What a waste of time…
I am "excited" to share with you the recent announcement made by the UK government regarding the EU CE conformity mark and the UKCA mark. The UK government, late last year, announced that it will indefinitely accept the EU CE conformity mark in the UK market, which means that the UKCA mark is functionally dead. This is a development that will have a profound impact on businesses operating in the UK market.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has announced that it will extend the use of CE marking for businesses, applying to 18 regulations owned by DBT. This move is part of a wider package of smarter regulations designed to ease business burdens and help grow the economy by cutting barriers and red tape.
The UK government has also introduced a Fast-Track UKCA process (YEY...) that will create more flexibility on how manufacturers can use the UKCA marking to place products on the GB market. This process is not mandatory, but will allow a manufacturer, should they wish, to use the UKCA marking to demonstrate that they have met either UK or recognised EU essential requirements and conformity assessment procedures for each regulation applicable to a product. This also means that where products fall within multiple regulations, a mixture of both UK and EU conformity assessment procedures can be used to demonstrate compliance with UK requirements, and the UKCA marking can be affixed. But who would do this…
There is no incentive for any manufacturer to use the UKCA marking. However, the Fast-Track UKCA process will create more flexibility for manufacturers to use the UKCA marking to place their products on the GB market, should they wish.
If you have any questions or concerns about this topic, please feel free to reach out to Knox Thomas. We would be happy to discuss this further with you.