Continuity of market access for your hazardous location products through the Brexit transition

01 November 2020

Intertek understands the complexity of the impending regulatory market changes which Britain’s exit from the EU will bring for hazardous location products. We can support your ATEX – UKCA marking and IECEx requirements by ensuring continued market access for your products to Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Europe from 1 January 2021 and beyond.

The Brexit transition period exit date is set for 31 December 2020, at which point the United Kingdom (UK) will leave the European Union (EU) Single Market and Customs Union. The UK Government and the European Commission are engaged in free trade negotiations which will determine if a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) is signed, or the United Kingdom exits with no agreement in place.

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The outcome of these negotiations will have an impact on product conformity assessment, product marking and market access. There will either be an agreement in place which allows the CE Mark to be used in both the EU and UK, or an alternative set of arrangements will apply from 1 January 2021.

The UK Government has said that it will continue to recognise the CE Mark for a limited time for goods that are placed on the GB market, in the event that the UK Government and the EU fail to reach a CFTA (see below). However the EU has said it will cease to recognise CE Marks issued by UK-based Notified Bodies from 31st December 2020. This means the EU will continue to require products to be CE marked to gain entry for sale in mainland Europe, on the basis that the mark is issued by an EU-based Notified Body.

On 1st September 2020, the UK Government issued public notices related to the new UK market regulatory framework following the end of the transition period. We have provided a summary of the changes below:

If the UK Government and EU fail to reach a CFTA, to allow businesses time to adjust to a new set of requirements, CE marking will continue to be recognised in the Great Britain (GB) market (England, Scotland and Wales) until 1st January 2022 for a majority of goods. After this date, CE marking will not be accepted and the new UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking will apply to goods being placed on the market in Great Britain. The UKCA marking covers most goods which were previously subject to the CE marking. For the Northern Ireland (NI) market, special marking rules (CE or CE /UK(NI)) will apply with a different transition timeline.

How Intertek can support you now and beyond the UK’s exit from the EU

Intertek has taken the necessary steps to ensure that customers have continuity of Notified Body services regardless of the outcome following the end of the transition period. Intertek has accredited Notified Bodies based in the EU as well as in the UK and can provide you with market access solutions to export goods to:

• The EU market – if the CE marking on your product was issued by an EU-recognised Notified Body or you have self-declared the conformity of your product against the regulations, no further action is needed

• The GB market – if your existing product is already CE marked, it will continue to be accepted until 1st January 2022. However for new products yet to be sold in Great Britain, UKCA marking will need to be used immediately after 1st January 2021

• NI market – existing and future new products placed on to the NI market that are CE or CE/UK(NI) marked will be accepted until 1st January 2023

If an agreement is reached between the UK Government and EU on a new trading relationship, both CE and UKCA marks will be recognised and accepted by EU and UK authorities.

Contact Intertek's experts today to discuss how they can support you

For customers seeking to minimise their certification risks and who are not already working with an EU Notified Body, Intertek can support transitioning customers to EU Notified Bodies to ensure continuity of market access, whatever the outcome of the negotiations.