The Motor Vehicles (International Motor Insurance Card) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

This Statutory Instrument has been published in substitution of the SI of the same number to improve the resolution of the form contained in the Schedule and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that.

Statutory Instruments

2020 No. 735

Road Traffic

The Motor Vehicles (International Motor Insurance Card) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

Made

9th July 2020

Laid before Parliament

14th July 2020

Coming into force in accordance wth regulation 1

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 160(1) and (2)(e) and 165(2)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988(1).

The Secretary of State has consulted with representative organisations in accordance with section 195(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Citation, Commencement and Interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Vehicles (International Motor Insurance Card) (Amendment) Regulations 2020.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), these Regulations come into force on 4th August 2020.

(3) Regulations 4 and 8(c) come into force on IP completion day.

Amendment of the Motor Vehicles (International Motor Insurance Card) Regulations 1971

2.  The Motor Vehicles (International Motor Insurance Card) Regulations 1971(2) are amended in accordance with regulations 3 to 7.

3.  In regulation 3(1), for the definition of “insurance card”, substitute—

““Insurance card” means an international motor insurance card issued under the authority of a Foreign Bureau or the British Bureau, which is—

(a)

either green or white in colour,

(b)

in printed form, no bigger than A4 in paper size, and

(c)

in English or another language containing, in black typescript, the particulars specified in, and set out in one page as shown in, the Schedule to these Regulations;”.

4.  In regulation 3(1), for the definition of “insurance card”, substitute—

““Insurance card” means an international motor insurance card issued under the authority of a Foreign Bureau or the British Bureau, which is—

(a)

either green or white in colour, and

(b)

in electronic form or in printed form no bigger than A4 in paper size, and

(c)

in English or another language containing, in black typescript, the particulars specified in, and set out in one page as shown in, the Schedule to these Regulations;”.

5.—(1) Regulation 4 is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph (1)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (c), for “inscribed therein;”, substitute “inserted therein; and”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (d)—

(i) omit “the visitor, by”,

(ii) omit “as the insured or user thereof; and”;

(c) omit sub-paragraph (e).

(3) In paragraph (2)—

(a) in the words before sub-paragraph (a)—

(i) for “inscribed”, substitute “inserted”,

(ii) for “7 and 8”, substitute “9 and 10”,

(iii) for “Schedule 1”, substitute “the Schedule”,

(iv) omit “and marked “original” and in paragraphs 2, 3 and 8 on page 3 of the card in the form in Schedule 2 to these Regulations”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (b), for “3 or 7”, substitute “9”;

(c) in sub-paragraph (c), for “8”, substitute “10”.

6.  For Schedule 1, substitute the Schedule to these Regulations.

7.  Omit Schedule 2.

Amendment of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972

8.  In regulation 7(4) of the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972(3), in the words before sub-paragraph (a)—

(a) after “Austria,” insert “Andorra,”

(b) after “Norway,” insert “Serbia,”,

(c) after “document”, insert “, in either printed or electronic form,”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Vere

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

9th July 2020

Regulation 6

SCHEDULE

Regulations 3 and 4

“SCHEDULE

  

”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Motor Vehicles (International Motor Insurance Card) Regulations 1971 (S.I. 1971/792) (the 1971 Regulations) and the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972 (S.I. 1972/1217) (the 1972 Regulations).

They allow the international motor insurance card (more commonly known as a Green Card, but formally defined as an insurance card) used by motorists visiting Great Britain to be white, as well as green in colour (regulation 3) and, from IP completion day (as defined in section 39(1) of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 as 11pm on 31st December 2020), to be in electronic, as well as printed form (regulation 4). They make changes to the information which a valid Green Card must contain (regulation 5) and the format in which it must be presented (regulation 6, which inserts a new template Green Card into the Schedule to the 1971 Regulations).

These Regulations amend the 1972 Regulations to enable motorists visiting Great Britain from Andorra and Serbia to evidence motor insurance by way of a document (other than a Green Card) issued by the insurer of the vehicle (regulation 8). They also allow this document, from IP completion day, and for all vehicles visiting from the European Economic Area (the EEA), Andorra and Serbia (which together make up the Green Card free circulation zone) to be in printed or electronic form (regulation 8).

An impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as no, or no significant, impact on the private, public or voluntary sectors is foreseen. An explanatory memorandum is available alongside these Regulations on the UK legislation website at www.legislation.gov.uk.

(1)

1988 c. 52. There are amendments to section 165(2)(a) not relevant to these Regulations.

(2)

S.I. 1971/792; amended by S.I. 1977/895, 1997/2971, 2013/2904 and 2019/1047.

(3)

S.I. 1972/1217; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1973/1821, 1974/792, 1974/2187, 2011/1043, 2019/1047.