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Union type-approval legislation

 

The United Kingdom (UK) had in 2017 notified its intention to withdraw from the European Union (hereinafter referred to as EU or Union). As a result of specific developments, including European Council Decision (EU) 2019/476[1] and European Council Decision (EU) 2019/584[2], unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date, this means that, without prejudice to the second paragraph of Article 2 in Decision (EU) 2019/584, all Union primary and secondary law, including Union type-approval legislation, will cease to apply to the UK from 1 November 2019, 00:00h Central European Time (CET), and the UK will become a 'third country', i.e., a country not member of the EU.

Brexit, as the withdrawal of the UK from the EU is commonly referred to, has its consequences, not only for the EU and national authorities but also for private parties, including importers, distributors, manufacturers, manufacturer’s representatives, and other interested stakeholders.

In this context, we, the Technical Regulations Division within the MCCAA, have prepared this communication to briefly inform about relevant updates in Union type-approval legislation, consequences, and changes due to Brexit. We urge all stakeholders within the scope of this communication to read thoroughly the following text and the herein indicated material, and to contact us on info@mccaa.org.mt for any clarifications.

Note:

  • Currently we do not have any official information about the ratification of a withdrawal agreement establishing a different withdrawal date. We will inform you accordingly, in case a withdrawal date other than 1 November 2019, 00:00h CET becomes applicable.

 

Stakeholders within the scope of this communication

This communication is relevant to all economic operators (i.e., importers, distributors, manufacturers, or manufacturer’s representatives), organisations, associations, authorities, or interested parties that deal in (new) motor vehicles and their trailers; certain vehicles; systems, components, and separate technical units intended for such vehicles; and engines for non-road mobile machinery, (hereinafter collectively referred to as “automotive items”) which fall within the scope of Directive 2007/46/EC[3], Regulation (EU) No 167/2013[4], Regulation (EU) No 168/2013[5], or Regulation (EU) 2016/1628[6].

 

Objectives of this communication

  1. inform about the publication and entry into force of Regulation (EU) 2019/26, which complements Union type-approval legislation with regard to Brexit
  2. inform about other material and notices published by the European Commission that are relevant to Brexit and automotive items
  3. briefly highlight the main consequences of Brexit in what concerns automotive items
  4. briefly highlight the way forward in what concerns automotive items affected by Brexit
  5. provide indications on how to recognise relevant types of ‘automotive’ approvals granted by the UK

Note:

  • For information and clarifications concerning second hand vehicles, refer to Transport Malta – Web: www.transport.gov.mt; E-mail: info.tm@transport.gov.mt

 

Definitions for the purpose of this communication

  1. ‘Brexit’ means the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU or Union)
  2. ‘the withdrawal date’ means, without prejudice to the second paragraph of Article 2 in Decision (EU) 2019/584, 1 November 2019, 00:00h Central European Time (CET), unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date
  3. 'third country' means a country not member of the EU
  4. ‘Member State’ means a country member of the EU
  5. ‘EU-27’ means the EU without or except the UK
  6. ‘Union type-approval authority’ means a type-approval authority of a Member State other than the United Kingdom
  7. ‘UK type-approval’ means an EC type-approval or EU type-approval granted by the UK type-approval authority
  8. ‘Union type-approval’ means an EU type-approval granted by a Union type-approval authority in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/26
  9. ‘UNECE approval’ means approval granted according to Regulations developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
  10. ‘placing on the market’[7] means making available a vehicle, system, component, separate technical unit, part, or equipment for the first time in the Union

 

Regulation (EU) 2019/26

Regulation (EU) 2019/26 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 January 2019 complementing Union type-approval legislation with regard to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union, was officially published on 10 January 2019 and entered into force on 13 January 2019. It is binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States, including Malta.

Regulation (EU) 2019/26 includes several provisions, amongst others, about the end of validity of UK type-approvals and about placing on the market, relevant to any automotive item thus far covered by and produced on the basis of a UK type-approval.

We urge all relevant stakeholders to read Regulation (EU) 2019/26 and to act accordingly, as necessary.


 

Other relevant material and notices

Read more - European Commission about Brexit and Brexit preparedness 

Concerning automotive items, the European Commission published the following Brexit preparedness notices:

Type approvals (automotive vehicles) 

Type approval (vehicles and engines)

 

General consequences of Brexit in what concerns automotive items

The following text, which intends to provide brief and simple general indications, is without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2019/26 and all other applicable legislation and is not a direct or exhaustive replacement of the contents of Regulation (EU) 2019/26 or any other applicable legislation.
Stakeholders are advised to refer to Regulation (EU) 2019/26 and other applicable legislation for complete details.

