How to apply the CE mark to products imported from China?

Is it possible to apply the CE mark to products imported from China?

Marking products with the CE mark causes many problems and even more questions. We will try to explain the practical aspects of issuing the CE mark.

We receive a lot of inquiries about:

In China I found a product/device to do wonderful things for little money.
However, the Chinese supplier does not want to issue a CE declaration for it, so can I?

Yes, you can, but under a few conditions listed below.

Of course, you can ignore these conditions and simply add documents to the device and start selling them, but this has its consequences and let’s start with them…

Consequences of placing a product on the market with a fake CE Declaration – realistically:

if the product will not harm people, the illegality of the CE declaration will be detected in two cases:

when the market surveillance office (in Poland, Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) downloads your product from the store for testing.

Then you will get:

ban on further sales + fine (rather large)

an order to withdraw a product already sold from the market, which means that you have to buy it back from buyers – all copies from the beginning of sale + fine (rather large)

when the buyer comes to the conclusion that there is “something wrong” with the product and submits it to the market surveillance office

Consequences as in the case when the market surveillance office (in Poland, Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) takes your product from the store for testing.

if the product will poison or harm people:

consequences from the market surveillance authority as above

+ possible charges from the prosecutor’s office

CRIMINAL CODE, CRIMES AGAINST LIFE AND HEALTH (148-162)
Art. 160
§ 1. Whoever exposes a person to an immediate danger of loss of life or serious damage to health shall be subject to the penalty of deprivation of liberty for up to 3 years.
§ 2. If the perpetrator is obliged to take care of a person exposed to danger, he or she shall be subject to the penalty of imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.
§ 3. If the perpetrator of the act specified in § 1 or 2 acts unintentionally, he or she shall be subject to a fine, restriction of liberty or imprisonment for up to one year.
§ 4. The perpetrator who voluntarily averted the impending danger shall not be subject to punishment for the offense specified in § 1-3.
§ 5. Prosecution of the crime specified in § 3 takes place at the request of the injured party.

if you want to sell the product to construction sites or plants:

the Client’s inspector will check whether all documents are present, including test results, etc.) inspectors know what to check and what to look for

if they detect the illegality of the product, they:

they will give up on the purchase

they may charge you with the costs of delaying the investment due to your fault and this can be a lot of money

How to apply the CE mark to a product?

Now a recipe will be given on how to legalize a product without non-EU papers,

i.e. CE marking Step by Step

Step1

Download user manuals or product descriptions from the supplier, (in english)

Step 2

Send it to us, saying that you want to import it.

Step 3

We will reply to you:
what documents you need to prepare and how much it costs
what tests you need to perform and how much they cost,
what certificates you need to obtain (sometimes) and how much it costs

Step 4

With this information, you will decide whether it is worth importing a given product and adapting it to EU regulations.

IMPORTANT:
as a product without the CE mark will not cross the EU border, so:
– you must import the product as a semi-finished product for further production
– you adapt the product within the EU
or
– entrust it to your supplier, who will be very happy that you spent money on it and did a lot of work

How to apply the CE mark and how much does the CE mark for electronics cost?

An example for electronics, because you often ask about it:

Electronic device (without radio modules)
– LVD directives (over 50 V) + EMC + harmonized standards
– requires tests – cost: 10,000 up to 20,000 PLN
– preparation of project documentation is from 5,000 up to 10,000 PLN

Electronic device (with one radio module, e.g. BT)
– LVD directives (above 50 V) + EMC + RED + harmonized standards
– requires EMC testing – cost: 10,000 up to 20,000 PLN
– requires RED tests – cost: 10,000 up to 20,000 PLN
– preparation of project documentation is from 10,000 up to 20,000 PLN

What is the cost of CE marking for toys? How to label toys?

Toys are also very popular, so an example for toys:

– Toys Directive 2009/48/EC + harmonized standards
– required tests – cost from 5 to 10 thousand PLN
– preparation of project documentation – cost from 5 to 10 thousand PLN
– implementation of a quality assurance system- cost from 5 to 10 thousand PLN

Remember!
Devices for doing wonderful things, for little money
– they don’t do wonderful things
– they are not cheap
Directives and standards were created to protect your health and life!