Are there any product labelling requirements to consider due to Brexit?
Since Brexit, the UK has its own product safety legislation. However, what was previously the EU Single Market legislation, has been adopted as the UK domestic product safety legislation. This means that the product safety rules in the UK have remained the same and will remain the same until new legislation is adopted.
The main terminology change that you need to know about is that for the CE mark:
EU: CE mark
UK: UKCA mark
Apart from the terminology, there are no changes to the mark itself.
What UK businesses selling to the EU need to know
The address of the economic operator should be on the product or its packaging. Non-EU businesses must have an EU-based economic operator, which can be an importer or an authorised representative.
What EU businesses selling to the UK need to know
Products must comply with UKCA requirements and have UKCA marking.
The address of a UK-based economic operator should be on the product or its packaging. This operator can be an importer, but it cannot be solely an authorised representative. Only an AR is not sufficient.
Opting for a combination of an importer and an AR can be beneficial for the following reasons:
- Manufacturers will not have to share their technical documentation with their importer in the event of an UK-MSA action if they have an AR.
- Importers may be reluctant to deal with UK-MSA actions.
- Importers may prefer trading with manufacturers that have an appointed AR who deals with regulatory responsibilities, since this is not an area of expertise for most importers.
