Brexit: CE-Marking

Why does Brexit matter for you?

 The United Kingdom submitted on 29 March 2017 the notification of its intention to withdraw from the Union pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This means that, unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date, all Union primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the United Kingdom from 30 March 2019, 00:00h (CET) ('the withdrawal date'). The United Kingdom will then become a 'third country'.

If no withdrawal agreement is in place on 30 March 2019 the EU Treaties will cease to apply to the UK. It is understood that, should there be "no deal", there will be no transition period and EU law (in particular, the Single Market) will cease to apply to the UK/EU relationship from that date.

Preparing for the withdrawal is not just a matter for EU and national authorities, but also for private parties. As the British government publishes a series of technical notices outlining how businesses should prepare in the event of a no-deal it is becoming more and more clear that a “no deal” scenario will have many unwanted and adverse effects on companies in the UK.

In case of a hard Brexit, what will change?

Subject to any transitional arrangement that may be contained in a possible withdrawal agreement, as of the withdrawal date, the EU rules in the field of non-food and non-agricultural products, whether for use by consumers or professionals (hereinafter referred to as "Union product legislation"), no longer apply to the United Kingdom. This has, in particular, the consequences presented below for products placed on the EU-27 market as from the withdrawal date.

CONSEQUENCES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF ECONOMIC OPERATORS

According to Union product legislation, the importer is the economic operator established in the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market.

As from the withdrawal date, a manufacturer or importer established in the United Kingdom will no longer be considered as an economic operator established in the Union. As a consequence, an economic operator established in the EU-27 who, prior to the withdrawal date, was considered as an EU distributor will become an importer for the purposes of Union product legislation. This operator will have to comply with the specific obligations relevant to an importer, which are different from those of a distributor.

CONSEQUENCES FOR CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES AND NOTIFIED BODIES

In some product areas, Union legislation requires the intervention of a qualified third party, known as Notified Body, in the conformity assessment procedure.

Union product legislation requires Notified Bodies to be established in a Member State and be designated by a Member State notifying authority for performing the conformity assessment tasks set out in the relevant act of Union product legislation.

Therefore, as from the withdrawal date, UK Notified Bodies will lose their status as EU Notified Bodies and will be removed from the Commission's information system on notified organisations (NANDO database).

As such, UK bodies will not be in a position to perform conformity assessment tasks pursuant to Union product legislation as from the withdrawal date. When the applicable conformity assessment procedure requires or provides for the possibility of third party intervention, a certificate delivered by a body recognised as an EU Notified Body at the time of the placing of that product on the market will be required for products placed on the market as from the withdrawal date.

Economic operators need to take the necessary steps to ensure that, where the applicable conformity assessment procedures require the intervention of a Notified Body, they will hold certificates issued by an EU-27 Notified Body to demonstrate compliance for their products placed on the market as from the withdrawal date.

By way of reminder, a wide range of products is covered by CE Marking laws:

• Electrical and electronic equipment
• Batteries and waste batteries
• Appliances burning gaseous fuels
• Eco-design requirements for energy-related products
• Simple pressure vessels
• Toys
• Machinery
• Measuring instruments
• Non-automatic weighing instruments
• Cableway installations designed to carry persons
• Radio equipment
• Medical devices and active implantable medical devices
• In vitro diagnostic medical devices
• Cosmetics
• Pressure equipment
• Aerosol dispensers
• Lifts and safety components for lifts
• Recreational craft and personal watercraft
• Equipment and protective systems intended for use in potentially explosive atmospheres
• Explosives for civil uses
• Construction products
• Pyrotechnics
• Regulation on the labelling of tyres

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