IrelandEuropean Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023, duties of distributors of products to act with due care, verify conformity and cooperate with the market surveillance authority
S.I. No. 636 of 2023 Regs. 11, 12 and 13, distributors under the European Union (Accessibility Requirements of Products and Services) Regulations 2023
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you are a distributor, act with due care in relation to the accessibility requirements of the Regulations when you make a product listed in Regulation 3(1) available on the market (Reg. 11(1)).
- Before making a product available, verify that it bears the CE marking, is accompanied by the documents Regulation 8 specifies and by instructions and safety information in a language easily understood by consumers and other end-users, and that the manufacturer and importer have marked their identification details as Regulations 8(2)(d) and (e) and 10(2)(f) require (Reg. 11(2)).
- If you consider or have reason to believe that a product is not in conformity, do not make it available until it has been brought into conformity, and inform the manufacturer or the importer and the market surveillance authority (Reg. 11(3) and (4)).
- Do not let storage or transport conditions jeopardise the product's compliance while it is under your responsibility (Reg. 11(5)).
- If you consider or have reason to believe that a product you have made available is not in conformity, take the corrective measures needed or withdraw it, and immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States where you made it available, with details of the non-compliance and the corrective measures (Reg. 11(6)(a) and (b)).
- On a reasoned notice from the market surveillance authority, give it all the information and documentation needed to show the product conforms, and cooperate on action to eliminate the non-compliance; the authority may direct you to provide them if you do not (Reg. 11(6)(c) and (d) and 11(7)).
- If you place a product on the market under your own name or trade mark, or modify a product already placed on the market in a way that may affect compliance, meet the duties of a manufacturer under Regulation 8 (Reg. 12).
- On request from the market surveillance authority, identify any economic operator that supplied you with a product and any to which you supplied one, and be able to present that information for 5 years after the supply (Reg. 13(1) and (2)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Failing to comply with Regulation 21(2), or failing to comply within the period specified with a direction given under the Regulations, is an offence (Reg. 32(1) and (3)); on conviction on indictment the penalty is a fine of up to EUR 60,000 or imprisonment for up to 18 months or both (Reg. 32(6)).
Penalty structure
Regulation 32(6) sets, for a person who commits an offence under the Regulations, a class A fine or imprisonment for up to 6 months or both on summary conviction, and a fine of up to EUR 60,000 or imprisonment for up to 18 months or both on conviction on indictment. The EUR 60,000 figure is the indictment ceiling. Regulation 32(7) tells the court to have regard to the seriousness of the failure to comply, the number of units of products or services to which it related and the number of persons affected.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 60,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the market surveillance authority for products to which the Regulations apply (Reg. 4(1))
What it reaches
Instrument type
a regulation made under an act
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- Any of
- Criteria
- a product listed in Regulation 3(1) placed on the market on or after
What this law does
Regulation 11(1) requires a distributor to act with due care in relation to the requirements of the Regulations when making a product available on the market. Regulation 11 gives effect to Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2019/882, under which distributors making a product available on the market shall act with due care in relation to the requirements of the Directive.
Before making a product available, a distributor must verify that it bears the CE marking, is accompanied by the documents Regulation 8 specifies and by instructions and safety information in a language easily understood by consumers and other end-users, and that the manufacturer and the importer have complied with the requirements specified in Regulations 8(2)(d) and (e) and 10(2)(f).
A distributor that considers or has reason to believe that a product is not in conformity must not make it available until it has been brought into conformity, and must inform the manufacturer or the importer and the market surveillance authority.
A distributor that has made a product available and considers or has reason to believe that it is not in conformity must take the corrective measures needed or, if appropriate, withdraw it, and must immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States where it made the product available.
Regulation 12 treats an importer or distributor as a manufacturer, subject to the manufacturer's duties under Regulation 8, where it places a product on the market under its own name or trade mark or modifies a product already placed on the market in such a way that compliance may be affected.
A person who fails to comply with Regulation 21(2), the duty to cooperate fully with the market surveillance authority in an evaluation, commits an offence, punishable on summary conviction by a class A fine or imprisonment for up to 6 months or both, and on conviction on indictment by a fine of up to EUR 60,000 or imprisonment for up to 18 months or both. A class A fine is a fine not exceeding EUR 5,000.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app distributes a software product.
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