S.I. No. 211/1998:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MECHANICALLY PROPELLED VEHICLE ENTRY INTO SERVICE) REGULATIONS, 1998.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MECHANICALLY PROPELLED VEHICLE ENTRY INTO SERVICE) REGULATIONS, 1998.

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 the provisions of the Council Directives specified in the first column of the First Schedule 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. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Entry into Service) Regulations, 1998.

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 ;

"certificate of conformity" means--

in the case of a vehicle in the category M1, the certificate which has been completed in accordance with article 5 in the form set out in Annex XI of Council Directive No. 92/53 of 18 June 1992¹;

¹ OJ No. L 225/1 of 10.8.92.

in the case of a vehicle in one of the categories, M2, M3, N1, N2 or N3, a certificate in the form specified in the Second Schedule;

"distributor" has the meaning assigned to it by article 3 of the Vehicle Registration and Taxation Regulations, 1992 ( S.I. No. 318 of 1992 );

"Directive" means a Directive of the Council of the Eurpoean Communities;

"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, with the exceptions of agricultural and forestry tractors and all mobile machinery;

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment and Local Government;

"maximum weight" of a vehicle means the technically permissible maximum weight declared by the vehicle manufacturer;

"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 previoulsy registered;

"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 or numbers of the Directive or Directives shown in the certificate of conformity in respect of the said vehicle;

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

"vehicles of the category M₂" means mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising more than eight seats excluding the driver's seat, and having a maximum weight not exceeding 5 tonnes;

"vehicles of the category M₃" means mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having a maximum weight exceeding 5 tonnes;

"vehicles of the category N₁" means mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of goods or burden of other description and having a maximum weight not exceeding 3.5 tonnes;

"vehicles of the category N₂" means mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of goods or burden of other description and having a maximum weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes but not exceeding 12 tonnes;

"vehicles of the category N₃" means mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of goods or burden of other description and having a maximum weight exceeding 12 tonnes;

(2) In these Regulations--

(a) any reference to an article or a Schedule which is not otherwise identified is a 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 subsection (1), or where otherwise indicated, a word or phrase to which a meaning has been assigned by a Directive specified in the First Schedule has that meaning.

3. These Regulations apply to new vehicles in the categories M₁, M₂, M₃, N₁, N₂, and N₃, equipped with either positive ignition engines or compression ignition engines.

4. 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 and retain a certificate of conformity, and

(b) complete and issue to the owner of the vehicle a short form of the certificate of conformity.

5. (1) Notwithstanding article 4, the manufacturer or the distributor shall complete the certificate of conformity, together with a short form of such certificate in respect of a vehicle in a category specified in the second column of the First Schedule only when the said vehicle complies with the provisions of the Directive or Directives specified in the corresponding row of the first column of the said Schedule from the date specified in the corresponding row of the third column of the said Schedule.

(2) In respect of a vehicle in a category for which alternative Directives are specified in the First Schedule, the manufacturer of the vehicle or the distributor shall complete the certificate of conformity and the short form of the certificate of conformity by reference to the Directives in respect of which type approval was granted for the vehicle type to which the vehicle conforms.

6. At any reasonable time or place an authorised person may request the manufacturer of a vehicle or his authorised agent to produce the certificate of conformity in respect of a vehicle for which the short form of the certificate of conformity has been declared to the Revenue Commissioners.

7. (1) In the case of an amendment to the First Schedule the Minister may exempt a new vehicle subject to the Directive or Directives which gives rise to the amendment from the requirements of article 4 for a period not exceeding 6 months from the date of coming into operation of the said amendment where the vehicle was in the territory of the European Community on the day on which the amended First Schedule applies provided that the exemption of such vehicle would not result in the total number of exemptions for vehicles of one or more types exceeding ten per cent of the number of vehicles of all the types manufactured by the applicant for the exemption which were registered by the Revenue Commissioners in the 12 month period ending on the day prior to the day on which the amended First Schedule came into operation.

(2) 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--

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

(ii) the certificate of conformity, in accordance with the First Schedule in force immediately prior to the amendment, for the vehicle,

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

(iv) 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,

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

8. (1) It shall be an offence to fail to complete a certificate of conformity, to fail to hold a certificate of conformity, to produce a false certificate of conformity, to fail to comply with a request from an authorised person to produce a certificate of conformity or to fail to comply with a request from the owner of a vehicle to provide such owner with the certificate of conformity.

(2) A person convicted of an offence under sub-article (1) 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.

(3) An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister or by an authorised person.

9. (1) Article 3 of the European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 518 of 1997 ) is hereby replaced by the following:

"Article 3(2) of the European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1995 is hereby amended by the substitution in paragraph (a) for '31st day of December, 1997' of '30th day of September, 1998' and the deletion of paragraph (b)."

(2) The following Regulations are hereby revoked with effect from the 30th day of September 1998--

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1992 ( S.I. No. 363 of 1992 ),

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1993 ( S.I. No. 363 of 1993 ),

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 194 of 1994 ),

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 192 of 1995 ),

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995 ( S.I. No. 334 of 1995 ),

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1996 ( S.I. No. 318 of 1996 ),

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) (Amendment) Regulations, 1996 ( S.I. No. 382 of 1996 ),

The European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 518 of 1997 ).

FIRST SCHEDULE

² OJ No. L 264/49 of 23.10.93.

³ means a vehicle fitted with a spark ignition engine.

⁴ means a vehicle fitted with a compression ignition engine.

⁵ OJ No. 92/23 of 13.4.96.

⁶ OJ No. L 282/64 of 1.11.96.

⁷ OJ No. L 40/1 of 17.2.96.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Form of Certificate of Conformity by Manufacturer or Distributor

The undersigned, of ............................................................ ............................................................ .................

(name of manufacturer or distributor)

hereby certifies that the vehicle:

1. Category ............................................................ ...................................................

2. Make ............................................................ ..........................................................

3. Type ............................................................ ..........................................................

bearing the vehicle identification number ............................................................ .............................................. conforms in all aspects to the type approved

by ............................................................ ............................................................ ................................................

on ............................................................ .... at ............................................................ ....................................... and described in Type Approval Certificate Number(s):

............................................................ ............................................................ .......................................................

The vehicle to which the above Type Approval Certificate(s) relates was granted type approval in respect of the following EC Directives.

............................................................ ............................................................ ........................................................

Signed: ............................................................ ............... on: ............................................................ ..................

Name and signature of certifying person        Date of certification

of ............................................................ .......................... at ............................................................ ...................

Position held with manufacturer or distributor      Place of certification

Dated this 25th day of June 1998.

ROBERT MOLLOY,

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations prohibit the first registration of new vehicles from 1st October, 1998 unless the details of the vehicles declared to The Revenue Commissioners for registration purposes include the short form of a certificate of conformity with the EC Directives specified in these Regulations. Vehicle manufacturers are required to complete the long form of the certificate of conformity for each vehicle for production in specified circumstances. The Regulations also terminate transitional provisions in respect of vehicles subject to Directive 94/12/EC, with effect from 30 September, 1998.