Terms of sale — CE Authorized Representative service

These terms supplement the general terms of the service. If there is a conflict, these terms prevail for the “CE Authorized Representative” service (the “CE Service”). The signed written mandate remains the controlling document for the appointed entity, products, applicable legislation and accepted tasks.

1. Purpose and scope

The CE Service allows a manufacturer to appoint a natural or legal person established in the European Union to perform, on its behalf, the tasks expressly defined in a written mandate under the applicable Union harmonisation legislation. The appointment covers only the expressly accepted products, models, SKUs, markets, legislation and versions.

1.1 Appointed entity

The exact entity, its address, country of establishment and contact details are stated in the signed mandate. Another entity may be substituted only after notifying the manufacturer and issuing a new mandate or amendment that complies with applicable rules.

2. Application and activation

2.1 Prior review

Every application is subject to regulatory, documentary, KYC/KYB and risk review. The Representative may request additional material, restrict the scope, propose special conditions or refuse the application. An application, quote or payment alone does not constitute acceptance of the mandate.

2.2 Mandate, plan and payment

The service becomes active only when the application is accepted, the Representative is assigned, the mandate is signed by the parties and the corresponding plan is paid and active. The term and expiry date follow the monthly, annual or custom cycle stated in the mandate and plan. Download of the signed mandate may remain unavailable until the required payment is confirmed.

3. Covered products and legislation

Scope is determined product by product. It depends in particular on category, intended use, characteristics, markets, applicable CE legislation, the conformity-assessment procedure, standards used and, where relevant, notified-body involvement. The CE Service does not automatically extend to a new variant, SKU, destination or amended legislation.

Products outside the scope of CE marking, specialist regimes not expressly accepted and categories excluded by the Representative’s internal procedures or insurance are outside scope. Medical devices, in-vitro diagnostic devices and construction products require separate specialist acceptance.

4. Representative’s tasks

Within the limits of the mandate and applicable legislation, tasks may include:

1. verifying that the EU declaration of conformity or performance and technical documentation have been drawn up where required;
2. keeping declarations available to authorities and ensuring that technical documentation can be supplied to them;
3. responding to reasoned authority requests and supplying the necessary information in the required language;
4. cooperating on measures to eliminate or reduce risks and informing the manufacturer of received requests or non-compliance;
5. providing a copy of the mandate to market-surveillance authorities upon request;
6. performing other administrative tasks expressly stated in the mandate and permitted by the applicable sector legislation.

5. Manufacturer’s obligations

The manufacturer remains responsible for conformity. In particular, it must:

1. identify all legislation and requirements applicable to the product;
2. carry out or arrange the required conformity assessment and testing;
3. create, maintain and update the technical documentation and risk assessment;
4. draw up and sign the EU declaration of conformity, correctly affix CE marking and, where required, the notified-body number;
5. provide complete, accurate, authentic and current information, and promptly report every change, complaint, non-compliance or incident;
6. cooperate with corrective action and pay fees within the agreed deadlines.

6. Limits of representation

The Representative is not a notified body, laboratory or certification authority. It does not issue CE certificates and does not guarantee that a product is compliant or will be accepted by an authority or marketplace. It does not become the manufacturer, customs importer, distributor or owner of the products solely because of the mandate.

Obligations belonging to the manufacturer, including compliant design and manufacture and the initial preparation of technical documentation where legislation prohibits delegation, cannot be transferred to the Representative.

7. Documents and retention

The manufacturer supplies documents in the requested format and languages. Retention depends on each sector act and product; it is often ten years after placement on the market, but the exact period stated in the mandate prevails. Statutory retention and cooperation duties survive termination for the applicable period.

8. Fees and additional costs

The price, billing cycle, product allowance and included services are stated in the quote, private plan or mandate. Out-of-scope work, translations, testing, notified bodies, external advice, travel, recalls, destruction, formalities or exceptional authority responses may be quoted separately.

9. Suspension and termination

The Representative or service administrator may suspend or terminate the mandate for non-payment, missing or false documents, misleading information, an unaccepted product, an undisclosed change, serious risk, authority request, loss of insurance or breach of mandate. In an emergency, suspension may be immediate. The manufacturer is notified using the available contact details.

When the mandate ends, the manufacturer must immediately stop using the Representative’s name, address and references on products, packaging, documents and online offers, and arrange a replacement where necessary. Termination does not regularise products already placed on the market.

10. Incidents and authorities

The manufacturer must immediately inform the Representative of every authority request, accident, risk, significant complaint, corrective measure, withdrawal or recall concerning a covered product. It provides the people, documents and resources needed to respond on time. The Representative may supply authorities with information required by law or the mandate.

11. Liability

The manufacturer is responsible for the product, its design, manufacture, documentation and supplied information. Subject to mandatory law, the Representative’s liability is limited to expressly accepted tasks and the cap stated in the mandate. It is not liable for inherent defects, inaccurate or incomplete documents, acts of the manufacturer or third parties, or indirect loss.

12. Confidentiality and data

Business information, KYC/KYB data, technical documents and reports are processed to review and perform the mandate, bill the service, manage risks and comply with legal or authority requirements. They are protected and retained for the applicable contractual and regulatory periods.

13. Governing law and jurisdiction

The governing law and competent courts are those stated in the signed mandate, subject to applicable mandatory rules. Where several mandates cover different entities, products or legislation, this determination is made separately for each one.