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You need to
establish first which, if any, of the New Approach Directives or older
Global Approach Directives applies to your product. CE marking only
applies to products within the scope of these Directives. It should not
be applied to products if they are outside the scope of the Directives.
The same principles
above apply to imported products. It is the responsibility of the
importer / person placing the product on the market to ensure that the
product is correctly CE-marked.
It is necessary
first to establish which Directives apply to the product. It is
impossible to draw up hard-and-fast rules.
- It is important
also to understand that not all EC Directives relating to products,
e.g. the General Product Safety Directive, require CE marking:
- nor that a
particular Directive applies to all products that could be described by
its title e.g. the Machinery Directive does not apply to every
conceivable product that might be termed a machine. Most of the
Directives set out 'scopes' i.e. the range of products to which they
apply.
You should
therefore study the UK regulations implementing the Directives.
In general CE marking
must appear on the product.
It may also appear on the packaging, in manuals or other supporting
literature.
The CE mark must not be less than 5mm in its
vertical height, and the proportions maintained. It is generally shown
on a grid in the guidance booklets, as below (the grid does not form
part of the marking and is for information only):
This mark looks the same as some previous marks,
but there are subtle changes, and it should be studied closely. It
should be noted, for example, that the C and E are not formed by
perfect semi-circles, i.e. the top and bottom arms extend one square
beyond the semi-circles, and the middle arm of the E stops one square
short.
The graphic is not made available for download
from any official sources, but can be obtained in a wide variety of
file formats from commercial organisations, sometimes freely available
for download, but please note that the DTI makes no guarantee of
accuracy or suitability of any files obtained from commercial sources.
Enforcement varies
according to the Directives. Some are enforced by local Trading Standards
Departments, others by HSE
and yet others by the Medical and
Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the Vehicle Certification Agency.
Enforcement
procedures/penalties: Except where safety is at risk, the relevant
enforcement authority will usually provide you with an opportunity to
ensure that your product is correctly CE-marked. If you fail to comply
then you will be obliged to take your product off the market, and you
may also be liable to a fine and/or imprisonment.
CE-marking applies
to the circulation of a product within the EEA. It is not required for
exporting a product to non-EEA countries. You need to check on the
particular regulatory requirements or standards that apply to your
product in the country in question. The same standards may apply but
they may also be different. |
