Published on: 04 August 2022
Following the UK government’s announcement of the relaxation of the new requirements for UKCA marking that was due to come into force on the 1 January 2023, it has updated its guidance for Manufacturers, Importers and Distributors of Recreational Craft, PPE (lifejackets), Pyrotechnics, EMC equipment, Radio Equipment, Gas Equipment and other areas of regulated products.
These updates offer clearer guidance on the changes announced by BEIS in June 2022 regarding adoption of the new UKCA marking requirements:
- The reduction in re-testing costs for UKCA certification, by allowing conformity assessment activities for CE marking completed by 31 December 2022 to be used by manufacturers as the basis for UKCA marking. This will reduce the immediate costs faced by manufacturers and will be valid until the expiry of their certificate or for five years (31 December 2027), whichever is sooner. This will reduce duplication and costs for businesses and by extension, consumers.
- 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.
- 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.
- Businesses can affix the UKCA marking, and 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 businesses to adjust their product design to accommodate marking changes at a convenient and cost-effective time.
Note that businesses still need to be ready to start using UKCA marking before 1 January 2023.
We urge all members which manufacture, import and distribute to read the guidance documents to fully understand these changing requirements which can be found here:
Product safety for businesses: A to Z of industry guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
