Quite correct – but, nevertheless, the person/company responsible for importing the item into the EU then takes legal responsibility for ensuring that it does comply with the relevant Directives, and he/she/it will be the prime target of the authorities if it is later found not to do so – and then potentially bear the same penalties as the actual DoC signatory would have done if the authorities had been able to pursue them directly.
There may be extenuating circumstances for individuals/small companies which do the importing - on the basis they probably did not have all the knowledge/resources to ensure full compliance and that it was “reasonable” to accept the evidence provided to them by the actual signatory. Such extenuating circumstances would, however, probably not be allowed for companies that did (or at least should!) have had sufficient knowledge/resources to ensure compliance but did not do so. All these offences would be criminal, rather than civil, offences, but it should also be borne in mind that – as well as the criminal penalties - serious non-compliances could place severe financial and public-relations/market-share burdens on the importers if they have to withdraw/recall deficient items or pay damages to injured parties. The latter could well dwarf the actual criminal penalties! L John Allen London, UK From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ted Eckert Sent: 21 December 2010 17:41 To: Doug Nix; [email protected] Subject: RE: Need for a EU Signature on a Declaration of Conformity?? Hi Doug, I believe your client is in error. The Blue Guide <http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policie /single-market-goods/files/blue-guide/guidepublic_en.pdf> only indicates that a person residing the EU is required to sign a DoC if required by a specific CE marking directive. The relevant information starts on page 34 of the Blue Guide <http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/p licies/single-market-goods/files/blue-guide/guidepublic_en.pdf> . Note 103 on page 35 states “It is not necessary for the signatory to be domiciled in the Community. A manufacturer established outside the Community is entitled to carry out all the certification procedures at his premises and, therefore, to sign the declaration of conformity, unless otherwise provided for in the directive(s).” The EMC, LVD and R&TTE Directives do not require somebody domiciled within the EC to sign the DoC. The new Machinery Directive is slightly different. Annex II section A bullet 2 requires that the DoC include the “name and address of the person authorized to compile the technical file, who must be established in the Community”. However, bullet 10, which stipulates the signatory, does not require that signatory to reside within the EU. Regards, Ted Eckert Compliance Engineer Microsoft Corporation [email protected] The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. From: Doug Nix [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 7:45 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Need for a EU Signature on a Declaration of Conformity?? Colleagues, I have recently heard from a client in the UK, that a Declaration of Conformity is not valid without a signature from an EU entity. I cannot find any legal basis that supports this. Can anyone enlighten me on this? -- Doug Nix Office: (519) 650-4753 Mobile (519) 729-5704 Skype: cic-inc [email protected] - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher <[email protected]> David Heald <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher <[email protected]> David Heald <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher <[email protected]> David Heald <[email protected]>
