1.Importers shall place only compliant apparatus on the market.
2.Before placing apparatus on the market importers shall ensure that the appropriate conformity assessment procedure referred to in Article 14 has been carried out by the manufacturer. They shall ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation, that the apparatus bears the CE marking and is accompanied by the required documents, and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 7(5) and (6).
Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that apparatus is not in conformity with the essential requirements set out in Annex I, he shall not place the apparatus on the market until it has been brought into conformity. Furthermore, where the apparatus presents a risk, the importer shall inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities to that effect.
3.Importers shall indicate on the apparatus their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the postal address at which they can be contacted or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the apparatus. The contact details shall be in a language easily understood by end-users and market surveillance authorities.
4.Importers shall ensure that the apparatus is accompanied by instructions and the information referred to in Article 18 in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and other end-users, as determined by the Member State concerned.
5.Importers shall ensure that, while an apparatus is under their responsibility, its storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise its compliance with the essential requirements set out in Annex I.
6.Importers who consider or have reason to believe that an apparatus which they have placed on the market is not in conformity with this Directive shall immediately take the corrective measures necessary to bring that apparatus into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate. Furthermore, where the apparatus presents a risk, importers shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the apparatus available on the market to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken.
7.Importers shall, for 10 years after the apparatus has been placed on the market, keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities and ensure that the technical documentation can be made available to those authorities, upon request.
8.Importers shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation in paper or electronic form, necessary to demonstrate the conformity of apparatus in a language which can be easily understood by that authority. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by apparatus which they have placed on the market.