MOT testers and or lawyers: help needed!
Discussion
Hi all,
I've recently imported a JDM Subaru Impreza WRX STI from the UK to Belgium. The car has MOT and TAX for for quite some more months.
I am having problems importing it. There is no European Certificate of Conformity, nor a Belgian one. I have to go through a "unique homologation" procedure to get it on the road. The problem is that it is quite expensive (costs running up to 500 euro) and takes very long (at least 3 months, might run out to more than a year). Another problem is that the car has a few mods (exhaust, intercooler, drilled front brake discs) that aren't allowed in Belgium, because there are no certificates for it.
I've had contact with an European service for issues with the European law in a EU country, and they linked me to this European guideline: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?...
It states that importing procedures for cars from other EU countries, should be relatively easy, fast and cheap, and that no unneccesary procedures and asking the replacement of parts is allowed, as the car was deemed roadworthy in another EU country.
The center where they do the technical inspection, says it doesn't matter, and that they are just a middleman and they send the request to the federal government that decides if it's good or not. They just "advise" them.
Also, I have no proof(certificates or anything) that the parts were on the car when it got MOT-ed, since it's not necessary in the UK.
I've contacted the government, SOLVIT, the local technical inspection station, the coordinating organisation of technical inspection centers and a customer service service (:P), but with very slow/irrelevant responses.
I am hoping that someone here can/could help me, with the necessary steps to take? I also wonder if it is possible to get some sort of proof from a MOT station, that the car was streetlegal with those parts, as that might help.
I know of someone on a forum that was able to import a modified MX-5 from Germany, as in Germany, every mod has to be registered on the "fahrzeugbrief" and they need TUV certificates for everything.
I've recently imported a JDM Subaru Impreza WRX STI from the UK to Belgium. The car has MOT and TAX for for quite some more months.
I am having problems importing it. There is no European Certificate of Conformity, nor a Belgian one. I have to go through a "unique homologation" procedure to get it on the road. The problem is that it is quite expensive (costs running up to 500 euro) and takes very long (at least 3 months, might run out to more than a year). Another problem is that the car has a few mods (exhaust, intercooler, drilled front brake discs) that aren't allowed in Belgium, because there are no certificates for it.
I've had contact with an European service for issues with the European law in a EU country, and they linked me to this European guideline: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?...
It states that importing procedures for cars from other EU countries, should be relatively easy, fast and cheap, and that no unneccesary procedures and asking the replacement of parts is allowed, as the car was deemed roadworthy in another EU country.
The center where they do the technical inspection, says it doesn't matter, and that they are just a middleman and they send the request to the federal government that decides if it's good or not. They just "advise" them.
Also, I have no proof(certificates or anything) that the parts were on the car when it got MOT-ed, since it's not necessary in the UK.
I've contacted the government, SOLVIT, the local technical inspection station, the coordinating organisation of technical inspection centers and a customer service service (:P), but with very slow/irrelevant responses.
I am hoping that someone here can/could help me, with the necessary steps to take? I also wonder if it is possible to get some sort of proof from a MOT station, that the car was streetlegal with those parts, as that might help.
I know of someone on a forum that was able to import a modified MX-5 from Germany, as in Germany, every mod has to be registered on the "fahrzeugbrief" and they need TUV certificates for everything.
Current registered status in an EU country is not enough. The car would have to be reverted to standard, but because of the strict tuning regulations here, I wouldn't be able to use the exhaust/brake disks/intercooler afterwards.
Which seems wrong, as the car is deemed roadworthy in an EU country, and the European guideline says that there shouldn't be any unnecessary changes to the car if it's registered like that in another EU country.
Keeping it registered in the UK is not an option, that is also not legal. And I don't have an address or anything in the UK anyway, so that wouldn't work anyway. It would be a whole lot easier if that was an option!
Which seems wrong, as the car is deemed roadworthy in an EU country, and the European guideline says that there shouldn't be any unnecessary changes to the car if it's registered like that in another EU country.
Keeping it registered in the UK is not an option, that is also not legal. And I don't have an address or anything in the UK anyway, so that wouldn't work anyway. It would be a whole lot easier if that was an option!
A quote of point 3.2.2
Guideline said:
National type-approval and individual approval procedures for motor vehicles to be used or registered for
the first time in the EU normally fall outside the scope of EC law.
However, national approval procedures for motor vehicles which have already obtained a national approval
in another Member State and for motor vehicles that were already registered in another Member State, must
comply with Articles 28 and 30 of the EC Treaty. According to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, the
existence of such national procedures is, as such, not necessarily contrary to these Articles.
