Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

2 . 2 . 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 28 / 35

Proposal for a Council Decision amending Decision 90 / 683 / EEC concerning the modules for the
various phases of the conformity assessment procedures, supplementing it with provisions relating

to the arrangements for affixing and using the CE conformity marking .

( 93 / C 28 / 03 )

COM(92 ) 499 final — SYN 336 B

( Submitted by the Commission on 7 December 1992 pursuant to Article 149 ( 3 ) of the EEC

Treaty )

Article 1

The following recitals are inserted into
Decision 90 / 683 / EEC ('):

' Whereas in its Resolution of 21 December 1989 on a

global approach to conformity assessment the
Council approved as a guiding principle the adoption
of common rules on the use of the CE marking ;

Whereas in its Decision of 13 December 1990

concerning the modules for the various phases of the
conformity assessment procedures which are intended
to be used in the technical harmonization Directives

( 90 / 683 / EEC ) ( 2 ) the Council laid down that the
industrial products covered by the said directives can
be placed on the market only after the manufacturer
has affixed the CE marking to them ;

Whereas a single CE marking should be used in order
to facilitate controls on the Community market by
inspectors and to clarify the obligations of economic
operators in respect of marking under the various
Community regulations ;

Whereas the aim of the CE marking is to symbolize the
conformity of a product with the levels of protection of
collective interests imposed by the total harmonization
directives and to indicate that the economic operator
has undergone all the evaluation procedures laid down
by Community law in respect of his product .';

OJ No C 10, 16 . 1 . 1990, p . 1 .

( 2 ) OJ No L 380, 31 . 12 . 1990, p . 13 .

Article 2

The sole Article is amended to read as follows :

' Sole Article

1 . The procedures for conformity assessment which
are to be used in the technical harmonization Directives

relating to the marketing of industrial products will be
chosen from among the modules listed in the Annex

and in accordance with the criteria set out in this

Decision and in the general guidelines in the Annex .

These procedures may only depart from the modules
when the specific circumstances of a particular sector
or directive so warrant . Such departures from the
modules must be limited in extent and must be

explicitly justified in the relevant directive .

2 . This Decision lays down rules for affixing the CE
conformity marking provided for in Community
legislation concerning the design, manufacture, placing
on the market, entry into service or use of industrial
products .

3 . The Commission will report periodically on the
functioning of this Decision, and on whether
conformity assessment procedures are working
satisfactorily or need to be modified .'.

Article 3

The Annex is amended as follows :

1 . The title of the general guidelines is amended to read
as follows :

' CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES IN THE

TECHNICAL HARMONIZATION DIRECTIVES AND CE

MARKING '

I. GENERAL GUIDELINES

A. The principal guidelines for the use of
conformity assessment procedures in technical
harmonization directives are the following :

( a ) Text unchanged

( b )

( c )

( n )

2 . The following provisions are inserted into the general
guidelines contained in the Annex :

' B. The principal guidelines for the affixing and
use of the CE marking are the following :

chosen from among the modules listed in the Annex ( a ) The CE marking symbolizes conformity

with all the obligations incumbent on
(•) OJ No L 380, 31 . 12 . 1990, p . 13 . manufactures concerning the product by

No C 28 / 36 Official Journal of the European Communities 2 . 2 . 93

virtue of the Community directives
providing for its affixing .

Thus, such conformity is not limited
to the essential requirements relating
to safety, public health, consumer
protection, etc ., as certain directives may
impose specific obligations not necessarily
forming part of the essential
requirements .

( b ) The CE marking affixed to industrial
products symbolizes the fact that the
natural or legal person having affixed or
been responsible for the affixing of the
said marking has verified that the product
conforms to all the Community total
harmonization provisions which apply
to it and has been the subject of
the appropriate conformity evaluation
procedures .

( c ) Where the industrial products are subject
to other Directives concerning other
aspects and which also provide for the
affixing of the CE marking, the latter
shall indicate that the products also fulfil
the provisions of those other Directives .

However, should one or more of these
Directives allow the manufacturer, during
a transitional period, to choose which
arrangements to apply, the CE marking
shall indicate that the products fulfil the
provisions only of those Directives applied
by the manufacturer .

In this case, the particulars of these
Directives, as published in the Official
Journal of the European Communities,

must be given in the documents, notices
or instructions accompanying the
products or, where appropriate, on the
data plate .

( d ) 1 . The CE conformity marking shall
consist of the initials " CE " taking the
following form :

If the marking is reduced or enlarged
the proportions given in the above
graduated drawing must be
respected .

nature of the product, the CE
marking shall be affixed to the
packaging, if any, and to the
accompanying documents where the
directive concerned provides for such
documents .

4 . The CE marking shall be affixed
visibly, legibly and indelibly .

Any industrial product covered by the
directives following the global approach
must bear the CE marking, save where
the specific Directives provide otherwise ;
such exceptions shall constitute
derogations not from the marking
requirement but from the administrative
procedures for conformity evaluation,
which may in certain cases be considered
too cumbersome . Appropriate grounds
must accordingly be given for any
exception to or derogation from the
marking requirement .

The CE marking shall be affixed at the
end of the production control phase .

The CE conformity marking shall be
followed by the identification number of
the notified body within the meaning of
Decision 90 / 683 / EEC where the said

body is involved in the production control
phase within the meaning of that
Decision .

