Importer
As the importer, you have important and clearly defined responsibilities. Primarily, you must ensure that the manufacturer has met certain basic requirements and that the product is designed for the market in question. You therefore have a crucial role in ensuring that the imported products meet the requirements.
Under EU legislation, an importer is a person or organisation that imports a product from a country outside the EU/EEA into Sweden. The importer then places the product on the single market. Someone who purchases products from another EU/EEA country is a distributor, not an importer.
Requirements you must meet before making products available
As the importer, you have a particular responsibility to check that the manufacturer has fulfilled its obligations and that the products meet the relevant requirements. You must not make products available if you have any reason to believe they are deficient or dangerous.
You must specifically verify that the manufacturer has fulfilled its obligations, for example you need to check that the product is correctly marked. Electrical products must carry the CE mark and identification marking. According to current requirements, electrical products must be marked with the name and address of the manufacturer. The product must also be marked with the importer's name and address. As the importer, you must ensure that the product is accompanied by instructions and safety information in Swedish.
EU declaration
As the importer, you must verify that the manufacturer has drawn up and signed the EU declaration of conformity. Before placing a product on the market, the manufacturer must draw up an EU declaration in which the manufacturer takes responsibility for the product and affirms that it complies with the requirements set out in the declaration. As the importer, you must make sure that an EU declaration for the particular product will remain available for 10 years after the product was placed on the market. You must therefore make certain that you are able to access a copy.
You must take a preventive and collaborative approach
As the importer, you play a crucial role in preventing injury, loss or damage. You are the economic operator considered to have placed the product on the market. If you find deficiencies or potential deficiencies when you inspect the products, you must take action and contact the manufacturer. Like the manufacturer, you may be required to perform random testing of products that have already been placed on the market.
Requirements you must meet in injury, loss and damage prevention
You must ensure that all the products you have bought and sold to other economic operators can be traced, and you must have procedures in place to investigate potential deficiencies uncovered by complaints and claims. As the importer, you must organise recalls if necessary and take other action as required, cooperate with the market surveillance authorities, and notify them of any deficiencies identified.
Because you are the importer, you must carry out random testing in addition to the above, as part of your activities specifically to prevent injury, loss or damage. You must investigate all complaints received about products which do not meet the requirements, and you must keep a record if necessary. If necessary, you must recall products and inform the distributors of any such monitoring activities.
