Commission Decision of 16 December 2009 laying down guidelines for the management of the Community Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ established under Article 12 and of the notification procedure established under Article 11 of Directive 2001/95/EC (the General Product Safety Directive) (notified under document C(2009) 9843) (2010/15/EU) (repealed)

3.2. Content of notifications

3.2.1. Completeness of data

Notifications should be as complete as possible. The standard notification form is provided in Appendix 1 to the Guidelines. All fields of the notification form should be completed with the required data. Where the required information is not available when a notification is submitted, this is clearly indicated and explained on the form by the notifying Member State. Once the missing information becomes available, the notifying Member State updates its notification. The updated notification is examined by the Commission before being validated and distributed through the system.

RAPEX Contact Points provide all national authorities that participate in the RAPEX network with instructions on the scope of data required to complete the standard notification form. This helps to ensure that the information provided by these authorities to the RAPEX Contact Point is correct and complete.

Member States should observe the established deadlines and not delay a RAPEX notification on a product posing a very serious or life-threatening risk to the health and safety of consumers because part of the information required by the Guidelines is not yet available.

Before submitting a notification, the Contact Point checks (to avoid any unnecessary duplication) that the product concerned has not already been notified through the application by another Member State. If the product has already been notified, rather than creating a new notification, the Contact Point submits a reaction to the existing notification and provides any additional information that may be relevant for authorities in other Member States, such as additional vehicle identification numbers, a detailed list of importers and distributors, additional test reports, etc.

3.2.2. Scope of data

Notifications sent to the Commission through RAPEX include the following types of data:

• Information enabling the notified product to be identified, i.e. product category, product name, brand, model and/or type number, barcode, batch or serial number, customs code, description of the product and its packaging accompanied by pictures showing the product, its packaging and labels. Detailed and accurate product identification is a key element for market surveillance and enforcement, as it allows national authorities to identify the notified product, to distinguish it from other products of the same or similar type or category that are available on the market and to find it on the market and take or agree on appropriate measures.

• Information establishing the product’s origin, i.e. country of origin, name, address and contact details, such as telephone number and e-mail address, of a manufacturer and exporters. In particular, Member States provide all available information on manufacturers and exporters located in third countries that cooperate closely with the EU on product safety. The Commission thus regularly informs the RAPEX Contact Points of recent developments in this area. The following documents also are to be attached to the form where available: copies of orders, sales contracts, invoices, shipping documents, customs declarations, etc. Detailed information on third country producers allows the Commission to promote more effective enforcement in those countries and helps to reduce the number of dangerous consumer products exported into the EU.

• Information on the safety requirements applicable to the notified product, including the reference number and name of the applicable legislation and standards.

• A risk description of the notified product, including a description of the results of laboratory or visual tests, test reports and certificates proving non-compliance of the notified product with the safety requirements, a complete risk assessment with conclusions and information on known accidents or incidents.

• Information on the supply chains of the notified product in the Member States, and, in particular, information on the countries of destination, plus information on importers, and also, if available, on distributors of the notified product.

• Information on measures taken, in particular, the type (obligatory or voluntary), category (e.g. withdrawal from the market, recall from consumers), scope (e.g. country-wide, local), date of entry into force and duration (e.g. unlimited, temporary).

• Indication of whether a notification, part of it and/or attachment(s) are covered by confidentiality. Requests for confidentiality are always accompanied by a justification clearly stating the reasons for such a request.

Member States are encouraged to obtain and provide information on the supply chains of the notified product in non-EU countries that cooperate closely with the EU on product safety.

3.2.3. Updating of data

The notifying Member State informs the Commission (as soon as possible and not later than by the deadlines specified in Appendix 3 to the Guidelines) of any developments that require changes to a notification transmitted through the RAPEX application. In particular, Member States inform the Commission of any changes (e.g. following a ruling by a court during an appeal procedure) to the status of the notified measures, to the risk assessment and to new decisions regarding confidentiality.

The Commission examines the information provided by the notifying Member State and updates the information concerned in the RAPEX application and on the RAPEX website, where necessary.

3.2.4. Responsibility for the information transmitted

Point 10 of Annex II to the GPSD states that ‘Responsibility for the information provided lies with the notifying Member State’.

The RAPEX Contact Point of the notifying Member State and the national authority responsible ensure that the data provided through RAPEX, especially product and risk descriptions, are accurate so as to avoid any confusion with similar products of the same category or type that are available on the EU market.

The RAPEX Contact Point and the authority involved in the notification procedure (e.g. by performing the risk assessment of the notified product or by providing information on distribution channels) take responsibility for the information provided through RAPEX. The RAPEX Contact Point checks and validates all notifications received from the authorities responsible before transmitting them to the Commission.

Any action taken by the Commission, such as examining notifications, validating and distributing them through the RAPEX application and publishing them on the RAPEX website, does not imply any assumption of responsibility for the information transmitted, which remains with the notifying Member State.