Czech RepublicAct on accessibility requirements of certain products and services, duties of manufacturers and authorised representatives of computers, payment and ticketing terminals, ATMs, consumer terminal equipment and e-readers
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you manufacture a product listed in section 2(1) of the Act (general-purpose consumer computer hardware systems and their operating systems; self-service payment terminals; ATMs, ticket-issuing machines, check-in machines and information terminals used to provide services; consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability used for electronic communications services or for access to audiovisual media services; e-readers), place it on the market only if it meets the accessibility requirements of sections I and II of Annex 1, also after a change to the product or to the harmonised standard or technical specification you rely on (ss. 2(1), 4(1) and 5(1); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Arts. 4(1), 4(2) and 7(1)).
- Prepare the technical documentation and carry out the conformity assessment procedure of Annex 2; after conformity is shown, draw up the declaration of conformity in the Czech language with the content of Annex 3, stating which requirements were not met where you rely on section 15(1), as a single declaration where several EU acts require one, and affix the CE marking visibly, legibly and indelibly; keep the documentation and the declaration for 5 years from placing the product on the market, and update the declaration when its data change (ss. 5(2), 11 and 12).
- Mark the product with a type, batch or serial number or another identifying element, and with your name or trade name or trademark and a contact address, or give them on the packaging or an accompanying document where size or nature does not allow it (s. 5(3) and (4)).
- Make sure instructions for use and safety information in the Czech language accompany the product and are clear, understandable and easy to comprehend (s. 5(5)).
- If you find that a product you placed on the market does not meet the requirements, without undue delay correct it or withdraw it from the market, inform the supervisory authority of the non-compliance, its nature and causes and the measures taken, and keep a register of non-compliant products and related complaints (s. 5(6)).
- Identify to the supervisory authority, on its request and for 5 years, each manufacturer, authorised representative, importer and distributor that supplied you or that you supplied (s. 10).
- If you appoint an authorised representative, do it in writing; the mandate must allow the representative at least to keep the declaration of conformity and technical documentation, give the authority information and documentation, and cooperate on removing non-conformity, and it cannot include the duty in section 5(1) or the preparation of technical documentation; the representative must itself keep the technical documentation and the declaration of conformity for 5 years from placing the product on the market (ss. 5(7) and 6).
- If you are an importer or distributor and you place a product on the market under your own name, trade name or trademark, or modify a product already on the market in a way that may affect its compliance, you carry the manufacturer's duties (s. 9).
- You need not meet the requirements to the extent that doing so would require a fundamental alteration of the product or impose a disproportionate burden judged on the criteria of Annex 4; you must first prepare an assessment, keep it and its supporting documents for 5 years from the day you last supplied the product, inform the supervisory authority before placing the product on the market (product, ground, requirements not met, date of the assessment), and attach a sworn statement that you received no subsidy, gift or similar payment to secure accessibility, and you cannot rely on disproportionate burden if you did (s. 15(1) to (6); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 14).
- If you are a microenterprise, you need not submit the assessment to the authority and need not inform it under section 15(5) (s. 15(3) and (7)).
- Meeting a harmonised standard or part of it, or where no reference to a harmonised standard is published a technical specification or part of it, is treated as meeting the accessibility requirements to the extent it covers them (s. 16).
- Meeting the requirements of the Act counts as meeting the accessibility requirements that another law or a directly applicable EU instrument sets for the same product, unless that other instrument excludes this (s. 17(1)); you may meet a specific technical requirement of Annex 1 in the way set out in Annex 5 if equivalent accessibility is secured (s. 18), and for features or functions of a product that the requirements of sections I and II do not cover, the requirements are those of Annex 5 (s. 4(3)).
