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(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and shall come into operation on 2nd December 1998.
(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1985.
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(1) Regulation 9 of the principal Regulations shall be amended as follows:
(2) In paragraph (2), for “and (5)” there shall be substituted “, (5) and (6)”.
(3) For paragraph (5), there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—“
(5) Subject to paragraph (6), a Department’s approval certificate for any vehicle shall be in a form prescribed by paragraph (4), if—
(a) the application was made on the basis that the vehicle is a low volume type approval vehicle; or
(b) the applicant has otherwise requested the certificate to be in a form prescribed by that paragraph,
and the Department is satisfied that the vehicle is a low volume type approval vehicle.
(6) Upon the issue of a Department’s approval certificate for any vehicle, where the Department is satisfied that the requirements of paragraph (7) are fulfilled and the applicant so requests, the certificate shall be endorsed with a statement that it is so satisfied.
(7) The requirements of this paragraph are that—
(a) an EC certificate of conformity has been issued in respect of the vehicle;
(b) since the EC certificate of conformity was issued the vehicle has been altered as described in the information document which accompanied the application under these Regulations;
(c) notwithstanding the alterations the vehicle is still of the type in respect of which the EC certificate of conformity was issued, and—
(i) if the EC certificate of conformity does not describe the vehicle as a variant, the vehicle has not as a consequence of the alterations become a variant of that type,
(ii) if the EC certificate of conformity describes the vehicle as a variant of that type, the vehicle has not as a consequence of the alterations become a different variant of that type;
(d) the EC certificate would still have had effect had the alterations not been made (whether or not that certificate in fact still has effect).
(8) For the purposes of paragraph (7)—
(a) “EC certificate of conformity” has the same meaning as in Article 31A(7) of the Order; and
(b) “type” and “variant” have the meanings given in Annex IIB of Council Directive 70/156/EEC, as amended by Council Directive 87/403/EEC and Council Directive 92/53/EEC.”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of the Environment on
J. Ritchie
Assistant Secretary
21st October 1998.