(a) Enumerated prohibitionsThe following acts and the causing thereof are prohibited—
(1)
in the case of a manufacturer of new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines for distribution in commerce, the sale, or the offering for sale, or the introduction, or delivery for introduction, into commerce, or (in the case of any person, except as provided by regulation of the Administrator), the importation into the United States, of any new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine, manufactured after the effective date of regulations under this part which are applicable to such vehicle or engine unless such vehicle or engine is covered by a certificate of conformity issued (and in effect) under regulations prescribed under this part or part C in the case of clean-fuel vehicles (except as provided in subsection (b));
(2)
(A)
for any person to fail or refuse to permit access to or copying of records or to fail to make reports or provide information required under section 7542 of this title;
(B)
for any person to fail or refuse to permit entry, testing or inspection authorized under section 7525(c) of this title or section 7542 of this title;
(C)
for any person to fail or refuse to perform tests, or have tests performed as required under section 7542 of this title;
(D)
for any manufacturer to fail to make information available as provided by regulation under section 7521(m)(5) of this title;
(3)
(A)
for any person to remove or render inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine in compliance with regulations under this subchapter prior to its sale and delivery to the ultimate purchaser, or for any person knowingly to remove or render inoperative any such device or element of design after such sale and delivery to the ultimate purchaser; or
(B)
for any person to manufacture or sell, or offer to sell, or install, any part or component intended for use with, or as part of, any motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine, where a principal effect of the part or component is to bypass, defeat, or render inoperative any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine in compliance with regulations under this subchapter, and where the person knows or should know that such part or component is being offered for sale or installed for such use or put to such use; or
(4) for any manufacturer of a new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine subject to standards prescribed under section 7521 of this title or part C—
(A)
to sell or lease any such vehicle or engine unless such manufacturer has complied with (i) the requirements of section 7541(a) and (b) of this title with respect to such vehicle or engine, and unless a label or tag is affixed to such vehicle or engine in accordance with section 7541(c)(3) of this title, or (ii) the corresponding requirements of part C in the case of clean fuel vehicles unless the manufacturer has complied with the corresponding requirements of part C [1]
(B)
to fail or refuse to comply with the requirements of section 7541(c) or (e) of this title, or the corresponding requirements of part C in the case of clean fuel vehicles 1
(C)
except as provided in subsection (c)(3) of section 7541 of this title and the corresponding requirements of part C in the case of clean fuel vehicles, to provide directly or indirectly in any communication to the ultimate purchaser or any subsequent purchaser that the coverage of any warranty under this chapter is conditioned upon use of any part, component, or system manufactured by such manufacturer or any person acting for such manufacturer or under his control, or conditioned upon service performed by any such person, or
(D)
to fail or refuse to comply with the terms and conditions of the warranty under section 7541(a) or (b) of this title or the corresponding requirements of part C in the case of clean fuel vehicles with respect to any vehicle; or
(5)
for any person to violate section 7553 of this title, 7554 of this title, or part C of this subchapter or any regulations under section 7553 of this title, 7554 of this title, or part C.
No action with respect to any element of design referred to in paragraph (3) (including any adjustment or alteration of such element) shall be treated as a prohibited act under such paragraph (3) if such action is in accordance with section 7549 of this title. Nothing in paragraph (3) shall be construed to require the use of manufacturer parts in maintaining or repairing any motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine. For the purposes of the preceding sentence, the term “manufacturer parts” means, with respect to a motor vehicle engine, parts produced or sold by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine. No action with respect to any device or element of design referred to in paragraph (3) shall be treated as a prohibited act under that paragraph if (i) the action is for the purpose of repair or replacement of the device or element, or is a necessary and temporary procedure to repair or replace any other item and the device or element is replaced upon completion of the procedure, and (ii) such action thereafter results in the proper functioning of the device or element referred to in paragraph (3). No action with respect to any device or element of design referred to in paragraph (3) shall be treated as a prohibited act under that paragraph if the action is for the purpose of a conversion of a motor vehicle for use of a clean alternative fuel (as defined in this subchapter) and if such vehicle complies with the applicable standard under section 7521 of this title when operating on such fuel, and if in the case of a clean alternative fuel vehicle (as defined by rule by the Administrator), the device or element is replaced upon completion of the conversion procedure and such action results in proper functioning of the device or element when the motor vehicle operates on conventional fuel.
(b) Exemptions; refusal to admit vehicle or engine into United States; vehicles or engines intended for export
(1)
The Administrator may exempt any new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine, from subsection (a), upon such terms and conditions as he may find necessary for the purpose of research, investigations, studies, demonstrations, or training, or for reasons of national security.
(2)
A new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine offered for importation or imported by any person in violation of subsection (a) shall be refused admission into the United States, but the Secretary of the Treasury and the Administrator may, by joint regulation, provide for deferring final determination as to admission and authorizing the delivery of such a motor vehicle or engine offered for import to the owner or consignee thereof upon such terms and conditions (including the furnishing of a bond) as may appear to them appropriate to insure that any such motor vehicle or engine will be brought into conformity with the standards, requirements, and limitations applicable to it under this part. The Secretary of the Treasury shall, if a motor vehicle or engine is finally refused admission under this paragraph, cause disposition thereof in accordance with the customs laws unless it is exported, under regulations prescribed by such Secretary, within ninety days of the date of notice of such refusal or such additional time as may be permitted pursuant to such regulations, except that disposition in accordance with the customs laws may not be made in such manner as may result, directly or indirectly, in the sale, to the ultimate consumer, of a new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine that fails to comply with applicable standards of the Administrator under this part.
(3)
A new motor vehicle or new motor vehicle engine intended solely for export, and so labeled or tagged on the outside of the container and on the vehicle or engine itself, shall be subject to the provisions of subsection (a), except that if the country which is to receive such vehicle or engine has emission standards which differ from the standards prescribed under section 7521 of this title, then such vehicle or engine shall comply with the standards of such country which is to receive such vehicle or engine.
(July 14, 1955, ch. 360, title II, § 203, as added Pub. L. 89–272, title I, § 101(8), Oct. 20, 1965, 79 Stat. 993; amended Pub. L. 90–148, § 2, Nov. 21, 1967, 81 Stat. 499; Pub. L. 91–604, §§ 7(a), 11(a)(2)(A), 15(c)(2), Dec. 31, 1970, 84 Stat. 1693, 1705, 1713; Pub. L. 95–95, title II, §§ 206, 211(a), 218(a), (d), 219(a), (b), Aug. 7, 1977, 91 Stat. 755, 757, 761, 762; Pub. L. 95–190, § 14(a)(66)–(68), Nov. 16, 1977, 91 Stat. 1403; Pub. L. 101–549, title II, §§ 228(a), (b), (e), 230(6), Nov. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 2507, 2511, 2529.)