Motor Vehicles (Approval) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Part III Miscellaneous

Application for Department’s approval certificate

5.—(1) An application for the issue of a Department’s approval certificate on the basis that the vehicle complies with the approval requirements by virtue of these Regulations shall be made to the Department.

(2) The application shall be in a form which—

(a) has been approved by the Department; and

(b) has been duly completed so as to furnish all the information required by that form.

(3) The application shall be accompanied by—

(a) the documents mentioned in the form as being required in connection with the application; and

(b) the prescribed fee.

(4) As soon as reasonably practicable after it receives the application, the Department shall send to the applicant a notice stating the time when and the place where an examination for the purpose of the application is to be carried out.

(5) The Department may by notice to the applicant alter the time when or the place where the examination is to be carried out, but it shall not alter the time to an earlier time without the consent of the applicant.

(6) Where an application (“the original application”) made in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (3) is refused, other than on the grounds that the vehicle is not a relevant vehicle, a further application by the same applicant in respect of the vehicle shall be regarded as having been made in accordance with and pursuant to those paragraphs if—

(a) it is made to the Department during the period of six months beginning with the date on which the original application was refused; and

(b) at the time that he makes the further application, the applicant requests an examination to be carried out for the purpose of the further application—

(i) during that period of six months,

(ii) except in the case of a Schedule 1 vehicle other than a left-hand drive vehicle or a personally imported vehicle, at the place where the examination took place for the purposes of the original application.

(7) Paragraphs (4) and (5) shall not apply to an application made in accordance with paragraph (6); and in the case of such an application—

(a) the Department shall inform the applicant in such manner as it thinks fit of the time when and the place where the examination is to be carried out;

(b) the Department may alter the time when or the place where the examination is to be carried out, but it shall not alter the time to an earlier time without the consent of the applicant;

(c) if the Department so alters the time or place, it shall inform the applicant in such manner as it thinks fit of the time when and the place where the examination is to be carried out; and

(d) the applicant shall pay the prescribed fee to the Department before the examination is carried out.

(8) Paragraphs (4) to (7) shall not apply to an application for the issue of a Department’s approval certificate under Article 31A(5) of the Order.

Assignment of vehicle identification numbers

6.—(1) This regulation applies where it appears to the Department when it gives notice under regulation 5(4) that the vehicle to which the application relates does not have a vehicle identification number which—

(a) complies with paragraph 3.1.1 of the Annex to Directive 76/114/EEC(1) or that Directive as last amended by Directive 78/507/EEC(2);

(b) has been previously assigned to the vehicle under this regulation; or

(c) does not fall within sub-paragraph (a) or (b), but is adequate for the purpose of enabling the vehicle to be identified.

(2) In such a case—

(a) the Department shall assign a vehicle identification number to the vehicle; and

(b) the number shall be specified in the notice.

(3) Where an application is made under regulation 5 for the issue of a Department’s approval certificate under Article 31A(5) of the Order—

(a) paragraph (1) shall have the effect as if the words “when” to “regulation 5(4)” were omitted; and

(b) paragraph (2) shall have effect as if sub-paragraph (b) were omitted.

Appeals

7.—(1) An appeal under Article 31C of the Order by a person aggrieved by a determination made by the Department pursuant to an application under regulation 5 shall be made by including with the documents submitted a form which—

(a) has been provided by the Department; and

(b) has been completed so as to include a description of the grounds upon which the appeal is made and such other information as may be reasonably required by that form.

(2) The prescribed time within which an appeal against such a determination may be made is 14 days beginning with the date of the determination.

(3) As soon as reasonably practicable after the date of the receipt of the appeal the Department shall send to the appellant a notice stating the time when and the place where the re-examination for the purpose of determining the issues raised on the appeal is to be carried out.

(4) The Department may by notice to the applicant alter the time when or the place where the re-examination is to be carried out, but it shall not alter the time to an earlier time without the consent of the applicant.

Form of certificate

8.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs, where a Department’s approval certificate is issued under Article 31A(4) of the Order on the basis that the vehicle complies with the approval requirements by virtue of these Regulations, the certificate shall be in the form set out in Schedule 4.

(2) Where the certificate is issued on the basis that it relates to a vehicle falling within a class specified in column (2) of an item in the Table there shall be inserted in the box under the words “Class Code” the letter specified in column (3) of that item.

