§4.5.1.8 Sanctions

— Member States have to ensure the correct implementation of the regime governing the CE marking and take appropriate action in the event of improper use of the marking. — Member States have to also provide for penalties for infringements, which may include criminal sanctions for serious infringements. — A Member State must notify to the Commission and to the other Member States when it decides to restrict free movement due to incorrect affixing of the CE marking, or when it takes action against those who are responsible for a non-compliant product bearing the CE marking. The CE marking provides the first indication that the necessary controls can be assumed to have been carried out, before the product in question is placed on the market, in order to ensure its compliance to the legislative requirements. Market surveillance authorities are entitled to proceed to additional controls for the protection of public interest. The action to be taken by market surveillance authorities should be decided on a case by case basis according to the principle of proportionality. Member States must provide in their national legislation for appropriate measures both to prevent the abuse and misuse of CE marking, and to redress the situation if such abuse or misuse takes place. Those measures need to be effective, proportionate to the seriousness of the offence and dissuasive and may be increased if the relevant economic operator has previously committed a similar infringement. They may include withdrawal, recall of products, penalties and criminal sanctions (such as fines and imprisonment) wherever necessary. The measures are imposed without prejudice to other measures taken where the market surveillance authorities find that a product presents a risk or does not comply with the applicable legislation. Furthermore Member States must ensure that the measures are implemented. In this respect the affixing of the CE marking to a product that is not covered by any of the Union harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing is considered to be deceiving because consumers or users, for instance, are likely to get the impression that the product in question satisfies certain Union harmonisation legislation provisions. Competent authorities must, therefore, have at their disposal legal instruments that enable them to act against the deceptive use of CE marking. Action must be taken also against those responsible for a non-compliant product bearing the CE marking. The affixing of markings in addition to the CE marking is subject to certain restrictions (241). The surveillance authority has to take the necessary measures to ensure that these principles are respected and, where necessary, take appropriate action. A Member State must inform the Commission and the other Member States of its decision to restrict free movement due to incorrect affixing of the CE marking, and of its action against the person responsible for affixing the CE marking to a non- compliant product. It is then up to the other Member States to decide whether or not similar action is necessary. In the case of unduly affixed CE marking to products not subject to the CE marking requirement, Member States should inform the Commission and the other Member States about it.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07