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United Kingdom Statutory Instruments


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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS


2001 No. 3523

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The Passenger Car (Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emissions Information) Regulations 2001

  Made 30th October 2001 
  Laid before Parliament 31st October 2001 
  Coming into force 21st November 2001 

The Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, being a Minister designated[1] for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[2] in relation to measures relating to the reduction of emission of pollutants from internal combustion engines, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of that Act and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement
     1. These Regulations may be cited as the Passenger Car (Fuel Consumption and CO2 Emissions Information) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 21st November 2001.

Disapplication of the Passenger Car Fuel Consumption Order
    
2. Article 4 of the Passenger Car Fuel Consumption Order 1983[3] shall have effect with the addition of the following sub-paragraph at the end of paragraph (1) - 

Interpretation
     3.  - (1) In these Regulations - 

Application
     4. These Regulations apply to motor vehicles with at least four wheels (excluding quadricycles as defined in Article 1(3) of Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30th June 1992[10]) which are within category M1 of Annex II of the Framework Directive and which - 

Suppliers' duty in respect of the provision of official fuel consumption and official specific emissions of CO2 figures
     5.  - (1) A supplier of a new passenger car shall, on request by a dealer, provide free of charge to the dealer the official fuel consumption and official specific emissions of CO2 figures for any model of passenger car manufactured by that supplier.

    (2) Where a dealer makes a request for the purposes of paragraph (1), the supplier shall ensure that the information requested is provided promptly to the dealer.

Dealers' duty in respect of the fuel economy label
    
6. A dealer shall ensure that there is displayed in a clearly visible manner on or near each new passenger car displayed or offered for sale or lease by that dealer at a point of sale, a fuel economy label for the model to which that car belongs.

Dealers' duty in respect of the fuel economy guide
    
7. Upon request by any prospective end user of any new passenger car displayed or offered for sale or lease by any dealer, a copy of the current edition of the fuel economy guide shall be provided at the point of sale by that dealer free of charge to that prospective end user.

Dealers' duty in respect of a poster or display
    
8.  - (1) A dealer shall ensure that, in relation to each make of new passenger car displayed or offered for sale or lease to prospective end users by him at or through a point of sale, there is exhibited in a prominent position at that point of sale, a poster or display, which contains the official fuel consumption and official specific emissions of CO2 figures for every model of that make.

    (2) A poster or display for the purposes of paragraph (1) - 

Dealers' and Suppliers' duties in respect of promotional literature
    
9.  - (1) The supplier of a model of passenger car shall ensure that all promotional literature for that model which is published or made available by him complies with the requirements specified in Schedule 4.

    (2) A dealer shall ensure that all promotional literature which is published or made available by him in respect of any model of new passenger car displayed or offered for sale or lease by him complies with the requirements specified in Schedule 4.

Dealers' and Suppliers' duties in respect of confusing marks, symbols etc.
    
10.  - (1) The requirements of paragraph (2) shall be complied with by - 

    (2) No mark, symbol or inscription relating to official fuel consumption or official specific emissions of CO2 figures which does not comply with these Regulations, shall be included in any fuel economy label, poster or display, or promotional literature if it could mislead or confuse potential end users.

Enforcement and offences
    
11.  - (1) Subject to paragraph (3) it shall be the duty of every enforcement authority to enforce these Regulations within its area.

    (2) Nothing in these Regulations shall authorise an enforcement authority in Scotland to bring proceedings in Scotland for an offence.

    (3) Schedule 5 shall have effect with regard to offences, enforcement and other matters.



Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions.


David Jamieson
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

30th October 2001



SCHEDULE 1
Regulation 3


REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FUEL ECONOMY GUIDE


     1. The guide shall contain a list of all new passenger car models available for purchase within the United Kingdom on the date of publication, grouped by manufacturer's name in alphabetic order.

     2. The fuel type, numerical value of the official fuel consumption and official specific emissions of CO2 shall be presented for each model shown in the guide. Fuel consumption shall be expressed either in litres per 100 kilometres (1/100km) or kilometres per litre (km/l), and quoted to one decimal place, or, to the extent compatible with the provisions of Council Directive 80/181/EEC[
11] in miles per gallon. Official specific emissions of CO2 shall be expressed in grams per kilometre (g/km) to the nearest whole number.

     3. The guide shall contain a prominent list of the ten most fuel-efficient new passenger car models ranked in order of increasing specific emissions of CO2 for each fuel type with the model with the lowest CO2 emissions being placed at the top of the list. The listing shall specify the name of the model, the numerical value of the official fuel consumption and the official specific emission of CO2.

     4. The guide shall contain advice to motorists to the effect that correct use and regular maintenance of the vehicle and driving behaviour, such as avoiding aggressive driving, travelling at lower speeds, anticipation braking, correctly inflating tyres, reducing periods of idling, not carrying excessive weight, can improve the fuel consumption and reduce the CO2 emissions of their passenger car.

     5. The guide shall include an explanation of the effects of greenhouse gas emissions, potential climate change and the relevance to this of emissions from motor cars, as well as a reference to the different fuel options available to the consumer and their environmental implications based on the latest scientific evidence and legislative requirements.

     6. The guide shall include a reference to the European Community's target for the average emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars and the date by which the target is to be achieved.

     7. The guide shall include a reference to the European Commission's own guide on fuel economy and CO2 emissions on the internet, when it is available.



SCHEDULE 2
Regulation 3


REQUIREMENTS FOR THE FUEL ECONOMY LABEL


     1. In order to allow for ease of recognition by consumers:

     2. The official fuel consumption figures shall be quoted to one decimal place.

     3. The official specific emissions of CO2 shall be quoted to the nearest whole number.


Figure 1
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
A guide on fuel economy and CO2 emissions which contains data for all new passenger car models is available at any point of sale free of charge. In addition to the fuel efficiency of a car, driving behaviour as well as other non-technical factors play a role in determining a car's fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. CO2 is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
Make/Model: Engine Capacity (cc):
Fuel Type: Transmission:
Fuel Consumption:     
Drive cycle Litres/100km Mpg
Urban          
Extra-urban          
Combined          
Carbon dioxide emissions (g/km):     
Important note: some specifications of this make/model may have lower CO2 emissions than this. Check with your dealer.



SCHEDULE 3
Regulation 8(2)


REQUIREMENTS FOR POSTERS AND DISPLAYS


     1. A poster or display shall meet the following requirements - 

     2. The poster or display shall contain the following text - 



SCHEDULE 4
Regulation 9(1)


REQUIREMENTS FOR PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE


     1. Subject to paragraph 2, the official fuel consumption and official specific emissions of CO2 figures for the model in question shall be provided in the promotional literature.

     2. If the promotional literature applies to more than one model of the same make, there shall be provided either the official fuel consumption and official specific CO2 emissions figures for all the models covered, or the range between the worse and best official fuel consumption and official specific CO2 emissions figures.

     3. The fuel consumption figures shall be expressed in miles per gallon (mpg) and in either litres per 100 kilometres (1/100 km), or kilometres per litre (km/l) or an appropriate combination of these.

     4. The official specific emissions of CO2 shall be quoted to the nearest whole number in grams per kilometre (g/km) and all other numerical data shall be quoted to one decimal place.

     5. All information on the official fuel consumption and official specific emissions of CO2 shall be easy to read and easily understandable and shall be no less prominent than the main part of the information provided in the promotional literature.



SCHEDULE 5
Regulation 11(3)


OFFENCES, ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER MATTERS




PART I

Provisions as to offences

Offences and penalties
     1.  - (1) It shall be an offence to contravene - 

    (2) A person guilty of any offence specified in sub-paragraph (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Prosecution of offences
     2. Proceedings for an offence under these Regulations shall be instituted - 

Defences
     3.  - (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) to (4), in proceedings against a person for an offence under these Regulations it shall be a defence for that person to show that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.

    (2) Where in any proceedings (which in Scotland include the trial diet) against any person for such an offence the defence provided for by sub-paragraph (1) involves an allegation that the commission of the offence was due - 

that person shall not, without the leave of the court, be entitled to rely on the defence unless, not less than seven clear days before the hearing of the proceedings (or, in Scotland, the trial diet) he has served a notice under sub-paragraph (3) on the person bringing the proceedings.

    (3) A notice under this sub-paragraph shall give such information identifying or assisting in the identification of the person who is alleged to have committed the act or default or to have given information as is in the possession of the person serving the notice at the time he serves it.

    (4) A person shall not be entitled to rely on the defence provided by sub-paragraph (1) by reason of his reliance on information supplied by another, unless he shows that it was reasonable in all the circumstances for him to have relied on the information, having regard in particular - 

Liability of a person other than the principal offender
     4.  - (1) Where the commission by any person of an offence under these Regulations is due to an act or default committed by some other person in the course of any business of his, that other person shall be guilty of the offence and may be proceeded against and punished by virtue of this sub-paragraph whether or not proceedings are taken against the first-mentioned person.

    (2) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under these Regulations (including where it is so guilty by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)) in respect of any act or default which is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

    (3) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, sub-paragraph (2) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

    (4) Where a Scottish partnership is guilty of an offence under these Regulations (including where it is so guilty by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)) in respect of any act or default which is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner in the partnership, he, as well as the partnership, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.



PART II

Provisions as to enforcement

Obstruction of authorised officers and false statements
     5.  - (1) A person shall not - 

    (2) A person shall not, in giving any information which is required of him by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)(c) - 

Power to enter premises and inspect, seize and detain
     6.  - (1) A duly authorised officer of an enforcement authority on - 

    (2) The powers referred to in sub-paragraph (1) are - 

    (3) For the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c) of sub-paragraph (2), the officer may require information stored electronically to be made available to him in printed form.

    (4) If a justice of the peace is satisfied by any written information on oath - 

    (5) An officer entering any premises by virtue of this paragraph may take with him such other persons and such equipment as may appear to him necessary; and on leaving any premises which he has entered by virtue of a warrant he shall, if the premises are unoccupied or the occupier is temporarily absent, leave them as effectively secured against trespassers as he found them.

    (6) An officer exercising any power of seizure and detention under this paragraph shall as soon as practicable give to the person, against whom the power has been exercised, a written notice - 

    (7) A person who is not a duly authorised officer of an enforcement authority shall not purport to act as such under this paragraph.

    (8) In the application of this paragraph to Scotland, the reference in sub-paragraph (4) to a justice of the peace shall include a reference to a sheriff and the references to written information on oath shall be construed as references to evidence on oath.

    (9) In the application of this paragraph to Northern Ireland, the references in sub-paragraph (4) to any information on oath shall be construed as references to any complaint on oath.

Appeals against detention
     7.  - (1) Any person having an interest in any EC certificate of conformity, fuel economy guide, fuel economy label, display or poster, promotional literature or records relating thereto which are for the time being detained under paragraph 6 (power to enter premises and inspect, seize and detain) by an enforcement authority or by a duly authorised officer of an enforcement authority may apply for an order requiring the detained items to be released to him or to another person.

    (2) An application under this paragraph may be made - 

    (3) A magistrates' court or the sheriff shall not make an order under sub-paragraph (1) unless the court or sheriff is satisfied - 

    (4) Any person aggrieved by an order made under this paragraph by a magistrates' court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, or by a decision of such a court not to make such an order, may appeal against that order or decision - 

and an order so made may contain such provision as appears to the court to be appropriate for delaying the coming into force of the order pending the making and determination of any appeal (including any application under section 111 of the Magistrates' Court Act 1980[12] or article 146 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (statement of case) [13].

Recovery of expenses of enforcement
     8.  - (1) This paragraph shall apply where a court convicts a person of an offence in respect of a contravention of any provision of these Regulations.

    (2) The court may (in addition to any other order it may make as to costs and expenses) order the person convicted to reimburse an enforcement authority for any expenditure which has been or may be incurred by that authority in connection with any seizure or detention by or on behalf of the authority of any EC certificate of conformity, fuel economy label, poster or display, promotional literature or records relating thereto.



