This Directive applies to the type-approval of vehicles, whether built in one or more stages. It applies to vehicles defined in Article 2(d) having a maximum design speed of not less than 6 km/h.
Directive 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on type-approval of agricultural or forestry tractors, their trailers and interchangeable towed machinery, together with their systems, components and separate technical units and repealing Directive 74/150/EEC (Text with EEA relevance)
Directive 2003/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on type-approval of agricultural or forestry tractors, their trailers and interchangeable towed machinery, together with their systems, components and separate technical units and repealing Directive 74/150/EEC (Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),
Whereas:
In connection with the harmonisation of approval procedures, it has become essential to bring the provisions of Council Directive 74/150/EEC of 4 March 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors(4) into line with those of Council Directive 70/156/EEC 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(5) and those of Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30 June 1992 relating to the type-approval of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles(6).
Directive 74/150/EEC currently limits the scope of the Community type-approval procedure to wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors. It is therefore also essential to extend its scope to other categories of agricultural or forestry vehicles. This Directive is therefore a first step towards the regulation of other agricultural motorised vehicles.
Account should also be taken of the fact that an exemption procedure should be introduced for certain vehicles built in limited numbers, end-of-series vehicles, or those which take advantage of technical progress not covered by a separate directive.
This Directive being based on the principle of total harmonisation, the period before EC type-approval becomes compulsory should be long enough to allow the manufacturers of those vehicles to adjust to the new harmonised procedures.
As a result of Council Decision 97/836/EC of 27 November 1997 with a view to accession by the European Community to the Agreement of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe concerning the adoption of uniform technical prescriptions for wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts which can be fitted to and/or be used on wheeled vehicles and the conditions for reciprocal recognition of approvals granted on the basis of these prescriptions (Revised 1958 Agreement)(7), the various international regulations to which the Community has acceded must be complied with. Also, certain tests should be harmonised with those defined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) codes.
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission(8).
This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as general principles of Community law.
Directive 74/150/EEC has been variously and substantially amended, and should therefore be recast in the interests of clarity and rationality,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1 Scope
1.
This Directive also applies to the EC type-approval of the systems, components and separate technical units intended for use on such vehicles.
2.
This Directive does not apply to:
-
approval of single vehicles;
However, this procedure may apply to certain categories of vehicles which fall within the scope of this Directive and for which EC type-approval is obligatory;
-
machinery that has been specially designed for forestry use, such as skidders and forwarders as defined in standard ISO 6814:2000;
-
forestry machinery based on chassis for earthmoving equipment as defined in standard ISO 6165:2001;
-
interchangeable machinery that is fully raised from the ground when the vehicle to which it is attached is in use on a road.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purposes of this Directive:
-
‘EC 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; the EC type-approval of systems, components and separate technical units may also be referred to as ‘EC component type-approval’;
-
‘multi-stage EC 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;
-
‘approval of single vehicles’ means the procedure whereby a Member State certifies that a vehicle approved individually satisfies the national requirements;
-
‘vehicle’ means any tractor, trailer or interchangeable towed machinery, whether complete, incomplete or completed, which is intended to be used in agriculture or forestry;
-
‘vehicle category’ means any set of vehicles which have identical design characteristics;
-
‘type of vehicle’ means vehicles of a particular category which do not differ in the essential respects referred to in Annex II, Chapter A; the different variants and versions of a type of vehicle set out in Annex II, Chapter A are permissible;
-
‘base vehicle’ means any incomplete vehicle, the vehicle identification number of which is retained during subsequent stages of the multi-stage EC type-approval process;
-
‘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;
-
‘completed vehicle’ means a vehicle resulting from the process of multi-stage EC type-approval which meets all the relevant requirements of this Directive;
-
‘tractor’ means any motorised, wheeled or tracked agricultural or forestry tractor having at least two axles and a maximum design speed of not less than 6 km/h, the main function of which lies in its tractive power and which has been especially designed to pull, push, carry and actuate certain interchangeable equipment designed to perform agricultural or forestry work, or to tow agricultural or forestry trailers; it may be adapted to carry a load in the context of agricultural or forestry work and/or may be equipped with passenger seats;
-
‘trailer’ means any towed agricultural or forestry trailer intended mainly to carry loads and designed to be towed by a tractor for agricultural or forestry purposes; trailers of which part of the load is borne by the drawing vehicle fall within this category; any vehicle coupled to a tractor and permanently incorporating an implement shall be assimilated to an agricultural or forestry trailer if the ratio of the technically permissible gross mass to the unladen mass of that vehicle is equal to or greater than 3,0 and if the vehicle has not been designed to process materials;
-
‘interchangeable towed machinery’ means any instrument used in agriculture or forestry which is designed to be towed by a tractor and changes or adds to its functions; it may include a load platform designed and constructed to receive any tools and appliances needed for those purposes, and to store temporarily any materials produced or needed during work; any vehicle intended to be towed by a tractor and permanently incorporating an implement or designed to process materials shall be considered interchangeable towed machinery if the ratio of the technically permissible gross mass to the unladen mass of that vehicle is less than 3,0;
-
‘system’ means a set of devices, combined to perform a specific function in a vehicle;
-
‘component’ means a device, intended to be part of a vehicle, which may be type-approved independently of a vehicle;
-
‘separate technical unit’ means a device, intended to be part of a vehicle, which may be type-approved separately but only in relation to one or more specified types of vehicles;
-
‘manufacturer’ means the natural or legal person who is responsible to the EC type-approval authority for all aspects of the type-approval process and for ensuring conformity of production, regardless of whether that person be directly involved in all stages of the construction of a vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit; the following are also considered to be manufacturers:
-
any natural or legal person who, for his own use, designs, has designed, manufactures or has manufactured a vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit;
-
any natural or legal person who is responsible for ensuring compliance with this Directive at the time a vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit is placed on the market or enters into service;
A manufacturer's representative is a natural or legal person established in the Community, duly appointed by the manufacturer to represent him vis-à-vis the competent authority and to act on his behalf, in the field of this Directive.
In the following where reference is made to the term ‘manufacturer’ it must be understood as a manufacturer or his representative.
-
-
‘entry into service’ means the first use for its intended purpose within the Community of any vehicle which requires no installation or adjustment by the manufacturer or a third party designated by him prior to its first use; the date it is registered or placed for the first time on the market shall be considered the date of entry into service;
-
‘EC type-approval authority’ means the authority in a Member State which is responsible for all aspects of the approval of a type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit, and which issues and, where appropriate, withdraws EC type-approvals, serves as the contact point for the EC type-approval authorities in the other Member States and checks the measures taken by the manufacturer in order to ensure product conformity;
-
‘technical service’ means the organisation or body that has been appointed as a testing laboratory to carry out tests or inspections on behalf of the EC type-approval authority in a Member State; this function may also be carried out by the EC type-approval authority itself;
-
‘separate directives’ means the directives listed in Annex II, Chapter B;
-
‘EC type-approval certificate’ means one of the forms appearing in Annex II, Chapter C, or the corresponding annex to a separate directive, setting out what information is to be supplied by the EC type-approval authority;
-
‘information document’ means one of the forms appearing in Annex I, or the corresponding annex to a separate directive, setting out what information is to be supplied by the applicant;
-
‘information folder’ means the complete folder or file containing, in particular, the data, drawings and photographs required as per Annex I and supplied by the applicant to the technical service or EC type-approval authority as required by the information document provided for in a separate directive or in this Directive;
-
‘information package’ means the information folder plus any test reports or other documents that the technical services or EC type-approval authority has added to the information folder while carrying out its tasks;
-
‘index to the information package’ means the document setting out the contents of the information package which has been suitably numbered or otherwise marked in order clearly to identify all pages;
-
‘certificate of conformity’ means the document set out in Annex III, delivered by the manufacturer, in order to certify that a particular vehicle, approved according to this Directive, complies with all applicable regulatory instruments at the time of its production and stating that it may be registered or put into service in all Member States without any additional inspection.
Article 3 Application for EC type-approval
1.
The manufacturer shall submit an application for vehicle EC type-approval to the approval authority of a Member State. It shall be accompanied by an information folder containing the information required by Annex I.
With regard to the EC type-approval of systems, components and separate technical units, the information folder shall also be made available to the EC type-approval authority until EC type-approval is granted or refused.
2.
In the case of multi-stage EC type-approval, the information to be supplied shall consist of:
-
at stage one: those parts of the information folder and the EC type-approval certificates required for a complete vehicle which correspond to the state of completion of the base vehicle;
-
at the second and subsequent stages: those parts of the information folder and the EC type-approval certificates which are relevant to the current stage of construction and a copy of the EC type-approval certificate for the incomplete vehicle issued at the previous stage; in addition, the manufacturer shall supply a detailed list of the changes and additions which he has made to the incomplete vehicle.
3.
The manufacturer shall submit an application for EC type-approval of a system, component or separate technical unit to the EC type-approval authority in a Member State. It shall be accompanied by an information folder as required by the separate directive.
4.
Applications for EC type-approval of a type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit may be submitted to only a single Member State. A separate application shall be submitted for each type to be approved.
Article 4 The EC type-approval process
1.
Each Member State shall grant:
-
the EC type-approval to the vehicle types which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which, according to their category, meet the technical requirements of all the separate directives set out in Annex II, Chapter B;
-
the multi-stage EC type-approval to incomplete or completed base vehicles which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which meet the technical requirements of all the separate directives set out in Annex II, Chapter B;
-
system, component or separate technical unit EC type-approval to all types of systems, components or separate technical units which conform to the particulars in the information folder and which meet the technical requirements contained in the corresponding separate directive listed in Annex II, Chapter B.
Where the system, component or separate technical unit to be approved fulfils its function or offers a specific feature only in conjunction with other parts of the vehicle, and where, for this reason, compliance with one or more requirements can be verified only when the system, component or separate technical unit to be approved operates in conjunction with other vehicle parts, whether real or simulated, the scope of the EC type-approval of the system, component or separate technical unit must be restricted accordingly.
In this case, the EC type-approval certificate for such a system, component or separate technical unit shall indicate any restrictions on its use and any conditions for fitting it. Observance of these restrictions and conditions shall be verified at the time of EC type-approval of the vehicle.
2.
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, the environment or occupational safety, it may refuse to grant EC type-approval. It shall forthwith notify the other Member States and the Commission thereof, stating the reasons on which its decision is based.
3.
For each vehicle type in respect of which they have granted, refused to grant or withdrawn EC type-approval, the approval authority in each Member State shall send a copy of the EC type-approval certificate accompanied by the attachments specified in Chapter C of Annex II to the type-approval authorities in the other Member States within one month.
4.
Each month, the EC type-approval authority in each Member State shall send a list containing the particulars shown in Annex VI of the EC type-approvals for systems, components or separate technical units which it has granted, refused to grant or withdrawn during the month in question to the EC type-approval authorities in the other Member States.
These authorities, on receiving an application from the EC type-approval authority in another Member State, shall immediately send it a copy of the EC type-approval certificate for the system, component or separate technical unit in question and/or an information package for each type of system, component or separate technical unit in respect of which it has issued, refused to issue or withdrawn EC type-approval.