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News Release from: Paramount Compliance Services | Subject: Compliance services
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 20 January 2004
The importance of conformity
Any manufacturer or representative that has a product which is required to adhere to a EU directive will need to make a legal declaration of conformity.
Declarations of conformity are a mandatory requirement Any manufacturer or representative that has a product which is required to adhere to a EU directive will need to make a legal declaration of conformity
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 1 Sep 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The declaration of conformity is the legal statement, signed by or on behalf of the manufacturer, to certify that the products described comply with the stated directives.
The manufacturer or authorised representative established within the community is required to sign it and affix the CE mark to each product.
Remember, the person signing the declaration of conformity does so in an official capacity on behalf of the company.
In the case of some directives, there is a requirement to supply a copy of the declaration of conformity with the product.
The declaration of conformity should contain such information as: the product identification name and number; the European directives covered; the standards used to verify compliance with the directives (if the manufacturer has chosen to apply specific standards); the signature on behalf of the manufacturer or the authorised representative and the identity of that signatory; and the manufacturer's name and address.
If a manufacturer does not have a representative in the EU, the declaration of conformity should be issued to the importer.
The declaration of conformity need only be written in English.
It is important when reviewing the directives to address all essential requirements applicable to a product.
Declarations of conformity are required to be amended as applicable standards are amended, replaced or withdrawn.
Any additional requirements called up under amended or replacement standards must be addressed prior to amending and re-issuing the declaration of conformity.
A recent example was the withdrawal of the heavy industrial generic EMC standard, EN50082-2 in April 2002.
This was replaced by EN61000-6-2.
The declaration of conformity should be readily available for presentation to enforcement authorities as this is often the first document requested, should the compliance of the product be challenged.
Paramount Compliance Services can draft any declaration of conformity, making sure that all essential requirements have been included.
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