As from the withdrawal date, the UK becomes a third country.
This has certain consequences in what concerns automotive items subject to EC type-approval or EU type-approval, namely: 

  1. as from the withdrawal date, the type-approval authority of the UK ceases to be an EU type-approval authority for the purposes of Union type-approval legislation
  2. as from the withdrawal date at the latest, UK type-approvals lose their validity for the purpose of placing on the market
  3. as from the withdrawal date, manufacturer’s representatives for the purposes of Union type-approval legislation cannot be established in the UK
  4. as from the withdrawal date, the type-approval authority of the UK will no longer be in a position to perform any of the functions and activities of an approval authority for the purposes of Union type-approval legislation
  5. as from the withdrawal date, the type-approval authority of the UK will no longer be able to issue revisions or extensions with respect to UK type approvals it had granted before the withdrawal date

Note:

  • Union type-approval legislation allows manufacturers the freedom to obtain type-approvals from any type-approval authority of the EU, and to appoint relevant representatives established anywhere in the EU.
    For example, until the withdrawal date, an automotive item can be produced in Malta or, for example, in Italy or in Japan, on the basis of a UK type-approval. Similarly, until the withdrawal date, a manufacturer from, for example, China can have a representative established in the UK for the purpose of Union type-approval legislation.
    Therefore, the consequences of Brexit, or more precisely, the indications in Regulation (EU) 2019/26 and in the above-mentioned Brexit preparedness notices, are not limited to manufacturers or automotive items from the UK, but may affect any economic operator, irrespective of whether the respective manufacturer of the automotive item is established in the UK, in the EU-27, or in a third country.
  • Moreover, stakeholders are reminded to take into consideration all other applicable legal changes arising from the fact that, as from the withdrawal date, the UK becomes a third country.

 

Way forward

The following text, which intends to provide brief and simple general indications, is without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2019/26 and all other applicable legislation and is not a direct or exhaustive replacement of the contents of Regulation (EU) 2019/26 or any other applicable legislation.
Stakeholders are advised to refer to Regulation (EU) 2019/26 and other applicable legislation for complete details.

In general:

  1. as from the withdrawal date, automotive items covered by a UK type-approval cannot be placed on the Union market
  2. as from the withdrawal date, automotive items that had been produced on the basis of a UK type-approval cannot be placed on the Union market
  3. as from the withdrawal date, vehicles accompanied by a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) referring to a UK type-approval cannot be placed on the Union market
  4. where applicable, for certain engines, or for certain vehicles (agricultural and forestry) and non-road mobile machinery in which such engines are installed, the specific provisions indicated in Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 2019/26 apply
  5. as from the withdrawal date, manufacturers established outside the Union must have representatives established in the EU-27 for the purpose of Union type-approval legislation
  6. importers and distributors are to keep in mind that, as from the withdrawal date, every manufacturer’s representative for the purpose of Union type-approval legislation must be established in the EU-27
  7. (for the purpose of continuation) a manufacturer holding a UK type-approval that has not become invalid pursuant to Union type-approval legislation, may before the withdrawal date submit an application to a Union type-approval authority for a Union type-approval of the same type
  8. when applying for a Union type-approval according to the previous point, unless the manufacturer presents proof of an agreement with another Union type-approval authority for the same scope, the manufacturer shall also request the Union type-approval authority in question to take over the obligations of the UK type-approval authority with respect to all the manufacturer's other automotive items already placed on the market, registered, or entered into service in the Union on the basis of UK type-approvals granted after 1 January 2008 and that have either become invalid (for reasons other than Brexit), or for which no Union type-approval is sought under Regulation (EU) 2019/26
  9. the granting of a Union type-approval following the application mentioned in point 7 entails, amongst others, certain specific indications in the respective type-approval certificate and for vehicles, also in the Certificate of Conformity (CoC) – refer to Articles 5(4) and 5(6) of Regulation (EU) 2019/26 for details

Notes:

  • All provisions of Union type-approval legislation not derogated from in Regulation (EU) 2019/26 shall continue to apply.
  • Without prejudice to other applicable laws (e.g., Customs regulations), UNECE approvals granted by the UK are not affected by Brexit and are not within the scope of this communication.

 

Recognising the type-approval number or type-approval mark pertaining to UK type-approval (EC type-approval or EU type-approval)

In general, a UK type-approval may be recognised from the type-approval number or from the type-approval mark; both of which include, amongst other requirements, the lower-case alphabetical letter ‘e’ followed by the number ‘11’ (eleven). Where required on components or separate technical units, a rectangle surrounds the marking ‘e11’, as shown in the example below -

Note:

  • UNECE approvals granted by the UK are, without prejudice to other applicable laws, not affected by Brexit, and may be recognised from the approval number or from the approval mark; both of which include, amongst other requirements, the capital letter 'E' followed by the number ‘11’ (eleven). Where required, the approval mark for UNECE approvals granted by the UK consists of a circle surrounding the marking ‘E11’.

 

References

[1] European Council Decision (EU) 2019/476 taken in agreement with the United Kingdom of 22 March 2019 extending the period under Article 50(3) TEU, OJ L 80I, 22.3.2019, p. 1–2.

[2] European Council Decision (EU) 2019/584 taken in agreement with the United Kingdom of 11 April 2019 extending the period under Article 50(3) TEU, OJ L 101, 11.4.2019, p. 1–3.

[3] Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, OJ L 263, 9.10.2007, p. 1.

[4] Regulation (EU) No 167/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 February 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of agricultural and forestry vehicles, OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 1.

[5] Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2013 on the approval and market surveillance of two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles, OJ L 60, 2.3.2013, p. 52.

[6] Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 on requirements relating to gaseous and particulate pollutant emission limits and type-approval for internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery, amending Regulations (EU) No 1024/2012 and (EU) No 167/2013, and amending and repealing Directive 97/68/EC, OJ L 252, 16.9.2016, p. 53.

[7] For more information on placing on the market, see section 2.3 of Commission Notice 2016/C 272/01 "The Blue Guide on the implementation of EU product rules 2016", OJ C 272, 26.7.2016, p. 1.