Selling CE marked construction products
In the Union product legislation, manufacturer usually refers to a company operating within the EU, but the manufacturer’s duties laid down in the Construction Products Regulation apply to a manufacturer operating in any country.
If the manufacturer of a construction product is from outside the EU, the economic operator who first places the product on the European single market is obligated to ensure that the product complies with the European requirements. The economic operator may be an authorised representative in the EU, an importer or a fulfilment service provider. A seller of construction products (distributor) also has statutory responsibilities and obligations.
An authorised representative is a natural person or company that has a written mandate from the manufacturer to act on the manufacturer’s behalf in relation to specified tasks.
An importer is a natural person or company who places a product from outside the EU on the market.
A fulfilment service provider is a natural person or company who provides, in the course of commercial activity, at least two of the following services: storage, packaging, labelling with address and sending without owning the products being processed.
A distributor is a natural person or company included in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a construction product available on the market.
“Making available on the market” refers to supplying a construction product for distribution or use on the EU market in the course of commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge.
“Placing on the market” refers to making a construction product available on the EU market for the first time.