The Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011

Distributors

Duty to act with due care and prohibitions on making toys available on the market

33.—(1) A distributor must act with due care in relation to the compliance of a toy which the distributor intends to make available on the market with the provisions of these Regulations.

(2) A distributor must not make a toy available on the market if the distributor has reason to believe that the toy will not comply with the essential safety requirements during its foreseeable and normal period of use.

(3) A distributor must not make a toy available on the market unless the distributor has—

(a) verified that the manufacturer has done all of the following things in relation to the toy—

(i) affixed the CE marking in accordance with regulation 18;

(ii) complied with regulation 19 (information identifying toy and manufacturer); and

(iii) complied with regulation 20 (instructions for use, safety information and warnings);

(b) verified that any importer has complied with regulation 27 (information identifying importer) in relation to the toy; and

(c) complied with regulation 34 (storage or transport of toys) in relation to the toy.

Storage or transport of toys under distributor’s responsibility

34.  A distributor must ensure that, while a toy is under the distributor’s responsibility, the conditions in which it is stored or transported will not jeopardise the toy’s compliance with the essential safety requirements during its foreseeable and normal period of use.

Non-compliant toys and toys presenting a risk

35.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies if a distributor has reason to believe that a toy which the distributor was intending to make available on the market—

(a) will not comply with the essential safety requirements during its foreseeable and normal period of use; and

(b) presents a risk.

(2) The distributor must inform the following of the risk presented by the toy—

(a) the importer (if there is one);

(b) the manufacturer (if there is no importer); and

(c) the relevant enforcement authority.

(3) A distributor who has made a toy available on the market and has reason to believe that any provision of these Regulations has not been complied with in relation to the toy must immediately—

(a) take the corrective measures which are necessary to ensure that the provision is complied with in relation to the toy, or withdraw or recall the toy, if appropriate; and

(b) where the toy presents a risk, provide the relevant enforcement authority with information about the following matters.

(4) The matters are—

(a) the risk presented by the toy;

(b) the non-compliance in question; and

(c) any corrective measures taken in relation to the toy in accordance with paragraph (3)(a).

(5) An enforcement authority may request a distributor who has made a toy available on the market to cooperate with it in relation to any action taken or to be taken to eliminate any risk posed by the toy.

(6) The request must be accompanied by the reasons for making the request.

(7) The distributor must comply with the request.

Duty to provide information

36.—(1) An enforcement authority may request a distributor to provide, within such period as the authority may specify, any information or documents within the distributor’s knowledge or possession which demonstrate that the toy will satisfy the essential safety requirements during its foreseeable and normal period of use.

(2) A request must be accompanied by the reasons for making the request.

(3) The distributor must comply with the request.

(4) A request for information or documents may not be made more than 10 years after the day on which the toy is placed on the market.

Duty in certain circumstances to comply with manufacturers’ duties in place of distributors’ duties

37.—(1) This regulation applies where a distributor—

(a) places a toy on the market under the distributor’s name or trademark; or

(b) modifies a toy already placed on the market in such a way that compliance with the essential safety requirements may be affected.

(2) The distributor must comply with all of the duties imposed by these Regulations on a manufacturer, and in such a case, a reference to the manufacturer in these Regulations is to be taken as being a reference to the distributor.

(3) Such a distributor is not required to comply with the duties imposed by these Regulations on distributors.