Explanatory note

These Regulations consolidate with amendments the Agricultural or Forestry Tractors and Tractor Components (Type Approval) (Fees) Regulations 1979. The Regulations prescribe the fees payable for the examination of agricultural or forestry tractors and their components and the issue of documents in connection with the type-approval or component type-approval of such tractors and their components which conform to the requirements of the Community Directives listed in column 2 of Part B of Schedule 1, for the purposes of Council Directive 74/150/EEC (OJ No. L84, 28.3.74, p. 10), as amended, on the approximation of laws relating to the type-approval of wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors.

Apart from drafting amendments, the changes of substance made by these Regulations are a change in the deduction for administration costs when a fee is refunded (regulation 10(1)), the provision of separate fees for the tests relating to lights and light signalling, the introduction of fees in respect of 12 additional tests relating to windscreens and other glazing, and the revision of the amounts of the fees (Schedules 1 and 2). This revision is largely due to a re-assessment of the Ministry’s administrative costs, and the costs of testing in the light of experience. The Basic Fees in Part A of Schedule 1 are increased by 10% and 9% for the First and Second Item respectively, and the Supplementary Fees in Part B are increased by varying amounts of between 14% and 215%, with an average increase of 56%. In Schedule 2, fees for the issue of a type-approval certificate and the provision of duplicates remain unchanged, but fees for the modification of a type-approval certificate and for a type-approval certificate based on tests to equivalent standards, which have not been changed since 1985, are increased from £75 to £516 and £140 to £862 respectively, following a re-assessment of the costs involved.

The Regulations provide for the calculation of the fees by reference to Basic Fees and Supplementary Fees set out in Schedule 1 on a standard scale (regulations 3 and 4) or a reduced scale (regulation 5), and provide for fees to be adjusted where consecutive or partial examinations are conducted (regulations 6 and 7 respectively). The fees for the issue of documents are prescribed (regulation 8 and Schedule 2). The Regulations also: