G/TBT/N/EU/632  
 
13 December 2018  
(18-7865) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member: EUROPEAN UNION   
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible: European Commission  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
European Commission  
EU-TBT Enquiry Point  
Fax: +(32) 2 299 80 43  
E-mail: grow-eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools -databases/tbt/en/  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [   ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [ X], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applica ble, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): Quiet Road 
Transport Vehicles  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Draft 
Commission Delegated Regulation amending Regulation  (EU) No 540/2014 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council on the sound level of motor vehicles and of 
replacement silencing systems (4 pages + Annex 3 pages, in English)    
6. Description of content: This draft delegated regulation aims to introduce the pause 
switch prohibition of the Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) in Quiet Road Transport 
Vehicles (QRTV), such as hybrid electric or electric vehicles, equipped with AVAS, taking 
into account the corresponding requirements of UN Regulation No 13 8.01 on the approval 
of QRTV.  
Consequently, the draft delegated regulation amends Annex VIII to Regulation (EU) No 
540/2014 on the sound emissions of motor vehicles, which allows for mandatory or 
optional AVAS pause switch and at the same time introduces t he necessary administrative 
requirements in Annex I to the same Regulation. The AVAS requirements, updated 
through this amendment, are improved and aligned to internationally recognised 
regulation.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgen t problems where 
applicable: Regulation (EU) No 540/2014 lays down type -approval requirements with 
regard to sound emissions applying to vehicles of categories M (passenger vehicles) and 
N (commercial vehicles). In this Regulation minimum sound emission re quirements are 
also laid down for QRTV and their equipment with AVAS, for the warning of vulnerable 
road users.  
This draft delegated regulation introduces the prohibition of the AVAS pause switch that 
will let QRTV be type -approved, placed on the market or  put into service, in line with the G/TBT/N/EU/632  
 
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  current state of technology for the warning of vulnerable users, as laid down in UN 
R138.01.  
The legal basis for this amendment is in Regulation (EU) No 540/2014, in particular 
Article  9 thereof.  
8. Relevant documents:   
• Regulation (EU) No 540/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
16 April 2014 on the sound level of motor vehicles and of replacement silencing 
systems, and amending Directive 2007/46/EC and repealing Directive 
70/157/EEC ( http://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014R0540&from=EN  ). 
• Uniform provisions concerning the approval of Quiet Road Transport Vehicles 
with regard to their reduced audibility (QRTV)  (http://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -
content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2017.009.01.0033.01.ENG  and https://eur -
lex.europa.eu/legal -
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2017.204.01.0112.01.ENG ). 
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1576 of 26  June 2017 amending 
Regulation (EU) No 540/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council as 
regards the Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System requirements for vehicle EU -type 
approval ( https://eur -lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2017/1576/oj  ) 
9. Proposed date of adoption: 28 February 2019  
Proposed date of entry into force: May 2019  
10. Final date for comments: 60 days from notification  
11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [  ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:   
European Commission  
EU-TBT Enquiry Point  
Fax: + (32) 2 299 80 43  
E-mail: grow-eu-tbt@ec.europa.eu  
The text  is available on the EU -TBT Website:  
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools -databases/tbt/en/  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2018/TBT/EEC/18_6409_00_e.pdf  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2018/TBT/EEC/18_6409_01_e.pdf