Low voltage (LVD)Directive 2014/35/EU
Directive 2014/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making available on the market of electrical equipment designed for use within certain voltage limits (recast). Applicable from 20 April 2016.
1. Importers shall place only compliant electrical equipment on the market.
2. Before placing electrical equipment on the market importers shall ensure that the appropriate conformity assessment procedure has been carried out by the manufacturer. They shall ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation, that the electrical equipment bears the CE marking and is accompanied by the required documents, and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 6(5) and (6).
Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that electrical equipment is not in conformity with the safety objectives referred to in Article 3 and set out in Annex I, he shall not place the electrical equipment on the market until it has been brought into conformity. Furthermore, where the electrical equipment presents a risk, the importer shall inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities to that effect.
3. Importers shall indicate on the electrical equipment their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the postal address at which they can be contacted or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the electrical equipment. The contact details shall be in a language easily understood by end-users and market surveillance authorities.
4. Importers shall ensure that the electrical equipment is accompanied by instructions and safety information in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and other end-users, as determined by the Member State concerned.
5. Importers shall ensure that, while electrical equipment is under their responsibility, its storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise its compliance with the safety objectives referred to in Article 3 and set out in Annex I.
6. When deemed appropriate with regard to the risks presented by electrical equipment, importers shall, 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 shall keep distributors informed of any such monitoring.
7. Importers who consider or have reason to believe that electrical equipment which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with this Directive shall immediately take the corrective measures necessary to bring that electrical equipment into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate. Furthermore, where the electrical equipment presents a risk, importers shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the electrical equipment available on the market to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken.
8. Importers shall, for 10 years after the electrical equipment has been placed on the market, keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities and ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to those authorities, upon request.
9. Importers shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation in paper or electronic form necessary to demonstrate the conformity of electrical equipment in a language which can be easily understood by that authority. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by electrical equipment which they have placed on the market.