49 CFR § 593.7 - Processing of petitions.
(a) NHTSA will review each petition for sufficiency under §§ 593.5 and 593.6. If the petition does not contain all the information required by this part, NHTSA notifies the petitioner, pointing out the areas of insufficiency, and stating that the petition will not receive further consideration until the required information is provided. If the additional information is not provided within the time specified by NHTSA in its notification, NHTSA may dismiss the petition as incomplete, and so notify the petitioner. When the petition is complete, its processing continues.
(b) NHTSA publishes in the Federal Register, affording opportunity for comment, a notice of each petition containing the information required by this part.
(c) No public hearing, argument, or other formal proceeding is held on a petition filed under this part.
(d) If the Administrator is unable to determine that the vehicle in a petition submitted under § 593.6(a) is one that is substantially similar, or (if it is substantially similar) is capable of being readily modified to meet the standards, (s)he notifies the petitioner, and offers the petitioner the opportunity to supplement the petition by providing the information required for a petition submitted under paragraph 593.6(b).
(e) If the Administrator determines that the petition does not clearly demonstrate that the vehicle model is eligible for importation, (s)he denies it and notifies the petitioner in writing. (S)he also publishes in the Federal Register a notice of denial and the reasons for it. A notice of denial also states that the Administrator will not consider a new petition covering the model that is the subject of the denial until at least 3 months from the date of the notice of denial. There is no administrative reconsideration available for petition denials.
(f) If the Administrator determines that the petition clearly demonstrates that the vehicle model is eligible for importation, (s)he grants it and notifies the petitioner. (S)he also publishes in the Federal Register a notice of grant and the reasons for it.