I keep hearing this rumour about the date of enforcement of the EMC directive in the UK being 1-Jan-1997. It is totally untrue. The Statutory Instrument that impliments the EMC directive unambiguously states in regulation 11 (a) of SI 1992 No.2372 that the transitional exclusion applies 'if the apparatus is supplied or taken into sevice in the community on or before the 31st of December 1995.' After that under regulation 82 ' any person who supplies or takes into service relevant apparatus in contravention of regulation 28 or 29 above shall be guilty of an offence.' regulation 28 via regulation 30 requires that apparatus that is supplied must (a) meet the protection requirements, (b) have taken one of the routes to compliance (c) be CE marked (d) have a declaration of conformity. regulation 29 requires that apparatus taken into service meet the protection requirements. The only mention of the date 1-Jan-1997 in any document that has force of law with regard to EMC in the UK is in regulation 5 (1)(a) of statutory instrument 1994 No 3080 which implimented the CE marking directive 93/68/EEC All this allows you to do is to continue to the end of this year to use the slightly different CE marking including year numbers if you choose. That this does not change the requirement for EMC compliance is spelt out in the May 1995 guidance notes on UK regulations from the UK Department of Trade and Industry. On page 14, shaded for emphasis, it says 'It is important to note that this transition period is only to make the change from the old CE Mark to the new CE Marking. It is not an extension of the transition period under the EMC directive. The date for compliance with the EMC directive is still 1 January 1996, this date will not be extended further' This is the law and it is very clear. Others have suggested that if the law is clear them the enforcement of it has been put into abeyance. Here the waters are a little muddier but still provide no basis for thinking the the law is not in force. Questions here and elsewhere have asked about the position of equipment 'in the supply chain' at 1-Jan-97. This phrase, used in other implimentations of European directives, is not mentioned in the EMC regulations. The DTI did however indicate that they would exercise some leniency in the enforcement for equipment manufactured before that date. The way they expressed this shows that they believe that they have the legal powers to act against any supply from 1-Jan-96. They say 'From 1 January 1996 Trading Standards Officers can act against non-compliant apparatus that is being supplied or taken into service. Manufacturers, wholesalers or retailers who are likely to have more than the odd item on the shelf or in stock, are advised to speak to their 'Home Authority' Trading Standards Officer as soon as possible and explain the situation. Enforcement Officers will not take kindly to large non-compliant stocks being ordered or manufactured in late 1995, that will mean their continuing supply well into 1996' Other countries initially took a more strict view. France pointed out that in the preamble to directive 92/31/EEC that delayed the date at which the EMC directive became mandatory from 1992 to 1996 it said 'Whereas manufacturers must have the time needed to allow apparatus in stock to be marketed.' and said they would not allow any grace for equipment in stock. However in November 1995 goverment experts from the EC member states and industry representitives meet to discuss the directive. I quote the report in EMC and Safety newsletter 'Representitives confirmed their agreement that equipment placed on the market before 31 December 1995 (not in conformity with the EMC directive and not provided with the CE marking ) can be sold within the European Union after this date without any time restrictions. It was agreed that products should at least be in the distributors' or wholesalers' stock before 31 December 1995, and should offer an adequate level of protection against electromagnetic interference and of immunity. Representitives pointed out that too much tolerance on the part of the National Authorities may lead to the placing on the market of non-conforming products manufactured in 1996. It was therefore decided not to issue any written guidance but that representitives will advise their National Authorities to be lenient duing 1996. Now as regards actual practice. I have spoken personally to a number of UK Trading Standards Officers and they to a man are adamant that there are no instructions, guidance or hints, official or unofficial telling them not to police the regulations, all have actually investigated complaints. There is a policy, as there is in the early days of almost all new regulations, of trying to obtain compliance by guidance and persuasion but all said they were perfectly willing to bring a prosecution this year if there were recalcitrant suppliers. I have not heard of any prosecutions being brought but I have direct evidence of one product being withdrawn from the market as a result of action by a Trading Standards Officer. I hope this rather lengthy reply finally kills this rumour Nick Rouse
