GENERAL

1. Road vehicles may be approved by one of the following procedures:

(a) individually, or

(b) by design type (series of road vehicles).

2. An approval certificate conforming to the standard form of annex 4 shall be issued for approved vehicles. This certificate shall be printed in the language of the country of issue and in French or English. When the authority which has granted the approval deems it necessary, photographs or diagrams authenticated by that authority shall be attached to the certificate. The number of those documents shall then be inserted by that authority under item No. 6 of the approval certificate.

3. The approval certificate shall be kept on the road vehicle.

4. Road vehicles shall be produced every three years, for the purposes of inspection and of renewal of approval where appropriate, to the competent authorities of the country in which the vehicle is registered or, in the case of unregistered vehicles, of the country in which the owner or user is resident.

5. If a road vehicle no longer complies with the technical conditions prescribed for its approval, it shall, before it can be used for the transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets, be restored to the condition which had justified its approval so as to comply again with the said technical conditions.

6. If the essential characteristics of a road vehicle are changed, the vehicle shall cease to be covered by the approval and shall be reapproved by the competent authority before it can be used for the transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets.

7. The competent authorities of the country of registration of the vehicle or, in the case of vehicles for which registration is not required, the competent authorities of the country where the owner or user of the vehicle is established may, as the case may be, withdraw or renew the approval certificate or issue a new approval certificate in the circumstances set out in article 14 of this Convention and in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of this annex.

PROCEDURE FOR INDIVIDUAL APPROVAL

8. The owner, the operator or the representative of either shall apply to the competent authority for individual approval. The competent authority shall inspect the road vehicle produced in accordance with the general rules laid down in paragraphs 1 to 7 above and shall satisfy that the vehicle complies with the technical conditions prescribed in annex 2, and after approval shall issue a certificate conforming to the model in annex 4.

PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL BY DESIGN TYPE (SERIES OF ROAD VEHICLES)

9. Where road vehicles are manufactured by type series, the manufacturer may apply to the competent authority of the country of manufacture for approval by design-type.

10. The manufacturer shall state in his application the identification numbers or letters which he assigns to the type of road vehicle to which his application for approval relates.

11. The application shall be accompanied by drawings and a detailed design specification of the type of road vehicle to be approved.

12. The manufacturer shall give an undertaking in writing that he will:

(a) produce to the competent authority such vehicles of the type concerned as that authority may wish to examine;

(b) permit the competent authority to examine further units at any time during the production of the type series concerned;

(c) advise the competent authority of any change, however small, in the design or specification before proceeding with such change;

(d) mark the road vehicles in a visible place with the identification numbers or letters of the design-type and the serial number of the vehicle in the type series (manufacturer’s number);

(e) keep a record of vehicles manufactured to the approved design-type.

13. The competent authority shall state what changes, if any, must be made to the proposed design-type in order that approval may be granted.

14. No approval by design-type shall be granted unless the competent authority has satisfied itself by examination of one or more vehicles manufactured to the design-type concerned that vehicles of that type comply with the technical conditions prescribed in annex 2.

15. The competent authority shall notify the manufacturer in writing of its decision to grant approval by design-type. This decision shall be dated and numbered. The authority which took the decision shall be clearly designated.

16. The competent authority shall take the necessary steps to issue an approval certificate, which it has duly signed, in respect of every vehicle built in conformity with an approved design-type.

17. The holder of the approval certificate shall, before using the vehicle for the carriage of goods under the cover of a TIR carnet, fill in, as may be required, on the approval certificate:

- the registration number given to the vehicle (item No. 1) or,

- in the case of a vehicle not subject to registration, particulars of his name and business address (item No. 8).

18. When a vehicle which has been approved by design-type is exported to another country which is a Contracting Party to this Convention, no further approval procedure shall be required in that country on account of its importation.

PROCEDURE FOR ENDORSEMENT OF THE CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

19. When an approved vehicle, carrying goods under cover of a TIR carnet, is found to have major defects, the competent authorities of Contracting Parties may either refuse to allow the vehicle to continue its journey under a TIR carnet, or allow the vehicle to continue its journey under a TIR carnet on its territory while taking the necessary security precautions. The approved vehicle must be restored to a satisfactory state as rapidly as possible, and in any case before it is again used for the transport of goods under cover of a TIR carnet.

20. In each of these cases the Customs authorities shall make an appropriate endorsement in item No. 10 of the certificate of approval of the vehicle. When the vehicle has been restored to a condition which justifies approval, it shall be presented to the competent authorities of a Contracting Party who shall revalidate the certificate by adding an endorsement to item No. 11 cancelling the earlier observations. No vehicle, the certificate of which has been endorsed at item No. 10 under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, may again be used for the transport of goods under a TIR carnet until it has been restored to a satisfactory condition and until the endorsement in item No. 10 has been cancelled as stated above.

21. Each endorsement made on the certificate shall be dated and authenticated by the competent authorities.

22. When a vehicle is found to have defects which the Customs authorities consider to be of minor importance and not involving the risk of smuggling, the continued use of the vehicle for the transport of goods under cover of a TIR carnet can be authorized. The holder of the approval certificate shall be notified of the defects and shall restore his vehicle to a satisfactory state within a reasonable time.