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

S.I. No. 363 of 1993.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MECHANICALLY PROPELLED VEHICLE EMISSION CONTROL) REGULATIONS, 1993.

In the exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order, 1993 ( S.I. No. 127 of 1993 ), I, JOHN BROWNE, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, and for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Council Directive 91/542/EEC⁽¹⁾ of 1 October, 1991 and Council Directive 92/53/EEC⁽²⁾ of 18 June, 1992 as amended by Commission Directive 93/81/EEC⁽³⁾ of 29 September, 1993 insofar as they relate to air pollution emission controls on mechanically propelled vehicles, hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1993.

2. (1) In these Regulations:—

"certificate of conformity" has the meaning assigned to it by article 1 of the European Communities (Motor Vehicle Type Approval) Regulations 1978 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1978 );

"design gross vehicle weight" of a vehicle means the gross weight of the vehicle laden with the heaviest load which it can reasonably carry having regard to the engine capacity, brakes, tyres and general construction of the vehicle, and shall, until the contrary is shown, be taken to be—

(i) the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by the manufacturer or distributor of the vehicle; or

(ii) where the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by the manufacturer or distributor is not ascertainable, the design gross weight of the vehicle as specified by an automotive engineer;

⁽¹⁾ O.J. No. L. 295 of 25.10.1991

⁽²⁾ O.J. No. L. 225/1 of 10.08.1992

⁽³⁾ O.J. No. L. 264/49 of 23.10.1993

"first licence" means the first licence issued for a new vehicle under section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 :

"licensing authority" means the council of a county or the corporation of a county borough which for the time being exercises or performs the functions of a licensing authority under section 1 of the Finance (Excise Duties) (Vehicles) Act, 1952 ;

"mechanically propelled vehicle" means any vehicle (with or without bodywork) having a compression ignition engine and at least four wheels, and which is intended for use on the road and has a maximum design speed equal to or greater than 25 kilometres per hour with the exception of agricultural tractors and machinery and public works vehicles;

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Environment;

"vehicles of the category M₁" means mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and comprising no 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 design gross vehicle weight not exceeding 5 tonnes;

"vehicles of the category M₃" means mechanically propelled vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having a maximum design gross 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 design gross vehicle 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 design gross vehicle 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 design gross vehicle weight exceeding 12 tonnes;

(2) In these Regulations—

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

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

( c ) a word or phrase to which a meaning has been assigned by Directive 91/542/EEC, has that meaning except where defined in sub-article (1) or where otherwise indicated.

3. Subject to article 4, a licensing authority shall not grant an application for a first license on or after the 1st day of January, 1994 for a mechanically propelled vehicle which is—

( a ) in the category M₁ having a total design gross vehicle weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes, or

( b ) in the category N₁, M₂ or N₂ with the exception of any vehicle to which the provisions of the European Communities (Mechanically Propelled Vehicle Emission Control) Regulations, 1992 ( S. I. No. 363 of 1992 ) apply, or

( c ) in the category M₃ or N₃,

unless the said application includes a declaration made by the manufacturer of the said vehicle or by his authorised representative that a certificate of conformity with the provisions of Directive 91/542/EEC has been issued in respect of the vehicle.

4. (1) Notwithstanding article 3 (1), a licensing authority shall, until the 30th day of September, 1994, issue the first license in respect of a mechanically propelled vehicle to which these Regulations apply for which a certificate of conformity in accordance with the provision of Directive 91/542/EEC has not been granted provided that the application for the licence is accompanied by an authorisation pursuant to sub-article (2).

(2) The Minister may, subject to sub-article (4), grant an authorisation exempting a new mechanically propelled vehicle to which these Regulations apply from the requirements of article 3 where the vehicle was in the territory of the European Community on the 30th day of September, 1993 and a valid certificate of conformity had been issued, and where—

( a ) an application is made in writing to the Minister by the manufacturer of the vehicle or by a representative nominated by him for this purpose,

( b ) the said application includes—

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

(ii) the engine number and chassis number of each vehicle for which an authorisation is sought,

(iii) the number of vehicles of that type for which a first licence was granted in the period from the 1st day of October, 1992 until the 30th day of September, 1993,

(iv) any other information which the Minister may require to be submitted in order to consider the application, and

(v) a copy of the exemption granted by a competent authority (in accordance with article 8 of directive 92/53/EEC as amended by Article 1 of Directive 93/81/EEC) which approved the corresponding type of vehicle, which copy has been certified in writing as a true copy by the manufacturer or his representative making the application.

(3) The Minister may dispense with the requirement of sub-article (2) (v) where it appears to him that special difficulty is or would be involved for the applicant to comply with the requirement.

(4) The total number of authorisation for vehicles of any specific type shall not exceed ten per cent of the number of vehicles of that type for which first licences were issued in the period from the 1st day of October, 1992 until the 30th day of September, 1993.

5. (1) At the time that an application is made for the first licence for a mechanically propelled vehicle pursuant to these Regulations or at any time thereafter, the licensing authority may require the manufacturer of the said mechanically propelled vehicle, his authorised representative or the applicant for the said licence to furnish to it the appropriate certificate of conformity in respect of the said vehicle.

(2) The requirement referred to in sub-article (1) shall be in writing and shall be complied with not later than one month from the day on which it was issued.

6. A licensing authority shall not grant a first licence for a mechanically propelled vehicle to which these Regulations apply where it has reason to believe that the application or any of the accompanying documentation contains information which is false.

7. (1) It shall be an offence to provide false information or make a false declaration in connection with an application for a licence under these Regulations or to fail to comply with a request pursuant to article 4 within the specified period.

(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.

Dated this 10th day of December, 1993.

JOHN BROWNE,

Minister of State at the Department

of the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations prohibit the issue of first licences for certain new vehicles from 1 January, 1994 unless the vehicles conform to the air pollutant emission control requirements of Directive 91/542/EEC.