PART III

Miscellaneous and Supplemental

Savings for certain privileges
     9. Nothing in these Regulations shall be taken as requiring any person - 

Service of documents
     10.  - (1) Any document required or authorised by virtue of these Regulations to be served on a person may be so served - 

    (2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1), and for the purposes of section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978[14] (which relates to the service of documents by post) in its application to that paragraph, the proper address of any person on whom a document is to be served by virtue of these Regulations shall be his last known address except that - 

and for the purposes of this paragraph the principal office of a company registered outside the United Kingdom or of a partnership carrying on business outside the United Kingdom is its principal office within the United Kingdom.



EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)


These Regulations implement Council Directive 1999-94 which relates to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars. Such information is measured in accordance with Council Directive 80/1268/EEC and is referred to in these Regulations as "official fuel consumption" and "official specific emissions of CO2" figures.

The Regulations apply to all new passenger cars for which an EC certificate of conformity has been issued (regulations 3 and 4). The provisions of the Passenger Car Fuel Consumption Order 1983 (S.I. 1983/1486) which also regulate this area, are disapplied in respect of such vehicles (regulation 2). Duties are imposed on suppliers of and dealers in passenger cars to which the Regulations apply.

The duties include the provision of the relevant information by suppliers to dealers (regulation 5) and that, at the point of sale for new passenger cars, a label with information in a specified form on fuel economy and CO2 emissions relating to each model is displayed by the dealer (regulation 6).

Regulation 7 provides that a guide covering fuel economy and CO2 emissions must also be available free of charge to consumers who request one, and regulation 8 provides that a poster or display incorporating the relevant information must be exhibited in a prominent position at the point of sale. Regulation 9 provides that the relevant information must also be available on promotional literature relating to new passenger cars. Schedules 1 to 4 of the Regulations prescribe the form which the guide, label, poster and promotional material should take.

The inclusion of misleading or confusing information in the material relating to fuel economy and specific emissions of CO2 is prohibited under regulation 10.

Regulation 11 and Schedule 5 provide for offences and enforcement. Offences are created for failure to comply with the duties created by the Regulations, enforced by Weights and Measures authorities in Great Britain, and in Northern Ireland by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Under paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 it is an offence to contravene any of the duties specified in regulations 5 to 10 as well as certain enforcement provisions in the Schedule. Paragraph 2 of the Schedule provides for the bringing of criminal proceedings, paragraph 3 of the Schedule establishes certain defences and paragraphs 4 to 8 contain provisions (including powers of entry and seizure) aimed at assisting enforcement.

Copies of the Directives and Regulations which are relevant to these Regulations can be obtained from the Stationery Office.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment for Directive 99/94 has been prepared and copies may be obtained from the Vehicle Standards and Engineering Division, Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, Zone 4/17, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR, telephone number 020 7944 2097. A copy has been placed in the library of both Houses of Parliament.


Notes:

[1] S.I. 1998/745.back

[2] 1972 c. 68.back

[3] S.I. 1983/1486; the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1996/1132.back

[4] S.I. 1998/2051; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1999/778, 1999/2324, 2000/869 and S.I. 2000/2730.back

[5] 1985 c. 72, as amended by paragraph 75 of Schedule 16 to the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 (c. 19) and paragraph 144 of Schedule 13 to the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.back

[6] O.J. No. L42, 23.2.1970, p.1.back

[7] O.J. No. L203, 10.8.2000, p.9.back

[8] O.J. No. L12, 18.1.2000, p.16.back

[9] O.J. No. L375, 31.12.1980, p.36; as amended by Commission Directive 1989/491/EEC O.J. No. L238, 15.08.1989, p.43, Commission Directive 1993/116/EC O.J. No. L329, 30.12.1993, p.39, and Commission Directive 1999/100/EC O.J. No. L334, 28.12.1999, p.36.back

[10] O.J. No. L225, 10.8.1992, p.72.back

[11] O.J. No. L39, 15.2.1980, p. 40; as last amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 1999/103/EC, O.J. No. L34, 9.2.2000, p. 17.back

[12] 1980 c. 43.back

[13] S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26).back

[14] 1978 c. 30.back



ISBN 0 11 038743 0


 © Crown copyright 2001

Prepared 8 November 2001


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