The Agricultural or Forestry Tractors (Emission of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants) and Tractor etc (EC Type-Approval) (Amendment) Regulations 2015

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Agricultural or Forestry Tractors (Emission of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/1891) (“the 2002 Regulations”) and the Tractor etc (EC Type-Approval) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 2005/390) (“the 2005” Regulations”).

Regulation 2 transposes the changes to Annexes I, II and III to Directive 2000/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2000 on action to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants by engines intended to power agricultural or forestry tractors and amending Council Directive 74/150/EEC (“Council Directive 2000/25/EC”) made by Commission Directive 2014/43/EU of 18 March 2014 amending Annex I,II and III to Directive 2000/25/EC (OJ No L 82, 20.3.2014, p.12) (“Commission Directive 2014/43/EU”). This has been effected by amending the definition of Council Directive 2000/25/EC in regulation 2 of the 2002 Regulations.

Regulation 2 also transposes the changes to Annexes I, II and III to 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 (“Council Directive 2003/37/EC”) made by Commission Directive 2014/44/EU of 18 March 2014 amending Annex I, II and III to Directive 2003/37/EC (OJ L 82, 20.3.2014, p.20) (“Commission Directive 2014/44/EU”). This has been effected by amending the definition of Council Directive 2003/37/EC in regulation 2 of the 2002 Regulations.

The opportunity has also been taken to update the definition of Council Directive 97/68/EC in regulation 2 of the 2002 Regulations.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 2(1) of the 2005 Regulations to update the definitions of “separate directive” and Council Directive 2003/37/EC (the latter is referred to in the 2005 Regulations as “the Tractor Type Approval Directive”). Council Directive 2000/25/EC is one of the separate directives in the framework of the type-approval system established by Directive 2003/37/EC.

The Department has taken the opportunity to amend the 2002 and 2005 Regulations by means of a single instrument as a matter of convenience to the reader and to avoid the need for two separate instruments to be purchased.

No impact assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations as minimal or no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen as a result of the changes to the 2002 and 2005 Regulations; they represent small reductions in the regulatory burden which impose no costs upon industry. An Explanatory Memorandum and a transposition note in respect of Commission Directive 2014/43/EU and Commission Directive 2014/44/EU are available alongside the instrument on the www.legislation.gov.uk website.

A copy of the Directives referred to in this Explanatory Note may be viewed in the Official Journal of the European Union via the EUR-Lex website at http://eur-lex.europa.eu.