CyprusLaw 57(I)/2024 on the Accessibility of Products and Services, duties of importers of products
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you import a listed product from a third country into the Union market, place on the market only products that comply with the accessibility requirements of the Law (Art. 10(α); Arts. 4(1) and 5(2)).
- Before placing a product on the market, make sure the manufacturer carried out the conformity assessment procedure and drew up the technical file, that the product bears the CE marking and comes with the required documents, and that the manufacturer met its duties on type or batch numbers and contact details (Art. 10(β)).
- Do not place a product on the market while you consider or have reason to believe that it does not comply with the applicable accessibility requirements, until it complies, and inform the manufacturer and the competent authority (Art. 10(γ)).
- Put your name, registered trade name or trademark and contact address on the product, its packaging or an accompanying document, in a language easily understood by end users and the accessibility surveillance authorities, and make sure the product comes with instructions and safety information in a language easily understood by consumers (Art. 10(δ) and (ε)).
- Make sure storage and transport conditions, while you are responsible for the product, do not endanger its conformity (Art. 10(στ)).
- Keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the competent authority and the accessibility surveillance authorities for five years from the date the product was placed on the market, and make sure the technical file can be made available to them (Art. 10(ζ)).
- If you consider or have reason to believe that a product you placed on the market does not comply, take the corrective measures needed or withdraw it, inform the competent authority at once, and keep a register of non-compliant products and related complaints (Art. 10(η)).
- On a reasoned request give the authorities the information and documentation needed to show conformity, in a language easily understood by them, and cooperate with them in remedying non-conformity (Art. 10(θ)).
- Identify to the competent authority every operator that supplied you with a product or to which you supplied one, for five years (Art. 13).
- If you place a product on the market under your own name or trademark, or modify a product already on the market in a way that may affect conformity, you carry the manufacturer's obligations under Article 8 (Art. 12).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
Article 38 makes it an offence to make available on the market a product or service that does not comply with the Law, to disregard a withdrawal, recall or destruction notice served under Article 34, to issue or use a certificate or other document without approval or without following the proper procedure, or to give false, misleading or inaccurate details or documents to the authorities. A first conviction carries imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to EUR 20,000 or both, and a second or later conviction imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to EUR 30,000 or both.
Penalty structure
Article 38 sets the highest fine in the Law: on a second or later conviction, imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to EUR 30,000 or both, and on a first conviction imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to EUR 20,000 or both, whether or not an administrative fine is imposed. Article 36(1) lets the competent authority impose an administrative fine of up to EUR 10,000 on a person who commits any of the infringements listed in Article 35, and of up to EUR 20,000 for a later infringement. Article 36(2) lets it impose a fine of up to EUR 500 for each day a fined infringement continues, according to its gravity, and the text states no total for the daily fines. Article 37(1) sets the amount by the nature, gravity and duration of the infringement.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 30,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Deputy Minister of Social Welfare (Υφυπουργός Κοινωνικής Πρόνοιας), the competent authority under Article 3(1), which imposes the administrative fines, with the departments and services of the public service that the Council of Ministers designates under Article 3(3) as accessibility surveillance authorities
What it reaches
Instrument type
an act of a legislature
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- Any of
- Criteria
- an importer, being a natural or legal person established in the Union that places on the Union market a listed product from a third country, from
What this law does
Article 2 defines an importer as a natural or legal person established in the Union that places a product from a third country on the Union market. Article 10 requires an importer to place on the market only products that comply with the accessibility requirements of the Law.
Article 10 requires an importer, before placing a product on the market, to ensure that the manufacturer carried out the conformity assessment procedure and drew up the technical file, and that the product bears the CE marking and comes with the required documents. Article 10 forbids an importer to place a product on the market while it considers or has reason to believe that the product does not comply, until it complies, and requires it to inform the manufacturer and the competent authority.
Article 10 requires an importer to indicate its name, registered trade name or trademark and contact address on the product, packaging or accompanying document, in a language easily understood by end users and the accessibility surveillance authorities. Article 10 requires an importer to keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity for five years at the disposal of the authorities and to ensure that the technical file can be made available to them.
Article 10 requires an importer that considers a product it placed on the market non-compliant to take corrective measures or withdraw it, inform the competent authority, and keep a register of non-compliant products and complaints. Article 10 requires an importer to give the authorities, on a reasoned request, the information and documentation needed to show conformity and to cooperate with them.
Article 12 treats an importer as a manufacturer when it places a product on the market under its own name or trademark or modifies a product already on the market in a way that may affect conformity. Article 13 requires an importer to identify to the competent authority any operator that supplied it with a product or to which it supplied one, for five years.
Article 15(1) applies the accessibility requirements only to the extent that compliance does not require a significant change resulting in a fundamental alteration of the basic nature of the product or service and does not impose a disproportionate burden on the economic operators.
When LexLint raises it
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