European Union (Low Voltage Electrical Equipment) Regulations 2016.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2016
• Citation: IR SI 345/2016

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 8th July, 2016.

I, MARY MITCHELL O’CONNOR, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) (as amended by section 2 of the European Communities Act 2007 (No. 18 of 2007) and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 20141 and of giving further effect to Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 20082 , hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

General Provisions

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Low Voltage Electrical Equipment) Regulations 2016.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“authorised officer” means a person appointed under Regulation 24;

“authorised representative” means any natural or legal person established within the European Economic Area who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on his behalf in relation to specified tasks;

“CE marking” means a marking by which the manufacturer indicates that the electrical equipment is in conformity with the applicable requirements set out in European Union harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing, in accordance with Regulation 18;

“Commission” means the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission;

“competent authority” means—

(a) in the State, the authority designated as competent authority under Regulation 3, or

(b) in another Member State, any authority or body designated as competent authority by that Member State for the purposes of the Directive;

“conformity assessment” means the process demonstrating whether the safety objectives referred to in Regulation 5 and set out in Annex I to the Directive relating to electrical equipment have been fulfilled;

“contravention notice” means a notice under Regulation 26;

“Directive” means Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 20141;

“Directive 2006/95/EC” means Directive 2006/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits3 ;

“distributor” means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes electrical equipment available on the market;

“economic operator” means a manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or distributor;

“EU declaration of conformity” means the declaration of conformity provided for in Regulation 16;

“forfeiture order” means the order provided for in Regulation 25;

“harmonised standard” means harmonised standard as defined in paragraph (c) of point 1 of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No. 1025/2012 of 25 October 20124 ;

“importer” means any natural or legal person established within the European Economic Area who places electrical equipment from a third country on the market of the European Economic Area;

“making available on the market” means any supply of electrical equipment for distribution, consumption or use on the market of the European Economic Area in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;

“manufacturer” means any natural or legal person who manufactures electrical equipment or has electrical equipment designed or manufactured, and markets that electrical equipment under his name or trade mark;

“market surveillance authority” means—

(a) in the State, the authority designated as market surveillance authority under Regulation 3, or

(b) in another Member State, any authority or body designated as market surveillance authority by that Member State for the purposes of the Directive;

“measure” means, as the context requires, any enforcement action whatsoever taken under these Regulations and may include a forfeiture order, a prohibition notice, a contravention notice, or any notification thereof;

“Member State” means a state which is a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed in Oporto on 2 May 1992;

“Official Journal” means the Official Journal of the European Union;

“placing on the market” means the first making available of electrical equipment on the market of the European Economic Area;

“prohibition notice” means the notice provided for in Regulation 27;

“recall” means any measure aimed at achieving the return of electrical equipment that has already been made available to the end-user;

“Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008” means Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No. 339/932;

“technical specification” means a document that prescribes technical requirements to be fulfilled by electrical equipment;

“Union harmonisation legislation” means any European Union legislation harmonising the conditions for the marketing of products;

“withdrawal” means any measure aimed at preventing electrical equipment in the supply chain from being made available on the market.

(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.

(3) References to the repealed Directive 2006/95/EC in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the State shall be construed as references to this Directive.

Designation of competent authority and market surveillance authority

3. For the purposes of the Directive and these Regulations the Commission is designated as—

(a) the market surveillance authority in the State, and

(b) the competent authority in the State.

Application

4. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations apply to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000 V for alternating current and between 75 and 1500 V for direct current.

(2) These Regulations do not apply to electrical equipment and phenomena listed in Annex II to the Directive.

Making available on the market and safety objectives

5. A person shall not make available on the market any electrical equipment unless—

(a) it has been constructed in accordance with good engineering practice in safety matters that apply in the European Union, including the safety objectives specified in Annex I to the Directive, and

(b) it does not endanger the health and safety of persons and domestic animals, or property, when properly installed and maintained and used in applications for which it was made.

Supply of electricity

6. An electricity supply body shall not impose stricter safety requirements than the safety objectives referred to in Regulation 5 and set out in Annex I to the Directive for connection to the grid, or for the supply of electricity to users of electrical equipment.

PART 2

Obligations of Economic Operators

Obligations of manufacturers

7. A manufacturer shall—

(a) ensure that electrical equipment placed on the market by the manufacturer has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the safety objectives referred to in Regulation 5 and set out in Annex I to the Directive,

(b) draw up the technical documentation referred to in Annex III to the Directive and carry out the conformity assessment procedure referred to in Annex III to the Directive or have it carried out,

(c) in a case where compliance of the electrical equipment with the safety objectives referred to in Regulation 5 and set out in Annex I to the Directive has been demonstrated by the conformity assessment procedure carried out under paragraph (b)—

(i) draw up an EU declaration of conformity in accordance with Regulation 16, and

(ii) affix a CE marking to the electrical equipment in accordance with Regulation 18 and Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008,

(d) retain the technical documentation referred to in Annex III to the Directive and the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years after the electrical equipment has been placed on the market,

(e) ensure that procedures are in place for series production to remain in conformity with these Regulations and that changes in product design or characteristics and changes in the harmonised standards referred to in Regulation 13 the international or national standards referred to in Regulations 14 and 15, or in other technical specifications by reference to which conformity of electrical equipment is declared, are adequately taken into account,

(f) in a case where it is deemed appropriate with regard to the risks presented by electrical equipment and in order to protect the health and safety of consumers, carry out sample testing of electrical equipment made available on the market, investigate and, if necessary, keep a register of complaints, of non-conforming electrical equipment and electrical equipment recalls, and keep distributors informed of any such monitoring,

(g) ensure that electrical equipment which the manufacturer has placed on the market bears a type, batch or serial number or other element allowing its identification, or, where the size or nature of the electrical equipment does not allow it, that the required information is provided on its packaging or in a document accompanying the electrical equipment,

(h) indicate on the electrical equipment, in a language easily understood by end-users and the market surveillance authorities, the manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the postal address at which the manufacturer can be contacted, which address shall indicate a single point of contact or, where it is not possible to do so on...