The new rules on type-approval and market surveillance of non-road mobile machinery used on public roads also apply to agricultural machinery.
New regulations are coming into force concerning the type-approval and market surveillance of non-road mobile machinery used on public roads, including agricultural machinery such as harvesters, sprayers, and telescopic handlers. The mandatory provisions contained in Regulation 2025/14 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 19, 2024, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on January 8, 2025 will be directly applicable in all EU Member States. This regulation amends the previous Regulation 2019/ 1020 on self-propelled mobile machinery designed or constructed for work purposes. This refers to machinery that may, occasionally or regularly, travel on public roads, mainly to move from one workplace to another. By way of derogation from the regulation, until January 29, 2036, Member States may apply any national legislation on national type-approval for the use on public roads of non-road mobile machinery placed on the market between January 29, 2028, and January 29, 2036. During the transitional period, manufacturers will therefore have the option of choosing whether to comply with the regulation and benefit from free movement, or to comply with the applicable national type-approval requirements. In particular, the regulation establishes technical requirements, administrative requirements, and procedures for EU type-approval, EU individual type-approval, and the placing on the market of all new non-road mobile machinery intended for use on public roads. The regulation also establishes rules and procedures for market surveillance. Specifically, the measure applies to non-road mobile machinery classified as “category U vehicles”, with or without a driver. An important provision concerns the scope of application of the new regulation, which does not apply, among other things, to vehicles, including motor vehicles, tractors, trailers, two- or three-wheeled vehicles, quadricycles, and interchangeable towed equipment, which fall exclusively within the scope of European Regulation No. 167/2013 (better known as the “Mother Regulation”), Regulation No. 168/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Regulation No. 2018/858. The new regulation will be supplemented by delegated acts, which fall within the competence of the European Commission. For example, technical requirements for machines will be established in order to minimize the risk of injury to people and damage to road infrastructure when a non-road mobile machine is operating on public roads. In detail, the technical requirements will cover road safety elements such as the integrity of the vehicle structure, maximum design speed, cruise control, speed limitation devices and speedometer, braking devices, steering, field of vision, masses and dimensions. Technical and scientific progress, such as driver assistance systems and automated and remotely controlled driving systems, will also be taken into account.
Obligations of Manufacturers, Importers, and Distributors
In accordance with the requirements of the regulation, non-road mobile machinery must be designed, constructed, and assembled in such a way as to minimize the risk of injury to occupants and other persons and the risk of damage to road infrastructure in the surrounding area when the machinery is in use on public roads. Under the provisions of the new regulation, manufacturers must, in particular, ensure that non-road mobile machinery placed on the market belongs to a type for which EU type-approval has been granted and is designed and manufactured in accordance with that type, or has received EU individual type-approval. Such non-road mobile machinery must bear the regulatory plate and marking required by the regulation and must be accompanied by the relevant certificate of conformity. Manufacturers are responsible to the approval authority for all aspects of the approval procedure and conformity of production, regardless of whether they are directly involved in all stages of the construction of a non-road mobile machinery. Manufacturers shall keep the type-approval file and a copy of the certificates of conformity available to the approval authorities and market surveillance authorities for a period of 10 years after placing non-road mobile machinery on the market. Importers are also required, among other obligations, to ensure that non-road mobile machinery they place on the market belongs to a type for which an EU type-approval has been granted and complies with that type or has received an EU individual approval. The same obligations apply to distributors when they make non-road mobile machinery available on the market for which an EU type-approval or individual approval has been granted.
