Products subject to mandatory CE marking must in future bear a UKCA mark when imported into the United Kingdom. The date for this marking was initially set at January 1, 2022 as part of the BREXIT changes. On August 24, 2021, the BEIS (Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy) published a new date for this: January 1, 2023.
To give companies time to adapt, CE-marked goods that fall within the scope of these guidelines and meet EU requirements (provided they are consistent with UK requirements) can continue to be placed on the UK market until January 1, 2023, provided the EU and UK requirements remain the same. This also applies to goods that have been tested by an EU notified body.
From January 1, 2023, the UKCA mark must be used to place goods on the UK market.
It should be noted that this postponement will only become binding upon publication as a so-called "Statutory Instrument under section 8 of the European Union Withdrawal Act". However, this publication will only take place in the course of the year, so that a certain degree of legal uncertainty remains. Furthermore, this does not change the fact that manufacturers and importers must fulfill their other legal obligations. For example, manufacturers must check whether there is an importer in their supply chain. If not, they will need an authorized representative in the UK. Importers must also familiarize themselves with the legislation that applies to them.
More information will be shared by our UKCA experts at a BEIS webinar on September 2, 2021. We will also cover these latest developments at our 9th conference on September 9, 2021 (in german) and in our special UKCA webinar on September 16, 2021 (in german as well).
We will inform you about all further conditions and implications of the new UKCA labeling. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
