EstoniaAccessibility of Products and Services Act, duties of importers of products and identification of supply-chain operators
§§ 8 ja 10, Toodete ja teenuste ligipääsetavuse seadus (RT I, 15.06.2022, 1)
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
What it requires
- If you import a product listed in section 2(1), ensure that a copy of the declaration of conformity and the technical documentation are available to TTJA for five years after the product is placed on the market (ss. 8(1) and 6(2); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 9(7)).
- Place on the market only a product that meets the requirements, and before you place it ensure that the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment and drawn up the technical documentation, that the product bears the conformity marking and is accompanied by the required documents, and that the manufacturer has marked the product's type, batch or serial number and its own name or trade mark and contact address (s. 2(13); Product Conformity Act, s. 16(1) and (2); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 9(1) and (2)).
- While the product is under your responsibility, ensure that its storage or transport conditions do not jeopardize its conformity; mark your own name or trade mark and contact address on the product or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or an accompanying document; supply a product made available to consumers with instructions and safety information in Estonian at least; and if you believe a product you placed on the market does not conform, take without delay the measures needed to bring it into conformity, recall it or withdraw it (Product Conformity Act, s. 16(3) and (6) with s. 14(6) to (8); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 9(4) to (6) and (8)).
- When the manufacturer relies on fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden, its declaration of conformity states which requirement the exception was applied to and its technical documentation must allow it to show the alteration or burden, and those are the documents you keep available to TTJA; if you yourself doubt that bringing a product into line is possible without fundamental alteration or a disproportionate burden, the assessment, documentation and notification duties of section 5 bind you too, as section 3(1) counts an importer as a business (ss. 3(1), 5, 8(1), 13(2) and 14(3)).
- Ensure that the instructions, information and labeling that accompany the product are clear, understandable and comprehensible (ss. 8(2) and 6(3)).
- If you learn that a product you placed on the market does not meet one or more applicable requirements, notify TTJA of the non-conformity, with details of it and of the corrective measures applied (ss. 8(2) and 6(4); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 9(8)).
- Keep records of products placed on the market that do not meet the applicable requirements and of the complaints about them (ss. 8(2) and 6(5)).
- On TTJA's request, identify every business that supplied you with a product and every business you supplied with it, for five years after the supply (s. 10; Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 12).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
Section 2(13) of the LPS applies the Product Conformity Act (Toote nõuetele vastavuse seadus) to the liability of manufacturers, authorized representatives, importers and distributors of products, and section 5(2) of that Act bars placing on the market a product that does not meet a requirement a legal act sets for it. Section 59 of that Act sets the fine for infringing the conditions for placing a product on the market and making it available at up to 300 fine units for a natural person, which is up to EUR 2,400, and up to EUR 32,000 for a legal person. Section 61 sets up to 200 fine units for a natural person, which is up to EUR 1,600, and up to EUR 32,000 for a legal person, for misuse of the conformity marking. The fine unit is EUR 8 from (Penal Code section 47(1)). Section 19 of the LPS sets the ceiling of the penalty payment (sunniraha) for a precept not complied with at EUR 10,000.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 32,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (Tarbijakaitse ja Tehnilise Järelevalve Amet, TTJA), the supervisory authority under section 16 of the LPS
What this law does
Section 8(1) requires an importer to ensure that a copy of the declaration of conformity and the technical documentation are available to TTJA for the period set in section 6(2). Section 8(2) applies to an importer the requirements in section 6(3) to (5) on clear instructions, notification of non-conformity and records of non-conforming products and complaints.
Section 10 requires a manufacturer, authorized representative, importer or distributor, on TTJA's request, to identify every business that supplied it with the product and every business it supplied with the product, for five years after the supply. Section 14(3) requires the declaration of conformity to state which accessibility requirement the exception for fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden has been applied to.
Section 13(2) requires the technical documentation of a manufacturer that relies on fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden to allow it to show that one or more applicable requirements would cause that alteration or burden.
Section 2(13) of the LPS applies the Product Conformity Act to the obligations of the manufacturer, authorized representative, importer and distributor of a product within the Act, to the conformity assessment of the product, to market surveillance and to liability, with the exceptions that follow from the LPS.
Section 2(3) of the Product Conformity Act applies the division of its chapter 2 on the further duties of businesses in the harmonized field, which holds the duties of manufacturers, authorized representatives, importers and distributors, and its chapter 3 on conformity assessment, only where the requirements set for a product derive from European Union harmonization legislation.
Section 5(2) of the Product Conformity Act bars placing on the market or putting into service a product that does not meet a requirement a legal act sets for it. Section 16(1) of the Product Conformity Act requires an importer to place on the market only a product that meets the requirements.
Section 16(2) of that Act requires an importer, before placing a product on the market, to ensure that the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment and drawn up the technical documentation, that the product bears the conformity marking and is accompanied by the required documents, and that the manufacturer has met the identification and contact-address requirements of section 14(5) and (6).
Section 16(3) of that Act requires an importer to ensure that storage or transport conditions do not jeopardize the product's conformity while it is under its responsibility. Section 16(6) of that Act also applies to an importer the requirements of section 14(6) to (8) on marking its name and contact address, instructions and safety information, and corrective measures.
Section 3(1) of the LPS defines a business for the purposes of the Act as a manufacturer, authorized representative, importer, distributor or service provider. Section 59 of the Product Conformity Act sets the fine for infringing the conditions for placing a product on the market and making it available at up to 300 fine units for a natural person and up to EUR 32,000 for a legal person.
Section 61 of the Product Conformity Act sets the fine for misuse of the conformity marking at up to 200 fine units for a natural person and up to EUR 32,000 for a legal person. Section 47(1) of the Penal Code sets the fine unit at EUR 8. Section 19 of the LPS sets the ceiling of the penalty payment for a precept that is not complied with at EUR 10,000.
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