- The duties apply to products placed on the market after (s. 28(1)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
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Penalty structure
Section 25(8) caps the fine for a manufacturer at 10,000,000 koruna for the offences in section 25(2)(a) and (g) (placing a product on the market against section 5(1), failing to correct or withdraw a non-compliant product), at 5,000,000 koruna for section 25(2)(b), (c), (j) and (k) (failing to prepare the technical documentation, carry out the conformity assessment, draw up the declaration or affix the CE marking, failing to keep them, failing to update the declaration, failing to make the assessment or relying on disproportionate burden after receiving a subsidy), at 2,000,000 koruna for section 25(2)(d), (e) and (f) (failing to identify the product, to state the manufacturer or to supply instructions and safety information), and at 1,000,000 koruna for section 25(2)(h) and (i) (repeated failure to inform the authority, failing to keep the register of non-compliant products). The same section reaches other conduct of manufacturers and authorised representatives: unlawfully affixing the CE marking or drawing up or altering the declaration of conformity is capped at 5,000,000 koruna (section 25(1)); an authorised representative that fails to keep the declaration and documentation is capped at 5,000,000 koruna and one that fails to inform or cooperate with the authority at 1,000,000 koruna (section 25(3)); under section 25(6), failing to identify other operators under section 10 is capped at 5,000,000 koruna (section 25(6)(a)), failing to keep the assessment and its supporting documents at 2,000,000 koruna (section 25(6)(b)), failing to inform the authority under section 15(5) at 1,000,000 koruna (section 25(6)(c)) and omitting the sworn statement at 2,000,000 koruna (section 25(6)(d)). Section 25(8)(b) also lists an offence under "odstavce 4 písm. i)", a letter that section 25(4) does not have. The Czech Trade Inspection hears the offence and collects the fine (ss. 19(1), 26).
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- CZK
- Fixed cap
- 10,000,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Czech Trade Inspection (Česká obchodní inspekce), the supervisory authority for products under section 19(1) of the Act
What it reaches
Instrument type
an act of a legislature
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- All of
- Criteria
- a product listed in section 2(1) of the Act that is placed on the market after ; section 2(3)(a) takes only services provided by a microenterprise out of the Act, and a manufacturer, importer or distributor that is a microenterprise is relieved only of submitting the assessment to the supervisory authority (section 15(3)) and of informing it under section 15(5) (section 15(7))
What this law does
Act 424/2023 transposes Directive (EU) 2019/882. Article 2(1) of the Directive applies it to the products it lists, including consumer terminal equipment used for electronic communications services or for access to audiovisual media services, and e-readers.
Section 2(1) of the Act applies it to general-purpose consumer computer hardware systems and their operating systems, self-service payment terminals, ATMs, ticket-issuing machines, check-in machines and information terminals used to provide services, consumer terminal equipment with interactive computing capability used for electronic communications services or for access to audiovisual media services, and e-readers.
Section 4(1) sets the accessibility requirements of the products as those in sections I and II of Annex 1. Section II of Annex 1 excludes self-service payment terminals and self-service terminals from its requirements on packaging and installation instructions. Article 7(1) of the Directive requires manufacturers placing products on the market to ensure the products have been designed and manufactured in accordance with the applicable accessibility requirements.
Section 5(1) of the Act allows a manufacturer to place a product on the market only if it meets the accessibility requirements, also after a change to the product or to the harmonised standard or technical specification relied on.
Section 5(2) requires the manufacturer to prepare technical documentation, carry out the conformity assessment procedure of Annex 2, draw up the declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking, and keep the documentation and declaration for 5 years from placing on the market. Section 5(3) requires the manufacturer to mark the product with a type, batch or serial number or another identifying element, or to give it on the packaging or an accompanying document.
Section 5(4) requires the manufacturer to state its name or trade name or trademark and a contact address on the product, or on the packaging or an accompanying document. Section 5(5) requires the manufacturer to ensure that instructions for use and safety information in the Czech language accompany the product and are clear, understandable and easy to comprehend.
Section 5(6) requires a manufacturer that finds a product it placed on the market does not meet the requirements to correct it or withdraw it without undue delay, inform the supervisory authority, and keep a register of non-compliant products and related complaints. Article 8(1) of the Directive lets a manufacturer appoint an authorised representative by written mandate, and the mandate cannot include the Article 7(1) obligation or the drawing up of technical documentation.
