Summer 2018 round-up House rules New regulations have come into force for warehouse businesses that deal with goods imported from outside the EU and destined for sale in the UK. The Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme became law on 1 April and requires fulfilment houses, warehouses and distribution centres to register. A fulfilment house offers storage on behalf of traders, based outside the EU, who run an e-commerce business, possibly with no physical presence in the UK. round-up Goods are imported into the UK, and as well as offering storage the fulfilment house may pack and ship goods to their clients customers. Fulfilment houses have to register with the scheme and be able to demonstrate due diligence by 30 June 2018 (30 September 2018 for those houses that started trading after 1 April 2018). Registered businesses will be required to keep records of their clients based outside of the EU, including name and contact details, and VAT-registration numbers and confirm they are valid plus details of the goods stored in their facilities, and import and delivery details. Fulfilment houses will also have to carry out checks on the containers and parcels imported from outside the EU into their facilities. In addition, they will have to do checks to ensure the products comply with safety standards. For more information contact your local Trading Standards service. Credit: Marion Wilson iStock.com /simonkr Weighing up the business advantage Reputation is everything, so businesses should want to avoid the erosion of consumer confidence that a product recall for short weight or, worse, a prosecution for selling short-weight product would cause. Cardpayment fees reminder Remember, the ban on charging a fee for credit- or debit-card payments is now in force and applies to all businesses. Failure to adhere to the new rules can result in a fine and two years imprisonment. For more information, see TSBN Spring 2018 or contact your local Trading Standards Service. Accurate, consistent measurement can also help reduce financial losses caused by having to rework or scrap products that do not weigh the amount declared on the packaging or from give away in excess of the declared weight. Credit: Carrie Morris One local authority identified an error on a weighbridge of three per cent, which meant the company concerned was charging less than it should have been, resulting in a weekly loss of 600. Your local Trading Standards authority employs weights and measures inspectors who can advise you on the legal requirements for your product lines. They can also test weighing and measuring equipment, and advise you on how to operate a quality system for packaged goods under the average weight system. It is important that you maintain weight checks at all critical control points. For example, if you buy ingredients or supplies from other businesses, check the contents to ensure you are not being supplied with short-weight product. Equally, if you buy products by weight from consumers or other businesses, you need to ensure your weighing equipment is calibrated accurately for the task. For further information on weights and measures law, contact your local Trading Standards Service. Credit: James Greenaway Retain CE marking to keep UK safe, urges toy association The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) wants the government to retain CE marking as part of Brexit discussions to prevent the UK from becoming a dumping ground for unsafe toys. The Conformit Europenne (CE) mark indicates that products such as toys, electrical items and construction products have been tested to high standards, and wont put the publics health and safety at risk. CE marking has been a way of keeping consumers safe for decades, said Natasha Crookes, director of public affairs and communications at the BTHA. It helps to identify toys that have been made to an incredibly high standard of safety requirements. round-up harm and could face enforcement action from market surveillance authorities, such as Trading Standards. This could result in their products being removed from the EU market and they could face a fine or imprisonment for non-compliance. CTSI chief executive Leon Livermore said: Unsafe and dangerous products put UK citizens lives at risk. CE marking is a valuable tool in enabling Trading Standards to ensure goods sold in the UK meet the highest standards. In-depth guides to CE marking can be found on the government-backed Business Companion website. Credit: Chartered Trading Standards Institute iStock.com /charles taylor As the mark is linked to membership of the European Single Market, we would encourage government to think about retaining or exploring alternatives to CE marking as part of Brexit discussions, so that the UK does not become a dumping ground for unsafe toys. It is important that manufacturers and distributors are aware of their legal responsibilities in this area, so the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has published a new video guide to CE marking. Businesses that fail to assess and CE mark their products risk exposing consumers to serious GDPR now in force The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became law on 25 May, and applies to organisations of every size and in every sector. Have you got all your measures in place? See TSBN Spring 2018 for more information. Credit: Nick Harrison For further information please contact your local Trading Standards Service