Agency Telecom starts campaign for CE marking for wireless devices – IT Pro – News

I (unfortunately) had to delve into this because those idiot Brits during Brexit chose to leave the entire CE system and install their own UKCA quality mark in its place.

Manufacturers are complaining because, even though the UKCA and CE requirements are currently identical, it does mean that entire product categories must be retested and approved by accredited inspection companies. And for some products there is too little or zero testing capacity here in the UK. It is especially a problem for building materials, a very strict category.

Well, so CE. Of course, it is the manufacturer himself who applies the CE mark. In fact, it is even mandatory that the manufacturer does it and no one else. An importer or retailer is not allowed to do it. That is why the quality mark must also be inextricably linked (e.g. punched), a sticker or label applied later is not allowed. There is a very simple reason for this. A manufacturer cannot claim that they have not affixed the CE marking themselves (“oh, that CE mark? Never seen that, that sticker must have been the importer”).

After all, it is all about a chain of liability. That is why the box of your router with the CE mark also contains an insert with the name, address and signature of the responsible person at the manufacturer. You must be able to request the construction drawings (and possibly test reports and inspection results) from that person up to ten years after the EOL of a product, and you can take that person to court.

To prevent the Action from getting into trouble, they will ensure that the importer has the CE administration in order. And that importer (or the Action itself if they buy directly from the manufacturer) will again ensure that the manufacturer has the CE matters in order. Only in this way can they pass on legal liability.

In short, the chance that you take something off the shelf in the Netherlands that does not have a CE mark (or does have one but it has been tampered with) is very small because the liability risk is simply very high. If you are going to import from outside the EU on your own (e.g. at direct-to-consumer web shops in China), you are personally liable. If you are the end user yourself, this is manageable (except for possible fines if you disrupt radio spectrum, for example). If you give your nephew a Sinterklaas gift that you got from AliExpress and your nephew loses a finger or is electrocuted by it, then you have a very big problem. You have been the responsible importer.

[Reactie gewijzigd door Maurits van Baerle op 21 maart 2022 19:39]

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