Request for a preliminary ruling from the Consiglio di Stato (Italy) lodged on 3 February 2021 – Iveco Orecchia SpA v APAM Esercizio SpA
(Case C-68/21)
Language of the case: Italian
Referring court
Consiglio di Stato
Parties to the main proceedings
Appellant: Iveco Orecchia SpA
Respondent: APAM Esercizio SpA
Questions referred
1. Is it compatible with EU law, and in particular with the provisions of Directive 2007/46/EC 1 (laid down in Articles 10, 19 and 28 of that directive) and the principles of equal treatment and impartiality, open competition and sound administration, for – with specific reference to the supply through public procurement of replacement parts for buses intended for public service – a contracting authority to be allowed to accept replacement parts intended for a particular vehicle, made by a manufacturer other than the vehicle manufacturer, and therefore not approved together with the vehicle, falling into one of the categories of components covered by the technical rules listed in Annex IV to that directive (List of requirements for the purpose of EC type-approval of vehicles) and put to tender without being accompanied by the type-approval certificate and without any information on the actual type-approval, and indeed on the assumption that type-approval is not needed, as only a declaration of equivalence to the type-approved original made by the tenderer is sufficient?
2. Is it compatible with EU law, and in particular Article 3(27) of Directive 2007/46/EC to allow – in relation to the supply through public procurement of replacement parts for buses intended for public service – an individual tenderer to describe itself as ‘manufacturer’ of a specific non-original replacement part intended for a particular vehicle, especially where it falls into one of the categories of components covered by the technical rules listed in Annex IV (List of requirements for the purpose of EC type-approval of vehicles) to Directive 2007/46/EC, or must that tenderer prove – for each of the replacement parts thus subject to tender and in order to certify their equivalence to the technical specifications of the tender – that it is the entity who is responsible to the approval authority for all aspects of the type-approval and for ensuring conformity of production and the related level of quality and is directly involved in at least some of the stages of the construction of the component which is the subject of the approval, and if so, by what means is such proof to be provided?
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1 Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (Framework Directive) (OJ 2007 L 263, p. 1).