CyprusLaw 57(I)/2024 on the Accessibility of Products and Services, competent authority, market surveillance, administrative fines, offences and consumer remedies
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
What it requires
- Comply with a notice from the competent authority or an accessibility surveillance authority within the period it sets, and take the corrective measures it requires, including measures to bring a product or service into conformity, to prevent it being made available, to withdraw or recall a product, or to stop providing a service (Arts. 21(2), 33 and 34).
- Cooperate fully with the competent authority and the accessibility surveillance authorities when they evaluate a product they have sufficient reason to believe does not comply, and make sure the appropriate corrective action is taken for every product you made available on the Union market (Art. 21(1) and (4)).
- Give the competent authority and the accessibility surveillance authorities the documents, technical specifications, data and information they request about conformity, including access to embedded software where it is needed to assess conformity, and give a translation into Greek or English where they ask for one (Art. 27(1)(α) and (2)(β)).
- If a notice under Art. 33 or 34 follows the examination, testing or checking of your product, service or documents, expect the authorities to ask you to pay the costs of buying, examining and testing them (Art. 40(1)).
- Do not intentionally obstruct an authorised officer of the competent authority or of an accessibility surveillance authority who is acting under the Law (Art. 35(ζ)).
- Where an operator invokes the fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden defence, expect the authorities to check that the assessment was made, review it against the criteria in Annex IV and check compliance with the accessibility requirements (Art. 20(2)).
- If you ask the competent authority to let a product or service back on the market, or to lift a ban imposed because it lacks the CE marking or the required documents, pay in advance the expected costs of examining and testing it and checking its documents, whatever the result (Art. 40(2)).
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 this law does
Article 3(1) makes the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare the competent authority for exercising the powers and applying the provisions of the Law and of the Regulations, Orders and Notifications made under it. Article 3(3) has the Council of Ministers designate the departments and services of the public service that cooperate with the competent authority and carry out market surveillance, according to their staffing and subject expertise.
Article 20(2) requires the authorities, when an operator has invoked Article 15, to check that the assessment was carried out, to review it against the criteria in Annex IV, and to check compliance with the accessibility requirements. Article 20(1) applies listed articles of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 to the market surveillance of products.
Article 21(1) requires economic operators to cooperate fully with the authorities' evaluation of a product they have sufficient reason to believe does not comply, and Article 21(4) requires each operator to ensure that appropriate corrective action is taken for the products it made available in the Union.
Article 21(2) requires the authorities, where a product does not comply, to ask the operator to take corrective measures within a reasonable period and, if it does not, to withdraw the product from the market within a further reasonable period. Article 23(2) requires the authorities, where a formal non-compliance persists, to take measures to restrict or prohibit the making available of the product or to ensure its withdrawal from the market.
Article 24(1) requires the authorities to take action to examine complaints or reports about services that do not meet the accessibility requirements. Article 27 empowers the authorities to carry out unannounced on-site inspections and physical checks of products and services, among other powers. Article 33(2) lets the authorities require an operator to prevent a product or service being made available, to withdraw or recall a product, or to ban the provision of a service.
Article 34 lets the authorities serve a notice of withdrawal, a notice of recall, or a notice of destruction of a product or discontinuance of use of a service. Article 35 lists the infringements, including making available a non-complying product or service, failing to comply with a notice under Article 34, and making a product available without the EU declaration of conformity or the CE marking, for which the competent authority may impose an administrative fine.
Article 36(1) lets the competent authority impose an administrative fine of up to EUR 10,000 for an Article 35 infringement and, for a later infringement, of up to EUR 20,000. Article 36(2) lets the competent authority impose a fine of up to EUR 500 for each day a fined infringement continues. Article 37(3) requires the fine to be imposed by a reasoned decision after the person has had the opportunity to be heard orally or in writing.
Article 37(4) has the authority collect the fine once the period of seventy-five days for an appeal to the Administrative Court has passed without an appeal. Article 38 makes it an offence, beside the administrative fine, to make a non-complying product or service available, to disregard a notice under Article 34, to issue or use a certificate or other document without approval or without the proper procedure, or to give false, misleading or inaccurate details to the authorities.
A first conviction under Article 38 carries imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to EUR 20,000 or both, and a later conviction imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to EUR 30,000 or both. Article 40(1) lets the authorities ask the operator to pay the costs they incurred in buying, examining and testing the product or service and checking documents, where a notice under Article 33 or 34 follows.
Article 40(2) requires an operator that asks the competent authority to allow a product or service back on the market, or to lift a ban imposed because it lacks the CE marking or the required documents, to pay in advance the expected costs of examination, testing and checking documents, whatever the result.
Article 39 lets a court that convicts a person of an Article 38 offence, or orders a product forfeited or a service banned, order the convicted person or any economic operator to repay the authorities' costs of seizure and detention, of carrying out forfeiture directions and of exercising their powers. Article 43 lets a consumer apply to a court, in accordance with the law in force, or to the competent authority to obtain application of the Law.
Article 43 does not apply to contract award procedures governed by the public procurement law and the utilities procurement law. Article 30 of the Directive requires Member States to lay down rules on penalties for infringements of the national provisions, which must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
When LexLint raises it
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