Section 5(7) of the Act allows the manufacturer to appoint an authorised representative in writing. Section 6(2) provides that the mandate of an authorised representative cannot include the duty in section 5(1) or the preparation of technical documentation. Section 6(1) requires the mandate to allow the representative at least to keep the declaration of conformity and the technical documentation, give the authority information and documentation, and cooperate with it.
Section 6(3) requires the authorised representative to keep the technical documentation and the declaration of conformity for 5 years from the day the product was placed on the market. Article 11 of the Directive treats an importer or distributor as a manufacturer where it places a product on the market under its own name or trademark or modifies a product in a way that may affect compliance. Section 9 of the Act treats an importer or distributor as a manufacturer on the same two grounds.
Section 10 requires manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors to identify on the authority's request each operator that supplied them or that they supplied, for 5 years. Section 11(2) requires the declaration of conformity to be drawn up in the Czech language with the content in Annex 3 and updated when the data change.
Section 11(1) requires a manufacturer that relies on section 15(1) to state in the declaration of conformity which accessibility requirements were not met. Section 11(3) requires a single declaration of conformity, referring to every EU act concerned, where several transposing laws or directly applicable EU acts require a declaration for the product.
Section 12 requires the CE marking to be placed visibly, legibly and indelibly on the product or its rating plate, or where the product does not allow it on the packaging or an accompanying document. Section 15(1) and (2) relieve a manufacturer of the requirements to the extent that compliance would require a fundamental alteration of the product or a disproportionate burden judged on the criteria in Annex 4, and only after it prepares an assessment.
Section 15(3) requires the manufacturer to keep the assessment and its supporting documents for 5 years from the day it last supplied the product, and exempts a microenterprise manufacturer from submitting the assessment to the authority. Section 15(5) requires the manufacturer to inform the supervisory authority before placing the product on the market that it will not meet the requirements, stating the product, the ground, the requirements not met and the date of the assessment.
Section 15(6) requires a manufacturer relying on disproportionate burden to attach a sworn statement that it received no subsidy, gift or similar payment to secure accessibility. Section 15(7) exempts a manufacturer, importer or distributor that is a microenterprise from the duty to inform the authority under section 15(5). Section 16(1) treats compliance with a harmonised standard or part of it as compliance with the accessibility requirements to the extent the standard covers them.
Section 19(1) names the Czech Trade Inspection as the supervisory authority for products. Section 20 requires the authority to call on the manufacturer, importer or distributor of a non-compliant product to take corrective measures within a reasonable period, then to withdraw it from the market, and if it does not, to ban its supply or decide on its withdrawal. Section 22 requires the authority to publish on its website a list of the products that do not meet the requirements.
Section 23 applies the articles of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 it lists to market surveillance of products as to the accessibility requirements. Section 25(2) makes it an offence for a manufacturer to place a product on the market against section 5(1), to fail to prepare the technical documentation, carry out the conformity assessment, draw up the declaration or affix the CE marking, or to fail to keep the documentation or declaration.
Section 25(6) makes it an offence for a manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or distributor to fail to identify the operators under section 10, to fail to keep the assessment and its supporting documents, to fail to inform the authority under section 15(5) or give the required content, or to omit the sworn statement under section 15(6).
Section 25(1) makes it an offence for any legal person or entrepreneur to affix the CE marking without entitlement or to draw up or alter a declaration of conformity without entitlement. Section 25(8) sets the maximum fine for a manufacturer at 10,000,000 koruna for offences under section 25(2)(a) and (g), at 5,000,000 koruna for section 25(2)(b), (c), (j) and (k), at 2,000,000 koruna for section 25(2)(d), (e) and (f), and at 1,000,000 koruna for section 25(2)(h) and (i).
Section 26(1) gives the offence proceedings to the authority that supervises the duty breached, and section 26(2) lets the Czech Trade Inspection collect the fine it imposes. Section 30 of the Act on liability for offences (250/2016) sets a limitation period of 3 years for an offence whose maximum fine reaches 100,000 koruna, which covers every offence in section 25.
Section 28(1) applies the duties of manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers and distributors to products placed on the market after . Section 29 brought the Act into effect on .
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