EstoniaAccessibility of Products and Services Act, duties of distributors of products and identification of supply-chain operators
§§ 9 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 distribute a product listed in section 2(1) and learn that a product you placed on the market does not meet one or more applicable accessibility requirements, notify TTJA of the non-conformity, with details of it and of the corrective measures applied (s. 9; Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 10(5)).
- Act with due care in relation to the applicable requirements and, before you make a product available, check that it bears the conformity marking, that it is accompanied by the required documents and by instructions and safety information, and that the manufacturer and the importer have marked the product's identification and their names or trade marks and contact addresses (s. 2(13); Product Conformity Act, s. 17(1) and (2); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 10(1) and (2)).
- If you believe a product does not conform, make it available only after it has been brought into conformity; ensure that storage or transport conditions do not jeopardize its conformity while it is under your responsibility; and if you believe a product you made available does not conform, ensure that corrective measures are taken and, where necessary, that it is withdrawn or recalled (Product Conformity Act, s. 17(3) to (5); Directive (EU) 2019/882, Art. 10(3) to (5)).
- When the manufacturer relies on fundamental alteration or disproportionate burden, its declaration of conformity states which requirement the exception was applied to (s. 14(3)); 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 a distributor as a business (ss. 3(1) and 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 9 requires a distributor that learns that a product it placed on the market does not meet one or more applicable requirements to notify TTJA of the non-conformity, with details of it and of the corrective measures applied. 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 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 17(1) of the Product Conformity Act requires a distributor making a product available on the market to act with due care in relation to the applicable requirements.
Section 17(2) of that Act requires a distributor, before making a product available, to check that it bears the conformity marking, that it is accompanied by the required documents and by instructions and safety information, and that the manufacturer and the importer have met the identification and contact-address requirements of section 14(5) and (6).
Section 17(3) of that Act requires a distributor that believes a product does not meet the requirements applicable to it to make the product available only after it has been brought into conformity. Section 17(4) of that Act requires a distributor to ensure that storage or transport conditions do not jeopardize the product's conformity while it is under its responsibility.
Section 17(5) of that Act requires a distributor that believes a product it made available does not meet the requirements of European Union harmonization legislation to ensure that corrective measures are taken and, where necessary, that the product is withdrawn from the market or recalled from end users. 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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