Distributors
Duty to act with due care and prohibition on making EEE available on the market
29.—(1) When making EEE available on the market, a distributor must act with due care in relation to the requirements applicable, in particular by verifying that—
(a)the EEE bears the CE marking;
(b)the EEE is accompanied by the required documents in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and other end-users in the Member State in which the EEE is to be made available on the market;
(c)the manufacturer has complied with regulation 18 (information identifying EEE and manufacturer);
(d)the importer has complied with regulation 24 (information identifying importers).
(2) A distributor must not make EEE available on the market if the distributor has reason to believe that the EEE does not comply with the requirements of regulation 3.
Non-compliant EEE
30.—(1) If a distributor has reason to believe that EEE which the distributor was intending to make available on the market does not comply with the requirements of regulation 3, the distributor must inform the following to that effect—
(a)the importer (if there is one);
(b)the manufacturer (if there is no importer); and
(c)the market surveillance authority.
(2) A distributor who has reason to believe that EEE which the distributor has made available on the market is not in conformity with these Regulations must—
(a)take the corrective measures which are necessary to ensure that the provision is complied with in relation to the EEE, withdraw the EEE or recall it, if appropriate; and
(b)immediately provide the market surveillance authority and the competent national authorities of any other member States in which they made the EEE available with information about the non-compliance and any corrective measures taken under sub-paragraph (a).
Co-operation with the authorities
31.—(1) The market surveillance authority may request a distributor who has made EEE available on the market to—
(a)provide it within such period as the authority may specify with all the information and documentation within the distributor’s knowledge or possession which demonstrate that the provisions of these Regulations have been complied with in relation to the EEE; and
(b)co-operate with that authority on any action taken or to be taken to ensure that the provisions of these Regulations are complied with in relation to the EEE.
(2) A request under paragraph (1)(a) must be accompanied by the reasons for making the request.
(3) The distributor must comply with a request under paragraph (1).
(4) A request for information or documents may not be made more than 10 years after the day on which the EEE is placed on the market.
Duty in certain circumstances to comply with manufacturers’ duties in place of distributors’ duties
32. A distributor who modifies EEE already placed on the market in such a way that compliance with the requirements of regulation 3 may be affected must comply with all of the duties imposed by these Regulations on manufacturers, and in such a case, a reference to the manufacturer in these Regulations is to be taken as being a reference to the distributor.