Find out more More information on importing and product liability can be found at gov.uk summer 2016 Importing goods: responsibilities The internet has enabled many small and medium-sized businesses to grow rapidly. Selling goods online is now an important growth area for businesses and many are sourcing their stock direct from manufacturers outside of the EU. This globalisation of markets has made it easier for UK businesses to import goods from outside the European community to sell online to UK consumers. But traders are importing goods into the UK without realising what their legal obligations are, putting consumers at risk by placing non-compliant and unsafe products on the market. Problems occur where traders are buying ‘off the shelf’ products from countries such as China, and do not have any control over product design, materials or manufacturing practice. Goods originating from China are the largest source of product recalls in Europe – imported goods from China accounted for 64 per cent of Rapex notifications received by the European Commission’s product safety alert system in 2014. The National Trading Standards Safety at Ports and Borders teams impound dangerous and illegal items, including toys, clothing, cosmetics and electrical appliances. Between April and December 2014, its teams intercepted 1.9 million unsafe or noncompliant items at entry points in the UK. When a product is manufactured outside Europe, the importer is responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable regulations. Products such as toys, electronics, machinery, medical devices and personal protective equipment require a CE mark, which indicates compliance with specific regulations. However, it is important not just to rely on the CE mark applied by manufacturers as a statement of a product’s conformance with applicable regulations. The importer needs to have a full technical file containing all the information required to show that a product is compliant with all applicable directives and standards for each product they import. A technical file should contain the following: l Detailed information on the product, including: specifications; drawings; details on sub-assemblies and circuits; product labelling; user instruction; product functionality; and model number l EC Declaration of Conformity for each relevant directive l Test reports l Risk assessments This file must be available for a minimum of 10 years. A common mistake importers make is to rely solely on documents produced by the foreign manufacturer, failing to check the authenticity of these documents. An importer must be able to demonstrate full traceability of a product – everything from who they bought it from to which factory produced it. Credit: Marion Wilson Images: Arkadiusz Komski / Shutterstock Products such as toys, electronics, machinery, medical devices and personal protective equipment require a CE mark The pitfalls of selling imported goods For further information please contact your local Trading Standards Service Made in China, sold in Bolton