The Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988

Appeals

25.—(1) Any person aggrieved by a determination made on a first examination, or on a consequent re-test of a vehicle, may appeal to the area engineer for the traffic area in which that determination was made, and any person aggrieved by the determination of the area engineer under this regulation may appeal to the Secretary of State.

(2) Any appeal to the area engineer shall be lodged at the office of the relevant traffic area not later than 10 days from the date of the determination, and any appeal to the Secretary of State shall be lodged at the Goods Vehicle Centre, not later than 14 days from the date of the determination.

(3) Every appeal shall be made on a form approved by the Secretary of State and shall contain the particulars required by that form.

(4) An appeal to the area engineer shall be accompanied by a fee of £15 and an appeal to the Secretary of State shall be accompanied by a fee of £25.

(5) As soon as reasonably practicable after the date of the receipt of the appeal, the area engineer or, as the case may be, the appeal officer shall send a notice, addressed to the appellant at the address of the appellant stated in the form of appeal, stating where and when a re-examination for the purpose of determining the issues raised on the appeal is to take place.

(6) The place to be selected by the area engineer or, as the case may be, the appeal officer, for the re-examination for the purposes of the appeal may be either a vehicle testing station or such other place as he may consider convenient for the purposes of carrying out that re-examination.

(7) The vehicle shall be submitted for the re-examination (which will be carried out by the area engineer or, as the case may be, the appeal officer) at the place and time specified in the notice sent to the appellant under paragraph (5) unless arrangements are made with the agreement of the area engineer or, as the case may be, the appeal officer, for the carrying out of the examination at some other place or time.

(8) On the submission of a vehicle for a re-examination for the purpose of an appeal the person submitting the vehicle for the re-examination shall, if requested to do so by the area engineer or the appeal officer,

(a) produce—

(i) if the appeal relates to a determination made on an examination for plating, or on a re-examination by an area engineer, and as a result of which a plating certificate was issued, that certificate; or

(ii) if the appeal relates to a determination made on a goods vehicle test, or on a re-examination by an area engineer, the notice of refusal of a goods vehicle test certificate issued as a result of that test or re-examination; and

(b) give such information as may reasonably be required relating to any alteration made or repairs carried out, or any accident or other event occurring since the date of the determination appealed against, which may have affected the vehicle or its equipment.

(9) The area engineer or, as the case may be, the appeal officer shall not be required to proceed with the re-examination unless the person submitting the vehicle for the re-examination complies with paragraph (8) and nothing in this paragraph shall be taken to derogate from regulation 8.

(10) On completion of the re-examination the area engineer or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State shall make such determination as he thinks fit, and may—

(a) where the appeal relates to a determination made on or in connection with an examination for plating as respects which a plating certificate was issued, either determine that such certificate was properly issued or issue a different plating certificate upon surrender of the first mentioned certificate; or

(b) where the appeal relates to a determination made on a goods vehicle test, or by an area engineer in connection with a notice of refusal of a goods vehicle test certificate, issue either a goods vehicle test certificate and plating certificate for the vehicle or a notice of refusal of a goods vehicle test certificate stating the grounds thereof and in that event no plating certificate shall be issued for the vehicle.

(11) Plating certificates, goods vehicle test certificates and notices of refusal of a goods vehicle test certificate issued under the foregoing provisions of this regulation shall be signed by the area engineer or, as the case may be, the appeal officer and shall contain—

(a) the same particulars as are appropriate in the case of plating certificates, goods vehicle test certificates and notices of refusal of a goods vehicle test certificate mentioned in regulation 21 or 23, subject nevertheless to such modifications as may be appropriate and subject in the case of a plating certificate to that certificate showing particulars of the plated weights determined for that vehicle by the area engineer or by the Secretary of State;

(b) in the case of a plating certificate—

(i) where the vehicle is one of a make, model and type and otherwise one to which the standard lists apply and any plated weight so determined is less than the equivalent weight shown as a design weight in such lists, particulars of that equivalent weight; and

(ii) where any plated weight so determined is less than the weight that would have been otherwise determined under regulation 20 but for paragraph (g) of that regulation, particulars of the last mentioned weight (which shall be shown as a design weight).