CE marking comes to bathrooms

Major changes in the labelling of bathroom products marketed throughout Europe will take place on 1 July 2013.

From July the new Construction Products Regulation (CPR) – which covers CE marking – requires that bathroom manufacturers and importers must ensure that their products, if covered by the mandatory harmonised European Standards, are tested and are CE marked. The CPR also requires manufacturers and importers to ensure their products bear a type, batch or serial number, and to retain technical documentation for a period of 10 years after the product has been sold.

The changes are mandatory and non-compliance can ultimately lead to imprisonment for up to 3 months and/or a fine of up to £5,000 per incident.

Stay compliant with the new Construction Products Regulation with Merlin’s full traceability, indefinite archiving, DoP and full documentation. Merlin Business Software >

From now on, there is the new requirement for all bathroom products covered by Harmonised European Standards to have the familiar CE mark fixed to the product or its packaging.

CE marking is a key indicator of a product’s compliance with European legislation and enables its free movement within the European market. It is not a quality mark but it does indicate the product’s fitness for purpose.

By fixing the CE mark to a product, a manufacturer or importer openly declares its conformity with the legal requirements and ensures its validity to be sold throughout the EEA – the 27 member states of the EU and the European Free Trade Association countries of Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Turkey.

Ensuring compliance with the new regulations is the responsibility of each EU Member State. Here in the UK, responsibility is split into regions. For England, Wales and Scotland, surveillance will be conducted by Trading Standards and for Northern Ireland, it will be conducted by the Environmental Health Authority. The Secretary of State is the ultimate enforcement authority.

Source: http://www.buildersmerchantsnews.co.uk/news/fullstory.php
/aid/7794/CE_marking_comes_to_bathrooms.html