same type of vehicle or component. 5. (1) Where the Institute is satisfied in respect of an application under Regulation 4—

( a ) that the vehicle or component is of a type that is in conformity with—

(i) the information given in the information document and

(ii) the type approval requirements, and

( b ) that arrangements have been made by the manufacturer or his authorised representative to ensure that other vehicles or components of that type will conform with the information given in the information document and with the type approval requirements,

it shall approve the vehicle or component as a type vehicle or type component.

(2) Where the vehicle is approved under this Regulation, the Institute shall issue a type approval certificate in respect of the vehicle.

(3) Where a component is approved under this Regulation, the Institute shall issue a type approval certificate in the manner specified in the appropriate scheduled Directive and, where that Directive also provides for the issue of a type approval mark, the Institute shall also issue such a mark.

(4) ( a ) Where the Institute has granted a type approval under these Regulations it shall, in co-operation with other member States if necessary, take the necessary measures to verify that relevant production models conform to the type approved.

( b ) Measures taken under this paragraph shall be limited to spot checks. 6. (1) Where in relation to an application under Regulation 4 the Institute decides that the vehicle or component is of a type that is not in conformity with the information in the information document or with the type approval requirements, it shall notify the applicant in writing of the decision.

(2) A notice under this Regulation shall specify the grounds for the decision and shall notify the applicant of his right of appeal under Regulation 16 against the decision, and of the period within which such an appeal must be made. 7. The Institute shall within one month of a decision on an application under Regulation 4 send to the competent authorities of the other member States a copy of the completed information document and a copy of the type approval certificate or of the notice issued under Regulation 6, as may be appropriate. 8. (1) The manufacturer (or his authorised representative) of a type vehicle in respect of which a type approval certificate has been issued and is in force shall, in respect of each vehicle manufactured in conformity with the type vehicle, complete and issue a certificate of conformity.

(2) The manufacturer (or his authorised representative) of a separate technical unit of a type which has been granted type approval shall affix to each unit manufactured in conformity with the approved type the trade mark or name, the type and (if the appropriate Directive so requires) the type approval number. 9. A person shall not use on a component of a vehicle a mark which would be liable to cause confusion between a component in respect of which a type approval mark has been issued and is in force and another component. 10. (1) A type approval certificate or type approval mark may be issued subject to conditions—

( a ) relating to the inspection and assessment by the Institute of samples of the vehicle or component to which the certificate or mark relates,

( b ) requiring the manufacturer (or his representative) of the vehicle or component to permit officers of the Institute to enter premises for the purpose of paragraph (a), and

( c ) requiring the manufacturer (or his representative) to notify in writing the Institute of any alterations of the relevant aspects of design, construction, equipment or marking (other than alterations permitted by the type approval requirements) and of the cessation of manufacture of the relevant vehicle or component.

(2) Where the Institute is satisfied that there has been a breach of a condition subject to which a type approval certificate or type approval mark has been issued and is in force, it may cancel the certificate or mark. 11. (1) Where the manufacturer of a vehicle or component, in respect of which a type approval certificate or type approval mark has been issued and is in force, proposes to cease manufacturing the vehicle or component, or so to alter the manufacture that any information supplied in the relevant information document is no longer correct, the manufacturer (or his representative) shall—

( a ) as soon as possible notify the Institute in writing of his proposal, indicating the date when the manufacture is to cease or the alteration is to be made, and

( b ) not later than 14 days after the manufacture ceases or the alteration is made, notify the Institute in writing of that fact, indicating the relevant date and, where appropriate, the frame or chassis number of the last such vehicle manufactured by him or the component or serial number (if any) of the last such component manufactured by him.

(2) Where the Institute considers that an alteration of manufacture does not require an amendment to the existing type approval certificate or completion of a substitute type approval certificate, it shall so inform the manufacturer and shall send to the competent authorities of the other member States in periodic batches copies of amendments to information documents already distributed. 12. (1) Where a notice under Regulation 11 (1) (a) or 11 (1) (b) relates to a cesser of manufacture, the Institute may cancel the relevant type approval certificate.

(2) Where a notice under Regulation 11(1) (a) or 11 (1) (b) relates to an alteration of manufacture, the Institute may, by notice under Regulation 15—

( a ) cancel the relevant type approval certificate or type approval mark,

( b ) cancel the relevant type approval certificate or type approval mark and issue in substitution for it a further type approval certificate or type approval mark in respect of the same vehicle or component, or

( c ) amend the relevant type...