Yet, these approvals must at least fulfill the following procedural conditions to comply with Articles 28 and
30 of the EC Treaty (2
):
(a) the national approval procedures must, in any event, be based on objective, non-discriminatory
criteria which are known in advance, in such a way as to circumscribe the exercise of the national
authorities' discretion, so that it is not used arbitrarily;
(b) such procedures may not duplicate controls which have already been carried out in the context of
other procedures, either in the same State or in another Member State. It follows that national authorities are not entitled to require technical tests when those tests have already been carried out in another
Member State and their results are available to the authorities, or at their request may be placed at their
disposal. This requires an active approach on the part of the national body to which an application is
made for approval of a motor vehicle or recognition, in that context, of the equivalence of an approval
certificate issued by an approval body of another Member State. Further, such an active approach is also
required, where appropriate, of the latter body, and in this respect it is for the Member States to ensure
that the competent approval bodies cooperate with each other with a view to facilitating the procedures
to be followed to obtain access to the national market of the importing Member State (1
);
(c) the procedure must be one which is readily accessible and can be completed within a reasonable time,
and, if it leads to a refusal, the decision of refusal must be open to challenge before the courts. The
procedure must be expressly provided for in a measure of general application which is binding on the
national authorities. Moreover, a national approval procedure does not comply with the fundamental
principles of the free movement of goods if its duration and the disproportionate costs to which it gives
rise deter the owner of the motor vehicle from seeking the approval of the motor vehicle.
The technical requirements of the receiving Member State must not unnecessarily require the
motor vehicle to be modified. The fact that the motor vehicle was already registered in another Member
State means that its competent authorities considered that the motor vehicle satisfied the technical requirements applicable there. The approval of a motor vehicle already approved in another Member State, whether
the vehicle was already registered or not, may therefore only be refused by the competent national authorities if the motor vehicle poses a genuine risk to public health. According to the jurisprudence of the Court
of Justice, the Member States, in exercising their discretion relating to the protection of public health, must
comply with the principle of proportionality. The means which they choose must therefore be confined to
what is actually necessary to ensure the safeguarding of public health or to satisfy overriding requirements
regarding, for example, road safety, and they must be proportional to the objective thus pursued, which
could not have been attained by measures less restrictive of intra-Community trade (2
). Since Article 30 of
the EC Treaty provides for an exception, to be interpreted strictly (3
), to the rule of free movement of goods
within the Community, it is for the national authorities which invoke it to show in each case that the
application of their rules is necessary to give effective protection to the interests referred to in
Article 30 of the EC Treaty and, in particular, that the approval of the motor vehicle in question poses a
real risk to human health or road safety
Getting the original parts will cost quite a bit (might even need a remap if the exhaust gets changed?), and I'm still stuck with that lengthy and costly procedure, which it shouldn't be, according to the guidelines :/the first time in the EU normally fall outside the scope of EC law.
However, national approval procedures for motor vehicles which have already obtained a national approval
in another Member State and for motor vehicles that were already registered in another Member State, must
comply with Articles 28 and 30 of the EC Treaty. According to the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice, the
existence of such national procedures is, as such, not necessarily contrary to these Articles.
Yet, these approvals must at least fulfill the following procedural conditions to comply with Articles 28 and
30 of the EC Treaty (2
):
(a) the national approval procedures must, in any event, be based on objective, non-discriminatory
criteria which are known in advance, in such a way as to circumscribe the exercise of the national
authorities' discretion, so that it is not used arbitrarily;
(b) such procedures may not duplicate controls which have already been carried out in the context of
other procedures, either in the same State or in another Member State. It follows that national authorities are not entitled to require technical tests when those tests have already been carried out in another
Member State and their results are available to the authorities, or at their request may be placed at their
disposal. This requires an active approach on the part of the national body to which an application is
made for approval of a motor vehicle or recognition, in that context, of the equivalence of an approval
certificate issued by an approval body of another Member State. Further, such an active approach is also
required, where appropriate, of the latter body, and in this respect it is for the Member States to ensure
that the competent approval bodies cooperate with each other with a view to facilitating the procedures
to be followed to obtain access to the national market of the importing Member State (1
);
(c) the procedure must be one which is readily accessible and can be completed within a reasonable time,
and, if it leads to a refusal, the decision of refusal must be open to challenge before the courts. The
procedure must be expressly provided for in a measure of general application which is binding on the
national authorities. Moreover, a national approval procedure does not comply with the fundamental
principles of the free movement of goods if its duration and the disproportionate costs to which it gives
rise deter the owner of the motor vehicle from seeking the approval of the motor vehicle.
The technical requirements of the receiving Member State must not unnecessarily require the
motor vehicle to be modified. The fact that the motor vehicle was already registered in another Member
State means that its competent authorities considered that the motor vehicle satisfied the technical requirements applicable there. The approval of a motor vehicle already approved in another Member State, whether
the vehicle was already registered or not, may therefore only be refused by the competent national authorities if the motor vehicle poses a genuine risk to public health. According to the jurisprudence of the Court
of Justice, the Member States, in exercising their discretion relating to the protection of public health, must
comply with the principle of proportionality. The means which they choose must therefore be confined to
what is actually necessary to ensure the safeguarding of public health or to satisfy overriding requirements
regarding, for example, road safety, and they must be proportional to the objective thus pursued, which
could not have been attained by measures less restrictive of intra-Community trade (2
). Since Article 30 of
the EC Treaty provides for an exception, to be interpreted strictly (3
), to the rule of free movement of goods
within the Community, it is for the national authorities which invoke it to show in each case that the
application of their rules is necessary to give effective protection to the interests referred to in
Article 30 of the EC Treaty and, in particular, that the approval of the motor vehicle in question poses a
real risk to human health or road safety
Edited by Terror Factor on Saturday 16th March 21:40
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