The Application and Approval Procedures
Member States are required to establish or designate the competent authorities for type-approval and market surveillance. The manufacturer, or his EU type-approval representative, submits an application for type-approval and the information package to the authority. If the manufacturer is established outside the Union, he shall designate a single representative established within the Union to represent him before the approval authority. The activity consists of the approval of the non-road mobile machinery as a whole in a single operation. For a given type of non-road mobile machinery, only one application for type-approval is submitted, in a single Member State and to a single type-approval authority. A separate application is submitted for each type of non-road mobile machinery to be approved. The information package includes an information sheet, all data, drawings, photographs, and other relevant information, a copy of the EU declaration of conformity required by applicable EU legislation harmonizing the conditions for the marketing of products, and any information requested by the approval authority as part of the procedure. The information package is provided on paper or in an electronic format accepted by the technical service and the approval authority. The advantages of using a single approval procedure in terms of simplification and reduction of bureaucratic burdens and costs are clear. Approval authorities grant a single EU approval for each type of non-road mobile machinery. The authorities verify the conformity of the production methods and the conformity of the non-road mobile machinery type with the applicable technical requirements. If the approval authority considers that a type of non-road mobile machinery, although complying with the relevant technical requirements, presents a serious risk, it may refuse to grant approval. In that case, it shall immediately send a detailed notification to the approval authorities of the other Member States and to the Commission, explaining the reasons for its decision and providing evidence to support its conclusions. The approval authority that refuses or withdraws approval shall immediately inform the authorities of the other Member States, stating the reasons for its decision. The authority shall compile into an approval file the information package, test reports, and all other documents added to that documentation by the technical service or the approval authority in the course of their duties, together with an appropriately numbered index of the contents of the file, highlighting the successive stages of the approval procedure, in particular the dates of revisions and updates. The approval authority shall keep the information contained in the approval file available for a period of 10 years after the expiry of the validity period.
The Type-Approval Certificate and Related Amendments
After the type approval has been granted, the manufacturer or his EU type-approval representative receives a type-approval certificate from the competent authority, which remains valid until its expiry date. The authority amends the certificate when the relevant type-approval is modified. The certificate contains the type-approval documentation, the test results sheet, the name and signature of the person authorized to sign a certificate of conformity, a statement of that person’s position within the company, and a completed copy of the certificate of conformity. Within one month of issuing the certificate, the authority sends a copy of the certificate for the non-road mobile machinery, along with the attachments, to the approval authorities of the other Member States via a secure common electronic transmission system.
The approvals granted are valid for an unlimited period. The holder of an approval shall immediately inform the authority that granted the approval of any changes to the information contained in the file. The holder shall submit an application for amendment to the authority that granted the approval, and if the authority finds that new inspections or tests are necessary to introduce a modification, it shall inform the holder. The authority shall consider the change to be a “revision” if no further inspections or tests are necessary, in which case the authority shall grant, where applicable, the amended pages of the file, clearly indicating on each page the nature of the change and the date of the new grant. However, the authority shall consider the amendment to be an “extension” if additional inspections or tests are necessary, if any of the information contained in the certificate, with the exception of the attachments, has changed, or if new requirements laid down in any act adopted pursuant to the Regulation become applicable to the approved non-road mobile machinery.
The Certificate of Conformity
The manufacturer grants a certificate of conformity to accompany each non-road mobile machinery manufactured in conformity with its approved type. The certificate is granted to the user free of charge together with the non-road mobile machinery. The issue of the certificate may not be subject to an explicit request or the provision of additional information to the type-approval holder. The certificate may be provided in either paper or electronic format; however, if the purchaser requests it at the time of purchase of the non-road mobile machinery, the manufacturer will provide the certificate in paper format free of charge.
EU Individual Approval
Member States may also grant an EU individual approval for non-road mobile machinery that complies with the requirements of the Regulation. The application is submitted by the owner, the manufacturer, a representative established in the Union or appointed for that purpose by the manufacturer, or the importer of the non-road mobile machinery. Delegated acts may provide for different detailed rules for non-road mobile machinery subject to individual approval. These rules concern testing procedures and consist of non-destructive and simplified procedures to demonstrate the conformity of individual non-road mobile machinery by means of physical, virtual, and mechanical assessment. The individual approval certificate is assigned a unique number in accordance with a harmonized numbering system, which at least identifies the Member State that granted the approval.
di Antonio Longo