Such identification numbers shall be

assigned by the Commission as part of
the body notification procedure . The
Commission shall publish lists of the
notified bodies in the Official Journal of
the European Communities ; such lists
shall be kept up to date .

A notified body shall be assigned the same
number when it is notified under several

Directives . The Commission shall ensure

that each notified body receives a single
identification number, however many
Directives it is notified under .

It is necessary to lay down provisions
concerning the use of certain products . In
this case, the CE marking and the
identification number of the notified body
may be followed by a pictogram or any
other mark indicating, for example, the
category of use .

The affixing of any other mark, sign or
indication liable to cause confusion with

the CE marking as regards either its
significance or its appearance shall be
prohibited .

A product may bear different marks, for
example marks indicating conformity
with national or European standards or
with traditional optional directives,
provided such marks are not liable to
cause confusion with the CE marking .

e

( f )

( g )

( h )

( i )

( i )

2 .

3 .

Where the Directive concerned does

not impose specific dimensions, the
CE marking must have a height of at
least 5 mm .

The CE marking shall be affixed to
the product or to its data plate .
However, where this is not possible or
not warranted on account of the

2 . 2 . 93 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 28 / 37

Such marks may therefore only be affixed
to the product, its packaging or the
documentation accompanying the product
on condition that the legibility and
visibility of the CE marking are not
thereby reduced .

Anyone holding a trade mark registered in
a Member State before 30 June 1989 and
actually which is likely to be confused
with the " CE " marking may continue to
use that mark for a period of 10 years
from the date of adoption of this text .

( k ) The CE marking shall be affixed by the

manufacturer or his agent established
within the Community . In exceptional,
duly warranted cases, the specific
Directives may provide that the EC
marking can be affixed by the person
responsible for placing the product on the
Community market .

The identification number of the notified

body shall be affixed under its
responsibility either by the body itself or
by the manufacturer or his agent
established within the Community .

( 1 ) Member States must take all provisions of
national law necessary to prohibit any
possibility of confusion and to prevent
abuse of the CE marking .

Without prejudice to the provisions
relating to the application of the
safeguard clause in the Directive
concerned, where a Member State
establishes that the CE marking has been
affixed unduly, the manufacturer, his
agent or, exceptionally, where the specific
Directives so provide, the person
responsible for placing the product in
question on the Community market shall
be obliged to make the product comply
and to end the infringement under
conditions imposed by the Member State .
Where non-compliance continues, the
Member State must take all appropriate
measures to restrict or prohibit the
placing on the market of the product in
question or to ensure that it is withdrawn
from the market .';

3 . The modules for conformity assessment are amended
as follows :

Throughout the text ' CE mark ' is replaced by ' CE
marking '.

— In module A the last sentence of point 1 is
amended to read as follows :

' The manufacturer or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall affix the
EC marking to each product and draw up a
written declaration of conformity .';

— In module Aa the last sentences of the first and

second tables are amended to read as follows :

' On the responsibility of the notified body, the
manufacturer shall affix the former's identification

number during the manufacturing process .';

— In module C the last sentence of point 1 is
amended to read as follows :

' The manufacturer or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall affix the
EC marking to each product and draw up a
written declaration of conformity .';

— In module C the last sentences of the first and

second tables are amended to read as follows :

' On the responsibility of the notified body, the
manufacturer shall affix the former's identification

number during the manufacturing process .';

— In module D the last two sentences of point 1 are

amended to read as follows :

' The manufacturer or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall affix the
EC marking to each product and draw up a
written declaration of conformity . The CE
marking shall be accompanied by the identification
number of the notified body responsible for EC
monitoring as specified in point 4 .';

— In module E the last two sentences of point 1 are

amended to read as follows :

' The manufacturer or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall affix the
EC marking to each product and draw up a
written declaration of conformity . The CE
marking shall be accompanied by the identification
number of the notified body responsible for
surveillance as specified in point 4 .';

— In module F the last sentence of point 2 is amended

to read as follows :

' The manufacturer or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall affix the
EC marking to each product and draw up a
written declaration of conformity .';

— In module F point 4.2 is amended to read as

follows :

' 4.2 The notified body shall affix or cause to be

affixed its identification number to each

approved product and draw up a written
certificate of conformity relating to the tests
carried out .';

— In module F the last subparagraph of point 5.4 is

amended to read as follows :

' The manufacturer may, under the responsibility of
the notified body, affix the latter's identification
number during the manufacturing process .';

— In module G the last sentence of point 1 is
amended to read as follows :

' The manufacturer or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall affix the

No C 28 / 38 Official Journal of the European Communities 2 . 2 . 93

EC marking to the product and draw up a
declaration of conformity .';

— In module G the second subparagraph of point 2 is

amended to read as follows :

' The notified body shall affix, or cause to be
affixed, its identification number on the approved
product and shall draw up a certificate of
conformity concerning the tests carried out .';

— In module H the last two sentences of point 1 are

amended to read as follows :

' The manufacturer or his authorized representative
established within the Community shall affix the
EC marking to each product and draw up a
written declaration of conformity . The CE
marking shall be accompanied by the identification
number of the notified body responsible for the
surveillance as specified in point 4 .'.