1. An accredited in-house technical service of a manufacturer may be designated only for category A activities with regard to technical requirements for which self-testing is allowed by a delegated act adopted pursuant to this Regulation. That technical service shall constitute a separate and distinct part of the undertaking and shall not be involved in the design, manufacturing, supply or maintenance of the vehicles, systems, components or separate technical units it assesses.
2. An accredited in-house technical service shall meet the following requirements:
(a)
in addition to being designated by the approval authority of a Member State it shall be accredited by a national accreditation body as defined in point 11 of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and in accordance with the standards and procedure referred to in Article 65 of this Regulation;
(b)
the accredited in-house technical service and its personnel shall be organisationally identifiable and have reporting methods within the undertaking of which they form part which ensure their impartiality and demonstrate it to the relevant national accreditation body;
(c)
neither the accredited in-house technical service nor its personnel shall engage in any activity that might conflict with their independence of judgment or integrity in relation to the categories of activities for which they have been designated;
(d)
the accredited in-house technical service shall supply its services exclusively to the undertaking of which it forms part.
3. An accredited in-house technical service need not be notified to the Commission for the purposes of Article 67, but information concerning its accreditation shall be given by the undertaking of which it forms part or by the national accreditation body to the designating approval authority at the request of that authority.