Approval of fitters, workshops and vehicle manufacturers
Article 24
1. Member States shall approve, regularly control and certify the fitters, workshops and vehicle manufacturers which may carry out installations, checks, inspections and repairs of tachographs. 2. Member States shall ensure that fitters, workshops and vehicle manufacturers are competent and reliable. For that purpose, they shall establish and publish a set of clear national procedures and shall ensure that the following minimum criteria are met: (a) the staff are properly trained; (b) the equipment necessary to carry out the relevant tests and tasks is available; (c) the fitters, workshops and vehicle manufacturers are of good repute. 3. Audits of approved fitters or workshops shall be carried out as follows: (a) approved fitters or workshops shall be subject, at least every two years, to an audit of the procedures they apply when handling tachographs. The audit shall focus in particular on the security measures taken and the handling of workshop cards. Member States may carry out these audits without conducting a site visit; (b) unannounced technical audits of approved fitters or workshops shall also take place in order to check the calibrations, inspections and installations carried out. Those audits shall cover at least 10 % of the approved fitters and workshops annually. 4. Member States and their competent authorities shall take appropriate measures to prevent conflicts of interests between fitters or workshops and transport undertakings. In particular, where there is a serious risk of a conflict of interests, additional specific measures shall be taken to ensure that the fitter or workshop complies with this Regulation. 5. The competent authorities of the Member States shall forward to the Commission, if possible electronically, on an annual basis, the lists of approved fitters and workshops and the cards issued to them. The Commission shall publish those lists on its website. 6. The competent authorities in Member States shall withdraw approvals, either temporarily or permanently, from fitters, workshops and vehicle manufacturers which fail to meet their obligations under this Regulation.