This Directive applies to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers built in one or more stages, of systems, components and separate technical units intended for use on such vehicles and trailers.
Council Directive of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers (70/156/EEC)
Council Directive of 6 February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of motor vehicles and their trailers (70/156/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament(1);
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2);
Whereas in each Member State motor vehicles intended for the carriage of goods or passengers must comply with certain mandatory technical requirements; whereas such requirements differ from one Member State to another and consequently hinder trade within the European Economic Community;
Whereas such hindrances to the establishment and proper functioning of the common market can be reduced and even eliminated if all Member States adopt the same requirements, either in addition to or in place of their existing laws;
Whereas it is the established practice of the Member States to check that vehicles comply with the relevant technical requirements before they are placed on the market; whereas this check is carried out on vehicle types;
Whereas the harmonised technical requirements applicable to individual parts and characteristics of a vehicle should be specified in separate Directives;
Whereas at Community level it is necessary to introduce a Community type-approval procedure for each vehicle type in order that compliance with the above requirements can be checked and that each Member State may recognise checks carried out by other Member States;
Whereas that procedure must enable each Member State to ascertain whether a vehicle type has been submitted to the checks laid down by separate Directive and listed in a type approval certificate; whereas that procedure must enable manufacturers to complete a certificate of conformity for all vehicles which conform to an approved type; whereas a vehicle accompanied by such a certificate must be considered by all Member States as conforming to their own laws; whereas each Member State should inform the other Member States of its findings by sending a copy of the type approval certificate completed for each vehicle type which has been approved;
Whereas, as a transitional measure, it must be possible to grant type approval on the basis of Community requirements as and when separate Directives relating to the various vehicle parts and characteristics enter into force, national requirements remaining applicable in respect of parts and characteristics still not covered by such Directives;
Whereas, without prejudice to Articles 169 and 170 of the Treaty, it is advisable, within the framework of co-operation between the competent authorities of the Member States, to lay down provisions to help resolve disputes of a technical nature regarding the conformity of production models to an approved type;
Whereas a vehicle may conform to an approved type but nevertheless have certain features which are potential road safety hazards; whereas it is therefore advisable to prescribe an appropriate procedure to preclude such hazards;
Whereas technical progress requires prompt adjustment of the technical requirements specified in the separate Directives; whereas, in order to facilitate implementation of the measures required for this purpose, a procedure should be prescribed for establishing close co-operation between the Member States and the Commission within the Committee on the Adjustment to Technical Progress of the Directives on the Removal of Technical Barriers to Trade in the Motor Vehicle Sector;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1 Scope
It does not apply to:
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the approval of single vehicles except that Member States granting such approvals shall accept any valid system, component, separate technical unit or incomplete vehicle approval granted under this Directive instead of the relevant national requirement,
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‘quadricycles’ within the meaning of Article 1(3) of Council Directive 92/61/EEC relating to the type-approval of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles(3).
Article 2 Definitions
For the purpose of this Directive:
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type-approval means the procedure whereby a Member State certifies that a type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit satisfies the relevant technical requirements of this Directive or a separate Directive contained in the exhaustive list set out in Annex IV or XI,
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multi-stage type-approval means the procedure whereby one or more Member States certify that, depending on the state of completion, an incomplete or completed vehicle type satisfies the relevant technical requirements of this Directive,
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vehicle means any motor vehicle intended for use on the road, being complete or incomplete, having at least four wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 km/h, and its trailers, with the exception of vehicles which run on rails and of agricultural and forestry tractors and all mobile machinery,
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base vehicle means any incomplete vehicle, the vehicle identification number of which is retained during subsequent stages of the multi-stage type-approval process,
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incomplete vehicle means any vehicle which still needs completion in at least one further stage in order to meet all the relevant requirements of this Directive,
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completed vehicle means a vehicle resulting from the process of multi-stage type-approval which meets all the relevant requirements of this Directive,
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type of vehicle means vehicles of one category which do not differ in at least the essential respects specified in Annex II.B. A type of vehicle may contain variants and versions (see Annex II.B),
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system means any vehicle system such as brakes, emission control equipment, interior fittings, etc. which is subject to the requirements in any of the separate Directives,
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component means a device, such as a lamp, subject to the requirements of a separate Directive, intended to be part of a vehicle, which may be type-approved independently of a vehicle where the separate Directive makes express provisions for so doing,
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separate technical unit means a device, such as a rear protective device, subject to the requirements of a separate Directive, intended to be part of a vehicle, which may be type-approved separately but only in relation to one or more specified types of vehicle, where the separate Directive makes express provisions for so doing,
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manufacturer means the person or body who is responsible to the approval authority for all aspects of the type-approval process and for ensuring conformity of production. It is not essential that the person or body is directly involved in all stages of the construction of the vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit which is the subject of the approval process,
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approval authority means the competent authority of a Member State which is responsible for all aspects of type-approval of a type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit, to issue and (if appropriate) to withdraw approval certificates, to serve as the contact point with the approval authorities of the other Member States and which is responsible for verifying the manufacturer's conformity of production arrangements,
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technical service means the organization or body that has been appointed as a testing laboratory to carry out tests or inspections on behalf of the approval authority of a Member State. This function may also be carried out by the approval authority itself,
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information document means the document set out in Annex I or Annex III to this Directive or the corresponding Annex to a separate Directive that prescribes the information to be supplied by an applicant,
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information folder means the total folder or file of data, drawings, photographs, etc. supplied by the applicant to the technical service or the approval authority as prescribed in the information document,
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information package means the information folder plus any test reports or other documents that the technical service or the approval authority has added to the information folder in the course of carrying out their functions.
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index to the information package means the document in which is listed the contents of the information package suitably numbered or otherwise marked to clearly identify all pages.
Article 3 Application for type-approval
1.
Applications for vehicle type-approval shall be submitted by the manufacturer to the approval authority of a Member State. An application shall be accompanied by an information folder containing the information required by Annex III, and by the approval certificates for each of the applicable separate Directives as required in Annex IV or XI; also, the information package for system and separate technical unit approvals in respect of each separate Directive shall be made available to the approval authority throughout the period up to the date when the approval is either issued or refused.
2.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, in the case where no approval certificates for any of the relevant separate Directives are available, the documents accompanying an application shall comprise an information folder containing the relevant information required by Annex I in relation to the separate Directives specified in Annex IV or XI and, where applicable, Part II of Annex III.
3.
In the case of multi-stage type-approval the information to be supplied shall consist of:
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at stage 1: those parts of the information folder and the approval certificates as required for a complete vehicle which are relevant to the state of completion of the base vehicle,
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at the second and subsequent stages: those parts of the information folder and the approval certificates which are relevant to the current stage of construction and a copy of the approval certificate for the incomplete vehicle issued at the previous stage of build. In addition, the manufacturer shall supply full details of the changes and additions carried out by him to the incomplete vehicle.
4.
Applications for system component or separate technical unit type-approval shall be submitted by the manufacturer to the approval authority of a Member State. An application shall be accompanied by an information folder, the contents of which is given in the information document in the relevant separate Directive.
5.
No application in respect of one type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit may be submitted to more than one Member State. A separate application shall be submitted for each type to be approved.
Article 4 The type-approval process
1.
Each Member State shall grant:
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vehicle type-approval to:
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vehicle types which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which meet the technical requirements of all the relevant separate Directives as prescribed in Annex IV,
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special-purpose vehicle types mentioned in Annex XI which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which meet the technical requirements of the separate Directives as denoted in the relevant column of Annex XI.
This process shall be satisfied by the procedures described in Annex V;
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multi-stage type-approval to base, incomplete or completed vehicle types which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which meet the technical requirements of the relevant separate Directives as prescribed in Annex IV or XI taking account of the state of completion of the vehicle type.
This process shall be satisfied by the procedures described in Annex XIV;
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system type-approval to vehicle types which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which meet the technical requirements of the relevant separate Directive as mentioned in Annex IV or XI;
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component or separate technical unit type-approval to all types of component or separate technical unit which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which meet the technical requirements contained in the relevant separate Directive as mentioned in Annex IV or XI which makes express provision for so doing.
In the case of a vehicle approval relating to Annex XI or to Article 8(2)(c), or in case of a system, component, or separate technical unit approval relating to Annex XI or to Article 8(2)(c) and including restrictions or exemptions from some provisions of the relevant separate Directive, the approval certificate shall include the restrictions on its validity and the exemptions granted and shall be given a special approval number according to the provisions of Annex VII.
Where particulars in the information folders referred to in (a), (b), (c), and (d) above specify provisions for special purpose vehicles as denoted in the relevant columns of Annex XI and its Appendices, the type-approval certificate shall also specify such provisions and exemptions.
2.
However, if a Member State finds that a vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit which complies with the provisions of paragraph 1 is nevertheless, a serious risk to road safety, it may refuse to grant the type-approval. It shall forthwith inform the other Member States and the Commission thereof, stating the reasons on which its decision is based.
3.
Each Member State shall complete all applicable sections of a type-approval certificate (models for which are given in Annex VI to this Directive and in an Annex to each of the separate Directives) for each type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit which it approves and, in addition, shall complete the relevant sections of the test results attachment to the vehicle approval certificate (the model for which is given in Annex VIII) and shall compile or verify the contents of the index to the information package. Approval certificates shall be numbered in accordance with the method described in Annex VII. The completed certificate and its attachments shall be delivered to the applicant.
4.
Where the component or the separate technical unit to be approved fulfils its function or offers a specific feature only in conjunction with other parts of the vehicle and for this reason compliance with one or more requirements can be verified only when the component or separate technical unit to be approved operates in conjunction with other vehicle parts, whether real or simulated, the scope of the type-approval of the component or the separate technical unit must be restricted accordingly. The type-approval certificate for a component or a separate technical unit shall then include any restrictions on its use and shall indicate any conditions for fitting it. Observance of these restrictions and conditions shall be verified at the time of type-approval of the vehicle.
5.
The approval authority of each Member State shall, within one month, send to the approval authorities of the other Member States a copy of the vehicle type-approval certificate (together with its attachments) for each vehicle type which it has approved or refused to approve or withdrawn.
6.
The approval authority of each Member State shall send monthly to the approval authorities of the Member States a list (containing the particulars shown in Annex XIII) of the system, component or separate technical unit approvals it has granted, refused to grant or withdrawn during that month; in addition, on receiving an application from the approval authority of another Member State, it shall send forthwith a copy of the system, component or separate technical unit type-approval certificate and/or information package for each type of system, component or separate technical unit which it has approved or refused to approve or withdrawn.