TABLE

(1)	(2)	(3)
Item	Class of vehicle	Letter
1.	Left-hand drive vehicle	N
2.	Personally imported vehicle	P
3.	Amateur-built vehicle	A
4.	Vehicle manufactured in very low volume	L
5.	Vehicle manufactured using parts from a registered vehicle	C
6.	Disabled person’s vehicle	D
7.	Rebuilt vehicle	S
8.	Motor caravan, ambulance or hearse	M
9.	Armoured vehicle	T
10.	Vehicle not falling within any of the preceding classes specified in this Table	R
11.	Vehicle which meets the condition set out in regulation 4(7)(c)	E

(3) Any letter or letters inserted pursuant to paragraph (2) may be followed by a zero and then by any letters or numbers that the Department thinks fit to insert.

(4) Expressions used in this regulation which are the subject of definitions in Schedule 1 shall have the meanings given by those definitions.

(5) This regulation shall apply to a Department’s approval certificate issued under Article 31A(5) of the Order as it applies to such a certificate issued under Article 31A(4) of the Order as if for the words “Article 31A(4)” in the form set out in Schedule 4 there were substituted the words “Article 31A(5)”.

Replacement certificates

9.—(1) If a Department’s approval certificate has been lost or defaced, an application for issue of a replacement for the original may be made to the Department at the place from which the original certificate was issued.

(2) The application shall—

(a) specify the identification number of the vehicle in respect of which the original certificate was issued; and

(b) be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

(3) As soon as reasonably practicable after it receives the application and fee, the Department shall issue to the applicant a replacement for the certificate to which the application relates and any such replacement shall have the same effect as the certificate which it replaces and shall be marked “replacement”.

Notices

10.  Without prejudice to regulation 5(7)(a) and (c), every notice under these Regulations shall be in writing and may be given by post.

Obligatory certificates

11.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), this regulation applies to all relevant vehicles.

(2) This regulation does not apply—

(a) to any ambulance or a motor caravan;

(b) to any registered vehicle;

(c) to a vehicle more than 10 years after the time when it was manufactured; or

(d) to a vehicle that meets the requirements specified in paragraph (3).

(3) The requirements referred to in paragraph (2)(d) are that—

(a) the person by whom the vehicle is kept (“the keeper”) is a member of a visiting force or a member of a civilian component of a visiting force;

(b) the vehicle has been imported into the United Kingdom for the personal use of the keeper or of his dependants;

(c) there is not in force with respect to the vehicle—

(i) a Department’s approval certificate issued in pursuance of these Regulations,

(ii) a certificate of conformity,

(iii) a Department’s approval certificate in a form prescribed by regulation 9 of the 1985 Regulations, or

(iv) an EC certificate of conformity; and

(d) not more than one other vehicle which meets the requirements of sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) is kept in the United Kingdom by the keeper.

(4) In paragraph (3) the expressions “member of a visiting force” and “member of a civilian component of a visiting force” shall bear the same meanings as in Part I of the Visiting Forces Act 1952(3).

(5) The day appointed for the purposes of Article 31E(1) of the Order in relation to every vehicle to which this regulation applies is 1st June 2001.

(6) The type approval requirements prescribed for the purposes of Article 31E of the Order, in relation to every vehicle to which this regulation applies, are the approval requirements.

(7) Article 31E(1) of the Order shall not apply to the use of a relevant vehicle—

(a) for the purpose of submitting it (by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date) before it is registered for an examination pursuant to an application under these Regulations;

(b) for the purpose of bringing it away, before it is registered, from such an examination;

(c) by an authorised person for the purpose of—

(i) taking it to, or bringing it away from, a place where a part of such an examination is to be, or has been, carried out, or

(ii) carrying out a part of such an examination, or

(iii) warming up its engine in preparation for such an examination, before it is registered;

(d) where an application under regulation 5 is refused following such an examination, for the purpose of—

(i) delivering it (by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date) at a place where relevant work is to be done on it, or

(ii) bringing it away from a place where relevant work has been done on it, before it is registered.

(8) In this regulation—

“authorised person” means an examiner appointed under Article 74 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(4) or a person carrying out such an examination under the direction of such an examiner;

“relevant work” means work done or to be done to remedy the defects on the grounds of which the application was refused (including work to alter the vehicle in some aspect of design, construction, equipment or marking on account of which the certificate was refused).

Licences not to be issued for vehicles unless appropriate certificates are in force

12.  Where application is made for a licence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 for a vehicle to which regulation 11 applies, the licence shall not be granted unless on the first application after the day appointed by Regulations made by virtue of the Order for a licence for that vehicle, there is produced evidence that there are one or more certificates in force for the vehicle under Article 31A of the Order from which it appears that the vehicle complies with the approval requirements.

(1)

O.J. No. L24, 18.12.75, p. 1

(2)

O.J. No. L155, 19.5.78, p. 31

(3)

1952 c. 67; see sections 10 and 12

(4)

S.I. 1995/2994 (N.I. 18)