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CHAPTER 2 OBLIGATIONS OF ECONOMIC OPERATORS

Article 8Obligations of importers

1.Importers shall place only compliant pressure equipment or assemblies on the market.

2.Before placing on the market the pressure equipment or assemblies referred to in Article 4(1) and (2), importers shall ensure that the appropriate conformity assessment procedure in accordance with Article 14 has been carried out by the manufacturer. They shall ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation, that pressure equipment or assemblies bear the CE marking and are accompanied by instructions and safety information in accordance with points 3.3 and 3.4 of Annex I, and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 6(5) and (6).

Before placing on the market the pressure equipment or assemblies referred to in Article 4(3), importers shall ensure that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation and that pressure equipment or assemblies are accompanied by adequate instructions for use and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements set out in Article 6(5) and (6).

Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that the pressure equipment or assembly is not in conformity with the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I, he shall not place the pressure equipment or assembly on the market until it has been brought into conformity. Furthermore, where the pressure equipment or assembly presents a risk, the importer shall inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities to that effect.

3.Importers shall indicate their name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and the postal address at which they can be contacted on the pressure equipment or assembly, or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the equipment or assembly. The contact details shall be in a language easily understood by consumers, other users and market surveillance authorities.

4.Importers shall ensure that pressure equipment or assemblies referred to in Article 4(1) and (2) are accompanied by instructions and safety information in accordance with points 3.3 and 3.4 of Annex I, in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and other users, as determined by the Member State concerned.

Importers shall ensure that the pressure equipment or assembly referred to in Article 4(3) is accompanied by instructions and safety information in a language which can be easily understood by consumers and other users, as determined by the Member State concerned.

5.Importers shall ensure that, while pressure equipment or assemblies referred to in Article 4(1) and (2) are under their responsibility, storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise their compliance with the essential safety requirements set out in Annex I.

6.When deemed appropriate with regard to the risks presented by pressure equipment or assemblies, importers shall, to protect the health and safety of consumers and other users, carry out sample testing of pressure equipment and assemblies made available on the market, investigate, and, if necessary, keep a register of complaints, of non-conforming pressure equipment or assemblies and recalls of such equipment, and shall keep distributors informed of any such monitoring.

7.Importers who consider or have reason to believe that pressure equipment or assemblies which they have placed on the market are not in conformity with this Directive shall immediately take the corrective measures necessary to bring that pressure equipment or assembly into conformity, to withdraw it or recall it, if appropriate. Furthermore, where the pressure equipment or assembly presents a risk, importers shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made the pressure equipment or assembly available on the market to that effect, giving details, in particular, of the non-compliance and of any corrective measures taken.

8.Importers shall, for 10 years after the pressure equipment or assembly 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.

9.Importers shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of pressure equipment or an assembly in a language which can be easily understood by that authority. That information and documentation may be provided in paper or electronic form. They shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by pressure equipment or an assembly which they have placed on the market.