The UK Government has announced an extension to the acceptance of CE marking in the UK until 1 January 2023. This means the businesses will have a further year to start using the UKCA marking for products placed on the Great Britain market, extending the deadline to 1 January 2023. As the pandemic continues to impact businesses and there is a lack of availability of UK Approved Body (UKAB), this extension does provide some relief, however this extension highlights how much business still have to do to prepare for the implementation of UKCA marking and businesses are encouraged to be ready for the new UK regime as soon as possible.
What is a UKCA mark?
The UKCA mark is a certification mark that indicates conformity with the applicable product safety requirements for products sold within Great Britain (GB).
The UKCA marking indicates conformity with the applicable health, safety and environmental requirements for products sold within GB. The marking does not apply to products sold in Northern Ireland (NI) as, further to the NI Protocol, products placed on the NI market are still subject to EU product safety rules.
For certain products being sold in GB, the manufacturer can affix a UKCA marking on a self-declaration basis, whereas other products require a mandatory third party conformity assessment done by a UK Approved Body (UKAB) to be carried out.
What is changing?
The UK Government implemented a period of transition which stated that products with a CE marking that meet EU requirements could continue to be placed on the GB market until 31 December 2021 (provided the EU and UK requirements remain the same). This provided businesses with a transition period but also permitted businesses to use the UKCA marking on a voluntary basis before that deadline. However, due to the delays and issues caused by the pandemic, and largely due to the fact there is a lack of availability of UK approved bodies to provide adequate conformity assessment services, this deadline has now been extended.
The UKCA marking will become compulsory on 1 January 2023 for products placed on the GB market, rather than 1 January 2022. In order to extend the deadline, the Government will introduce legislation under section 8 of the European Union Withdrawal Act later this year. Note that medical devices are exempted from the 1 January 2023 deadline, and businesses will not need to use the UKCA marking until 1 July 2023.
Businesses must take action to ensure they are ready to apply the UKCA marking by 1 January 2023 and, where mandatory third-party conformity assessment is required, the priority should be to secure the support of a UK approved body.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/placing-manufactured-goods-on-the-market-in-great-britain