Category: UK

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has announced intention to indefinitely extend the use of CE marking recognition beyond 2024 deadline for businesses, applying to 18 regulations owned by DBT. The extension will allow for more efficient and cost-effective pathways for products to enter the UK market

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-announces-extension-of-ce-mark-recognition-for-businesses

The UK Government announced that the required UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking deadline has been extended by an additional two years (Till 31 December 2024 ) During this time, both UKCA or CE Marks may be used. For further two years, the government will continue to recognize the CE marking on the product in the United Kingdom, enabling businesses to utilize either UKCA or CE Marking. Applicant can continue to use the CE marking on the GB market until 31 December 2024

Official announcement from Government website :

Using the UKCA marking – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The government has announced a range of changes to make it simpler for businesses to apply new product conformity markings for most products placed on the market in England, Scotland and Wales.

The government has announced changes aimed at making it simpler for British businesses to apply the new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark to products placed on the UK market.

The UKCA mark is mandatory on certain products and indicates that goods conform to domestic safety legislation.

Businesses have until 1 January 2023 to start using the new label which replaces the EU’s CE mark.

Based on the announcement (20 June), the new measures will:

• Reduce re-testing costs, by allowing certificates issued by EU conformity assessment bodies before the end of 2022 to be used as the basis for a UKCA mark
• Eliminate the need for the relabelling of products by permitting existing goods imported before January 2023 to be treated as being already placed on the GB market
• Clarify that imported spare parts, which repair or replace goods already on the GB market, will meet the same requirements as the existing goods themselves
• Allow UKCA marking and other important details to be added via a sticky label or accompanying paperwork until 31 December 2025

Official announcement you can find here

The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is a new UK product marking that is used for goods being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). It covers most goods, which previously required the CE marking, known as ‘new approach’ goods.

The UKCA marking came into effect on 1 January 2021. However, to allow businesses time to adjust to the new requirements, you will still be able to use the CE marking until 1 January 2023 in most cases.

If you placed goods on the UK market (or in an EU or EEA state) before 1 January 2021, you do not need to do anything for these individual goods

The UKCA marking applies to most goods previously subject to the CE marking. It also applies to aerosol products that previously required the ‘reverse epsilon’ marking.

You must use the UKCA marking from 1 January 2023. You can still use the CE marking until then.

The CE marking is only valid in Great Britain for areas where GB and EU rules remain the same. If the EU changes its rules and you CE mark your product on the basis of those new rules you will not be able to use the CE marking to sell in Great Britain, even before 31 December 2022.

Source: Official Links

Office for Product Safety and Standards issued Guidance on Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 in January 2011. The Guidance helps manufacturers to understand how to meet the compliance with regulations to put products on the market of the Great Britain.

The Regulations determine the essential safety requirements for toys designed or intended for use in play by children under 14 years old.

The Regulations contain:

– general safety requirements such as safety of the toy itself and its chemical components if any, general requirements to specified age groups, warning marking requirements, requirements to the label and manual

– particular safety requirements such as those concerning hazards relating to physical/mechanical properties, flammability, chemical properties, electrical properties, hygiene requirements, and radioactivity.

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) of Great Britain published a notice with the list of standards that helps to ensure the meeting of the product to safety requirements of the Regulations. The list consists of European standards and includes the following 11 references:

1. EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018 Safety of toys – Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties

2. EN 71-2:2011+A1:2014 Safety of toys – Part 2: Flammability

3. EN 71-3:2019 Safety of toys – Part 3: Migration of certain elements

4. EN 71-4:2013 Safety of toys – Part 4: Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities

5. EN 71-5:2015 Safety of toys – Part 5: Chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets

6. EN 71-7:2014+A2:2018 Safety of toys – Part 7: Finger paints – Requirements and test methods

Note: For the allowed preservative climbazole (entry 22 in Table B.1 of Annex B to this standard) the presumption of conformity applies up to a maximum allowed concentration of 0,2 % (not: 0,5 %). This is based on the ‘ADDENDUM to the Opinion on Climbazole (P64) ref. SCCS/1506/13’ of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) that was adopted after the publication of the standard by CEN.

7. EN 71-8:2018 Safety of toys – Part 8: Activity toys for domestic use

8. EN 71-12:2013 Safety of toys – Part 12: N-Nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances

9. EN 71-13:2014 Safety of toys – Part 13: Olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games

10. EN 71-14:2018 Safety of toys – Part 14: Trampolines for domestic use

11. EN 62115:2005/A11:2012/AC: 2013 Electric toys – Safety