We have been contacted by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to confirm they announced plans to introduce measures to further support those businesses transitioning to UKCA marking.
BEIS have acknowledged that many businesses face challenges in adapting to the new UK goods regulatory regime and have announced they ‘want to be pragmatic and support businesses where they can’.
BEIS will also be hosting a webinar specifically regarding these measures on June 29, 2022. They will be running two sessions on the day: 11.00 am (here) and 3.00pm (here).
The measures they are introducing are as follows:
- To reduce re-testing costs for UKCA certification, by allowing conformity assessment activities for CE marking completed by the 31 December 2022 to be used by manufacturers as the basis for applying a UKCA marking. This will reduce the immediate costs faced by manufacturers and will be valid until the expiry of their certificate or for 5 years (31 December 2027), whichever is sooner. This will reduce duplication and costs for businesses and by extension, consumers.
- To make it clear there is no need to re-test existing imported stock, as these products will be considered already placed on the market In Great Britain (GB). This will prevent the costly, and unnecessary re-labelling of existing stock for businesses.
- To also make it clear that spare parts that repair, replace or maintain goods already on the GB market can meet the same requirements that were in place at the time the original product or system was placed on the GB market. This will allow products and goods requiring spare parts to continue to be maintained.
- To continue to allow businesses to affix the UKCA marking, and to include importer information for products from EEA countries (and in some cases Switzerland), on an accompanying document or label until 31 December 2025. This will allow business to adjust their product design to accommodate marking changes at a convenient and cost-effective time.
The statement continues;
‘We are fully committed to supporting industry transition to the UKCA regime, and these measures have been designed to reduce compliance burdens and prevent costs that could be passed on to consumers. We will continue to actively engage with businesses and conformity assessment bodies to provide information on these measures and answer any questions to ensure businesses are ready to start using UKCA marking before 31 December 2022. We have published guidance and will shortly bring forward legislation where required to enable these changes’.
