27. The expert from OICA presented GRSG-103-26, proposing to introduce the concept of “revision of approvals” into some Regulations under the responsibility of GRSG, especially UN Regulations Nos. 18, 26, 34, 35, 43, 58 and 61. GRSG welcomed the proposal and agreed to give a detailed consideration at its next session in April 2013. The expert from France stated that the provisions proposed for UN Regulations Nos. 26 and 61 could be removed from GRSG-103-26 in the event that the World Forum adopts, at its forthcoming session in November 2012, documents ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2012/86 and ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2012/89. The secretariat was requested to distribute GRSG-103-26 with an official symbol, taking into account the revised general guidelines for UN regulatory procedures (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1044/Rev.1).

9. The representative of Japan briefed AC.2 on the progress of the International Whole Vehicle Type Approval System (IWVTA) Group. OICA had submitted a formal proposal to revise paragraph 3 of the frozen text of the revision of the 1958 Agreement. After discussions, the Group had decided not to change the frozen text, but to address the concern of OICA in the revised guidance document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1044 currently under development by the informal group. This issue would be revisited at the September meeting of Subgroup for the 1958 Agreement. The representative also briefed the Committee about the meeting of the Subgroup on UN Regulation No. 0. As a result of the discussions at their meeting, the small group on the definition of vehicle type agreed to introduce a new concept, ‘IWVTA type’ which would group vehicles of a type with the same level of conformity in one IWVTA type. The informal group on the Database for the Exchange of Type Approval (DETA) also agreed on a procedure to produce the relevant vehicle specific data for each vehicle.

54. The Chair of the informal group on IWVTA reported on the outcomes of the last meeting. He reported that OICA had made a formal proposal to revise paragraph 3 of the frozen text of the revision of the 1958 Agreement. After discussions, the group decided not to change the frozen text, but to address the concern of OICA in the revised guidance document ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1044/Rev.1 currently under development. This issue would be revisited at the September meeting of Subgroup for the 1958 Agreement. The representative of OICA clarified he had withdrawn his proposals so as not to risk delaying the final decision on the revision of the 1958 Agreement in many Contracting Parties. The Chair of IWVTA also reported that the decision of the informal group not to amend the current frozen text was also in line with the request from the Russian Federation to keep the frozen text unchanged.

30. GRSG noted that the revised general guidelines for UN regulatory procedures and transitional provisions in UN Regulations (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1044/Rev.1) were now available on the UNECE website.

31. The GRSG Chair invited all experts to use this document when preparing future proposals for amendments especially with respect to transitional provisions.

53. The representative of Japan, on behalf of the Chair of the IWG on IWVTA, presented the draft General Guidelines for UN regulatory procedures and transitional provisions in UN Regulations (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/67). The document aimed to streamline the future work in the subsidiary bodies, to clarify the procedures following Revision 3 of the 1958 Agreement and to ensure “good regulatory practice” by providing clarifications to avoid divergence in the understanding of Revision 3 of the 1958 Agreement and the application of UN Regulations. The document also was largely based on the existing guidelines (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1044/Rev.1), but updated them in order to reflect Revision 3 of the 1958 Agreement. Finally, the IWG on IWVTA was considering the possibility to transform, in the future, this guidance document into a new Schedule to the 1958 Agreement.

54. WP.29 noted Corrigendum 1 to ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/67 to align the French version to the English and Russian versions and endorsed the document. WP.29 further agreed to correct the current version of the guideline document, ECE/TRANS/WP.29/1044/Rev.1, and requested the secretariat to publish a Corrigendum. The World Forum also noted other amendments submitted by the IWG on IWVTA (WP.29-172-11) and from the representative of EU (WP.29-172-16).

55. Following the discussion, WP.29 did not fully endorse the proposed amendments and agreed to keep them in square brackets, subject to a final review by each Working Party that is subsidiary to WP.29, by the IWG on IWVTA, and by the secretariat. Each Working Party is invited to submit the result of final review to the Technical Secretary of IWG on IWVTA and UNECE Secretariat by the end of October 2017 at the latest. WP.29 agreed to consider ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2017/67 and Corr.1, with the proposed amendments contained in by WP.29-172-11 and WP.29-172-16, for adoption at its November 2017 session and requested the secretariat to circulate the proposal as a consolidated document with a new symbol by the end of June 2017.