S.I. No. 373/2001 - European Communities (Passenger Car Entry Into Service) Regulations, 2001

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment and Local Government by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 427 of 1997 ) and for the purposes of giving effect to Commission Directive 98/14/EC¹ , Council Directive 98/69/EC² , Commission Directive 98/77/EC³ , Commission Directive 1999/101/EC⁴ , Commission Directive 1999/102/EC⁵ and Council Directive 2001/1/EC⁶ as they relate to the entry into service of mechanically propelled vehicles, I, Robert Molloy, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government hereby make the following Regulations:

1.   (1)  These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Passenger Car Entry into Service) Regulations, 2001.

(2)  Subject to sub-article (3), these Regulations shall come into effect on the 1^st. day of August 2001.

(3)  Article 9 shall come into effect on the 1^st. day of December 2001.

2    (1)  In these Regulations:-

“authorised person” means a person authorised by the Minister to request the production of a certificate of conformity, or an officer of the Revenue Commissioners authorised under section 159 of the Finance Act, 1997 ;

“category M₁” means the category of mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising not more than eight seats excluding the driver's seat;

“category S” means the category of special purpose vehicles as defined in Annex II.A.5 of Directive 70/156/EEC⁷ as amended by Council Directive 98/14/EC, together with ambulances, armoured vehicles, camper vans and hearses, and vehicles specially modified to accommodate at least one person in a wheelchair;

“distributor” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 4 of the Vehicle Registration and Taxation Regulations, 1992 ( S.I. No. 318 of 1992 );

“end of series vehicle” means a vehicle which is accompanied by a certificate of conformity in accordance with a particular Directive, which certificate is no longer valid by reason of an amendment to that Directive;

“mechanically propelled vehicle” means a vehicle (with or without bodywork) propelled by either a positive ignition engine or a compression ignition engine, having at least four wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 kilometres per hour, and which is intended for use on the road;

“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment and Local Government;

“multi-purpose vehicle” means a vehicle, which in accordance with the provisions of Annex II.C of council Directive 70/156/EEC as amended by Council Directive 98/14/EC is designed to carry a greater weight of goods than passengers,

“new vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle which is less than 3 months old when reckoned from its first entry into service or which has travelled less than 3,000 kilometres; or which has not been previously registered;

“separate certificate of conformity” means a certificate which has been completed in accordance with sub-article (1) of article 5

“short form of the certificate of conformity” means that part of the declaration for registration of a new mechanically propelled vehicle, in the form prescribed from time to time by the Revenue Commissioners, which contains the particulars of the vehicle and the reference number of the Directive in accordance with which the manufacturer or distributor issued the whole vehicle certificate of conformity in respect of the vehicle;

“whole vehicle certificate of conformity” means the certificate which has been completed in accordance with article 6 of Council Directive 92/53/EEC⁸ in the form set out in Annex IX of that Directive as amended by Council Directive 98/14/EC;

(2)  In these Regulations -

(a)    any reference to an article or a schedule which is not otherwise identified is reference to an article or a schedule of these Regulations.

(b)    any reference to a sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to the sub-article of the provision in which the reference occurs.

(c)    except for a word or phrase defined in sub-section (1), or where otherwise indicated, a word or phrase to which a meaning has been assigned by a Directive referred to in these Regulations has that meaning.

3.   These Regulations apply to new mechanically propelled vehicles in the category M₁ equipped with either positive ignition or compression ignition engines and of which at least 500 units will be manufactured, other than such vehicles which are —

(a)  in the category S,

(b)  multi-purpose vehicles,

(c)  vehicles intended for use by the armed services, civil defence, fire services or forces responsible for maintaining public order.

4.   Subject to article 7, in respect of each new vehicle for which a declaration for registration will be made to the Revenue Commissioners, the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle shall -

(a)      complete separate certificates of conformity in accordance with sub-article (1) of article 5 and retain all such certificates

(b)      complete a whole vehicle certificate of conformity in accordance with sub-article (2) of article 5 and retain the said certificate,

(c)      complete and issue to the owner of the vehicle the short form of the whole vehicle certificate of conformity.

5.   (1)     A separate certificate of conformity shall be -

(a)    issued in respect of each directive listed in the second column of the Second Schedule,

(b)    in the form set out in the Third Schedule

(c)    printed on paper protected by coloured graphics or watermarked with the vehicle Manufacturer's identification mark, in accordance with article 6(1) of Council Directive 70/156/EEC as amended by Council Directive 98/14/EC

(d)  shall not be issued unless the vehicle to which it relates conforms to the type for which a type approval certificate has been issued by the competent body of a Member State in accordance with the Directive to be referred to in the said certificate of conformity.

(2)       A whole vehicle certificate of conformity shall -

(a)  be printed on paper which is protected by coloured graphics or is watermarked with the identification mark of the vehicle manufacturer, in accordance with article 6(1) of Council Directive 70/156/EEC as amended by Council Directive 98/14/EC

(b)  be issued in respect of a Directive specified in the first column of the First Schedule on or after the day specified in the second column of the First Schedule in respect of that Directive, and

(c)  shall not be issued unless separate valid certificates of conformity had already been issued in accordance with sub-article (1)

(3) A separate certificate of conformity shall cease to be valid upon the coming into force of an amendment to the directive in respect of which it had been issued, where such amendment relates to the type approval of that type of vehicle.

