Selling your projects in the EU - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Solberg
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2021, 05:22:29 pm
content: HiI'm thinking about selling some of my projects, but I'm unsure about the legality of it.I want to sell my projects as a private individual, as a hobby. I don't want to start a company. Is that legal in the EU? anyone know?Do I need CE-marking on my hobby projects to sell them? I don't think Dave's uCurrent has a CE-marking?Do any of you have any experience in selling, hobby projects in the EU, as an individual?If it matters I live in Denmark.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2021, 06:22:22 pm
content: Quote from: Solberg on June 21, 2021, 05:22:29 pmThis particular point is not covered by any EU regulation AFAIK. It's your local regulations you have to look at.In general, selling stuff as an individual without a company is tolerated in most european countries AFAIK as long as the amount you make per year is not a "significant" part of your total income. I suggest learning more about danish law though on this particular topic.Quote from: Solberg on June 21, 2021, 05:22:29 pmThis one is a bit tricky. For a very basic introduction:https://cemarking.net/do-your-products-need-ce-marking/When selling electronic devices, it seems pretty hard to avoid at least complying with the EMC Directive, and probably RoHS as a minimum set. If the device connects to mains, the Low Voltage Directive will be required as well, but you may circumvent it if your device is strictly powered with a very low DC voltage and the burden of the LVD is put on the shoulder's of a third-party mains adapter (which is itself compliant.) If your device contains some radio link, you may also need to comply with the RED directive.In any case, you can read the directives, they are all free to download. For instance, the EMC one:https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32014L0030Take a look at the "Scope" and "Definitions" sections.To keep the EMC directive example, one major point to consider is the following:* Scope: "1. This Directive shall apply toequipmentas defined in Article 3."* Definitions: "(1) ‘equipment’ means anyapparatusorfixed installation;""(2) ‘apparatus’ means any finished appliance or combinationthereof made available on the market as a single functionalunit, intended for the end-user and liable to generate elec­tromagnetic disturbance, or the performance of which isliable to be affected by such disturbance; ""(3) ‘fixed installation’ means a particular combination ofseveral types of apparatus and, where applicable, otherdevices, which are assembled, installed and intended tobe used permanently at a predefined location;"From these definitions, whether your products are within scope all depends on what they are exactly. For instance, a development board would usually NOT qualify as an "equipment". For a fully assembled device, that is a lot more tricky. The main issue I see there is that I haven't seen a clear definition of the term "end-user" that is used throughout the directives... I guess you can assume it means the last customer that will use the product in the supply chain.Quote from: Solberg on June 21, 2021, 05:22:29 pmAs an individual without a company, nope. But I have sold second-hand stuff before as an individual, probably as most of us have. I would expect it to be basically the same - as long as it doesn't qualify as your main "job" or source of income...Quote from: Solberg on June 21, 2021, 05:22:29 pmAs I said, regarding selling stuff without a company, it certainly matters. But regarding the CE mark, it doesn't. The CE mark is required (when it applies) for selling products in the EU. The country of origin doesn't matter. *Making* products inside or outside of the EU has no impact on the CE mark requirements. It's just about where you are going to sell them.

author: Solberg
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 21, 2021, 06:57:37 pm
content: Thank you SiliconWizard for the long reply.The danish law states that you don't have to be VAT registered before you sell for more than 50.000 kr./year. So i know i don't have to charge VAT.but the law says very little when it comes to individuals, we are not used to individuals making and selling stuff, like electronics. only handcrafted items and such.QuoteI guess then i have to make my projects use e.g. an oscilloscope or multimeter as an output unit, so it's not a complete unit i sell?I guess that's the loop hole Dave has used with the uCurrent?QuoteI only know I have to pay tax, of the items i sell because i have bought the items with the intent to sell.

author: TheDane
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2021, 04:00:49 pm
content: I have not done this myself, but here is what I have heard (some years ago, this can have changed - so don't take it as legal advise):Selling a finished product requires CE certification, if sold from DK to DK/EU.Selling a kit, do-it-yourself project, components that are used in larger projects (ie, not ready-to-use out of the box) does not require CE certifications.Held og lykke med hvad end det nu er du er i gang med :ø)

author: Solberg
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 23, 2021, 04:14:44 pm
content: Quote from: TheDane on June 23, 2021, 04:00:49 pmThat is also what i have found. that the loop hole is making kits, and sub systems.Tak skal du ha'