1. Technical services shall be designated for one or more of the following categories of activities, depending on their field of competence:
(a)
category A: technical services which carry out in their own facilities the tests referred to in this Regulation and in the acts listed in Annex I;
(b)
category B: technical services which supervise the tests referred to in this Regulation and in the acts listed in Annex I, where such tests are performed in the manufacturer’s facilities or in the facilities of a third party;
(c)
category C: technical services which assess and monitor on a regular basis the manufacturer’s procedures for controlling conformity of production;
(d)
category D: technical services which supervise or perform tests or inspections for the surveillance of conformity of production.
2. An approval authority may be designated as a technical service for one or more of the activities referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Technical services of a third country, other than those designated in accordance with Article 60, may be notified for the purposes of Article 63, but only if such an acceptance of technical services is provided for by a bilateral agreement between the Union and the third country concerned. This shall not prevent a technical service established under the national law of a Member State in accordance with Article 57(2) from establishing subsidiaries in third countries, provided that the subsidiaries are directly managed and controlled by the designated technical service.