(4) A whole vehicle certificate of conformity shall cease to be valid if any separate certificate of conformity to which it relates ceases to be valid.

6.   Neither the short form of a certificate of conformity or the whole vehicle certificate of conformity shall be issued in respect of a vehicle unless each of the separate certificate of conformity have been issued in accordance with article 5, provided always that no such separate certificates will have ceased to be valid at the date of issue of the said short form or whole vehicle certificate of conformity.

7.   (1) Subject to sub-article (4), the Minister may grant an application from a manufacturer or distributor to exempt a new vehicle from the requirements of article 4 for a period of 12 months from the day on which any amendment to the First or the Second Schedules has come into force.

(2) Subject to sub-article (3), the maximum number of vehicles for which the Minister may grant exemptions in accordance with sub-article (1) shall be the greater of either -

(a)    the number of vehicles equivalent to 10% of the vehicles of all types concerned which were registered by the Revenue Commissioners in the 12 months which ended on the day immediately before the coming into force of the amended schedule or schedules, or

(b)    in the case of vehicles of any one type, the number of such vehicles for which a valid certificate of conformity could have been prepared for issue by the distributor on a day not less than 3 months before the coming into force of the said amended Schedule or Schedules,

(3) Where the application of paragraph 2 (a) would result in exemption for less than 100 vehicles, the Minister may grant exemption for up to 100 vehicles.

(4) This article shall apply only to vehicles —

(a)    which were in the territory of the European Communities on the day on which the Second Schedule or an amendment thereto comes into effect, and

(b)    were accompanied by a certificate of conformity which had ceased to be valid solely because of the provisions of these Regulations.

8.   The application for the exemption shall be made in writing to the Minister by the manufacturer of the vehicle or the distributor and shall contain -

(a)  details of the type of vehicle to which the application relates,

(b)  the certificate of conformity, in accordance with the Second Schedule, in force immediately prior to the amendment that invalidated that certificate, for the vehicle,

(c)  the vehicle identification number of the vehicle for which the exemption is sought,

(d)  the number of vehicles of that type which were first registered in the 12 month period ending on the day prior to the day from which the amendment applies,

(e)  any other information which the Minister may require to be submitted in order to consider the application.

9.   (1) At any reasonable time or place an authorised person may request the manufacturer or the distributor to produce the whole vehicle certificate of conformity or any separate one or more of the certificates of conformity in respect of a vehicle for which the short form of the whole vehicle certificate of conformity has been declared to the Revenue Commissioners.

(2) It shall be an offence for a person to -

(i)    to fail to comply with sub-article 1,

(ii)    to fail to comply with article 10, or

(iii)   to produce a false certificate of conformity or false short form of certificate of conformity.

(3) A person convicted of an offence under sub-article (2) shall be liable on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding twelve months or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(4) An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister, by an authorised person, or by a member of the Garda Siochana.

10. A replacement catalyser shall not be installed on a mechanically propelled vehicle unless such replacement -

(a)  Is of a type for which type approval in accordance with Directive 70/220/EEC as amended by Directive 98/77/EC has been issued, and

(b)  bears one of the EC type-approval marks set out in the Fourth Schedule.

11. The European Communities (Passenger Cars Entry into Service) Regulations, 2000 ( S.I No. 443 of 2000 ) are hereby revoked with effect from 31 July 2001.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Whole Vehicle Type Approval Directive

SECOND SCHEDULE (page 1 of 2)

Separate Directives

THIRD SCHEDULE

Form of Certificate of Conformity by Manufacturer or Distributor

FOURTH SCHEDULE

EC type approval marks

The rectangle enclosing the type approval mark shall be at least 8mm long and have a width of at two thirds of its length.

The height of all individual alphanumeric characters, including those of the type approval reference number, shall be equivalent to one third the length of the that rectangle

Note 1. the reference number of the Member State in which type approval was granted, shall be entered alongside the “e” mark, in accordance with the following designation -

1. Germany; 2. France; 3. Italy; 4. Netherlands; 5. Sweden; 6. Belgium; 9. Spain; 11. United Kingdom; 12. Austria; 13. Luxembourg; 17. Finland ; 18. Denmark; 21. Portugal ; 23. Greece; IRL Ireland;

Note 2. The number will be the reference number of the certificate of type approval that was issued by the competent body that granted type approval.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations require that applications to the Revenue Commissioners for the registration of certain new vehicles must include a short form of a certificate of conformity with specified EU Directives. Certain exemptions are provided for in the Regulations.

The Regulations also prohibit the fitting of replacement catalysers unless they have been type approved

¹ OJ No.L91/1 of 25.3.1998

² OJ No. L 350/1 of 28.12.1998

³ OJ No. L286/34 of 23.10.1998

⁴ OJ No. L334/41 of 28.12.1999

⁵ OJ No. L334/43 of 28.12.1999

⁶ OJ No. L035/34 of 06.02.2001

⁷ OJ No. L 42 of 23.02.1970

⁸ OJ No. L 225/1 of 10.08.1992