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CHAPTER 3 CONFORMITY OF THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT

Article 12Presumption of conformity on the basis of harmonised standards

Electrical equipment which is in conformity with harmonised standards or parts thereof the references of which have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union shall be presumed to be in conformity with the safety objectives referred to in Article 3 and set out in Annex I covered by those standards or parts thereof.

Article 13Presumption of conformity on the basis of international standards

1.Where harmonised standards referred to in Article 12 have not been drawn up and published, the Member States shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that, for the purposes of making available on the market or free movement as referred to in Articles 3 and 4 respectively, their competent authorities shall also regard as complying with the safety objectives referred to in Article 3 and set out in Annex I electrical equipment which complies with the safety provisions of the international standards set out by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in respect of which the publication procedure laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article has been applied.

2.The safety provisions referred to in paragraph 1 shall be notified to the Member States by the Commission. The Commission, after consulting the Member States, shall state the safety provisions and in particular the variants thereof which it recommends to be published.

3.The Member States shall inform the Commission within a period of three months of any objections they may have to the safety provisions notified in accordance with paragraph 2, stating the safety grounds on account of which the provisions should not be recognised.

For purposes of information the references of the safety provisions against which no objection has been raised shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 14Presumption of conformity on the basis of national standards

Where harmonised standards referred to in Article 12 have not been drawn up and published and international standards referred to in Article 13 have not been published, the Member States shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that, for the purpose of making available on the market or free movement as referred to in Articles 3 and 4 respectively, their competent authorities shall also regard as complying with the safety objectives referred to in Article 3 and set out in Annex I electrical equipment manufactured in accordance with the safety provisions of the standards in force in the Member State of manufacture, if it ensures a safety level equivalent to that required in their own territory.

Article 15EU declaration of conformity

1.The EU declaration of conformity shall state that the fulfilment of the safety objectives referred to in Article 3 and set out in Annex I has been demonstrated.

2.The EU declaration of conformity shall have the model structure set out in Annex IV, shall contain the elements specified in Module A as set out in Annex III and shall be continuously updated. It shall be translated into the language or languages required by the Member State in which the electrical equipment is placed or made available on the market.

3.Where electrical equipment is subject to more than one Union act requiring an EU declaration of conformity, a single EU declaration of conformity shall be drawn up in respect of all such Union acts. That declaration shall contain the identification of the Union acts concerned including their publication references.

4.By drawing up the EU declaration of conformity, the manufacturer shall assume responsibility for the compliance of the electrical equipment with the requirements laid down in this Directive.

Article 16General principles of the CE marking

The CE marking shall be subject to the general principles set out in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008.

Article 17Rules and conditions for affixing the CE marking

1.The CE marking shall be affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the electrical equipment or to its data plate. Where that is not possible or not warranted on account of the nature of the electrical equipment, it shall be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents.

2.The CE marking shall be affixed before the electrical equipment is placed on the market.

3.Member States shall build upon existing mechanisms to ensure correct application of the regime governing the CE marking and shall take appropriate action in the event of improper use of that marking.