S.I. No. 128/1979:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (NON-AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINES) REGULATIONS, 1979.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (NON-AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINES) REGULATIONS, 1979.

I, DESMOND O'MALLEY, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 73/360/EEC of 19 November, 1973¹ and Commission Directive No. 76/696/EEC of 27 July 1976² hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Non-Automatic Weighing Machines) Regulations, 1979.

2. (1) In these Regulations:

"the Council Directive" means Council Directive No. 73/360/EEC of 19 November, 1973;

"the Commission Directive" means Commission Directive No. 76/696/EEC of 27 July, 1976.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Directive or the Commission Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Council Directive or the Commission Directive, as the case may be.

3. (1) ( a ) Only those non-automatic weighing machines to which the Council Directive, as amended by the Commission Directive, applies may bear the EEC pattern approval sign and the EEC initial verification mark and, subject to subparagraph (b) of this paragraph, they shall be subject to EEC pattern approval and to EEC initial verification under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.2.2 of Annex II to Council Directive 71/316/EEC of 21 July 1971³ and the Annex to the Council Directive as amended by the Commission Directive.

( b ) Weighing machines listed under item 13 of the Annex to the Council Directive shall be exempt from EEC pattern approval.

¹ OJ No. L335/1 5/12/1973.

² OJ No. L236/26 27/8/1976.

³ OJ No. L202/1 6/9/1971.

(2) Nothing in the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961, or any instrument made thereunder shall prohibit, prevent or restrict, or authorise or empower the prohibition, prevention or restriction of, or the refusal to authorise or permit, the placing on the market or entry into service of non-automatic weighing machines to which the Council Directive, as amended by the Commission Directive, applies if such weighing machines bear the EEC pattern approval sign (if required by these Regulations to do so) and the EEC initial verification mark provided for in paragraph 3.1.1.2 of Annex II to Council Directive No. 71/316/EEC of 26 July, 1971.

4. (1) Regulations 7 and 11 (which relate to the affixing of EEC initial verification marks to instruments and the inspection of instruments to which such marks are affixed) of the European Communities (Measuring Instruments) Regulations, 1973, shall apply to non-automatic weighing machines to which the Council Directive, as amended by the Commission Directive, applies as they apply to the instruments covered by those Regulations, subject to the modifications that in those Regulations references to inspectors shall be construed as references to inspectors under the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961 and Officers of the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards and references to the special provisions applicable to an instrument of its category and the requirements prescribed were references to the requirements in relation to an instrument of its category specified in the Annex to the Council Directive, as amended by the Commission Directive.

(2) Paragraphs 2 and 3 (which relates to the affixing of EEC pattern approval symbols to instruments) of Schedule 2 of the said European Communities (Measuring Instruments) Regulations, 1973, shall apply to non-automatic weighing machines to which the Council Directive, as amended by the Commission Directive, applies (other than those referred to in Regulation 3 (1) (b) of these Regulations) as they apply to instruments covered by those Regulations.

5. (1) There shall be charged in respect of each non-automatic weighing machine submitted for EEC initial verification to an inspector under the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961 or to an officer of the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards a fee of £0.50.

(2) Fees under this Regulation shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of that Minister.

(3) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of fees under these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 5th day of April, 1979.

DESMOND O'MALLEY,

Minister for Industry, Commerce

and Energy.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations are made to give effect, so far as necessary, to Council Directive No. 73/360/EEC as adapted to technical progress by Commission Directive No. 76/696/EEC on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to non-automatic weighing machines.