According to the BSI, the British Standards Institute, applying the UKCA to your products as early as possible will help preserve your access to the UK market and build resilience in your business. They point out that some customers are even demanding the UKCA now even though the CE mark is still valid for the time being.
They link this change in attitude to a question of confidence and customer trust in the brand and state that, applying the UKCA mark as soon as possible will increase customer trust in your brand, especially with regards to safety and proper handling.
Here is the list of potential disruptions made by the BSI for manufacturers that are waiting and still haven´t made the change to the UKCA mark.
Being Barred from GB Market Access - Starting January 1, 2025, only the UKCA mark will be allowed for market access in Great Britain. In some instances, other certification marks might also be required by the market but are not necessarily mandated, whereas UKCA is the minimum legal requirement. Obtaining the UKCA mark will eliminate the risk of disruption to your services by ensuring you can access GB markets freely.
Delays in Transport and Supply Routes - Failure to achieve the UKCA marking by the end of the year would result in difficulty reaching clearance at UK borders.
End of the Year Rush - Relative to the notified bodies in the EU, which are responsible for CE marking, there are still very few approved bodies for UKCA marking. Though companies and manufacturers still have until the end of 2024 to have the UKCA marking affixed to their products, a potential end of the year rush can still occur. As the deadline nears, approved bodies may not have enough capacity to accommodate the testing and compliance needs of manufacturers. This could lead to a scarcity of testing facility space and lengthier legislation processes.
Lowered Confidence throughout Supply Chain– Complying last minute could lower the confidence buyers throughout the supply chain have in your product’s ability to meet current legislation. Applying the UKCA mark as soon as possible will increase customer trust in your brand especially with regards to safety and proper handling.
Customer uncertainty- There’s still a lot of misconceptions about UKCA. Some customers are even demanding it now from our CE certificate holders even though it’s still allowable until the 31 December 2024 and then still technically allowable if already placed on the market. Although it’s technically allowable manufacturers may want to avoid the pain explaining things
Technical difference between directives and regulations- The UK regulations are technically similar to the EU regulations and directives. The designated standards and harmonised standards are the same for now. There are some differences however and these can really trip up manufacturers. For example material manufactures for PED are required to have a quality system (.ie. ISO 9001) certificated by an organization based in the EU. It’s important not to leave things to the last minute to discover issues like this.
Physically marking the product- For some products that have UKCA certification but are challenging to change the physical marking, there is a provision to allow UKCA marking to be made on an accompanying label for a year after the UKCA deadline. Just a year might not be enough for some slow moving products and components so gaining certification early will allow more time to make this change.
Potential Rule Changes – The CE mark is still valid for use in the GB market until the end of 2024 and only for areas where GB and EU rules remain the same. If the EU changes its rules and you apply the CE mark to your products based on those new rules, you will not be able to sell those products in Great Britain even before 31 December 2024.
Before you are able to apply the UKCA mark to your products you must also be clear about who is your legal representative in the UK. This can be any of the economic operators in the supply chain and the choice depends on the strategy of the manufacturer. In most cases, non-British manufacturers choose to work with an Authorised Representative which means they can comply with the regulations and at the same time maintain commercial flexibility to work with the importers and partners they choose. Working with the importers can be restrictive for the manufacturer and place an extra barrier when they want to expand their business to other customers.
For more information on the above or to find out more about our authorised representative services, contact us for a consultation.
Indele Limited | Authorised Representative | UKCA
sales@indele.co.uk | t. +44 (0)1256 976 821