Importers

Article 13 of the Construction Products Regulation describes your tasks and obligations as an importer when you market and sell construction products. Read the provisions of Article 13 here:

1. Importers shall place on the Union market only construction products which are compliant with the applicable requirements of this Regulation.
2. Before placing a construction product on the market, importers shall ensure that the assessment and the verification of constancy of performance has been carried out by the manufacturer. They shall ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 11(1) and the declaration of performance in accordance with Articles 4 and 6. They shall also ensure that the product, where required, bears the CE marking, that the product is accompanied by the required documents and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 11(4) and (5).
   
   Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that the construction product is not in conformity with the declaration of performance or not in compliance with other applicable requirements in this Regulation, the importer shall not place the construction product on the market until it conforms to the accompanying declaration of performance and it complies with the other applicable requirements in this Regulation or until the declaration of performance is corrected. Furthermore, where the construction product presents a risk, the importer shall inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities thereof.
3. Importers shall indicate on the construction product or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the product their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and their contact address.
4. Importers shall ensure that, when making a construction product available on the market, the product is accompanied by instructions and safety information in a language determined by the Member State concerned which can be easily understood by users.
5. Importers shall ensure that, while a construction product is under their responsibility, storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise its conformity with the declaration of performance and compliance with other applicable requirements in this Regulation.
6. Importers shall, when deemed appropriate with regard to ensuring the accuracy, reliability and stability of the declared performance of a construction product, carry out sample testing of construction products placed or made available on the market, investigate, and, if necessary, keep a register of complaints, of non-conforming products and of product recalls, and shall keep distributors informed of any such monitoring.
7. Importers who consider or have reason to believe that a construction product which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with the declaration of performance or not in compliance with other applicable requirements in this Regulation, shall immediately take the necessary corrective measures to bring that construction product into conformity, or, where appropriate, to withdraw or recall it. Furthermore, where the product presents a risk, importers shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the construction product available thereof, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken.
8. Importers shall, for the period referred to in Article 11(2), keep a copy of the declaration of performance at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities and ensure that the technical documentation is made available to those authorities, upon request.
9. Importers shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the construction product with the declaration of performance and compliance with other applicable requirements in this Regulation, in a language which can be easily understood by that authority. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by construction products which they have placed on the market.