What is an Economic Operator?
The term “economic operator” is used by the EU and UK authorities to refer to a business or person that has a set of responsibilites regarding a product that is placed on the market.
Economic operators can be any of the following:
- A manufacturer
- An importer
- An authorised representative
- A distributor
- A fullfillment service provider
Importantly, an economic operator must be established in the region where the product is placed on the market. In other words, if a product is placed on the market in the EU, the economic operator must be established in the EU. Now that the UK is no longer part of the EU, a product placed on the UK market must have an economic operator established in the UK.
What is the purpose of an economic operator in the EU & UK?
The aim of the legislation is to establish a comprehensive framework to protect consumers from unsafe and non-compliant products being placed on the market and to provide a level playing field for economic operators. All products must meet the legal requirments and ensure the safety of the product, environmental performance, and other public interests. The legislation also aims to protect businesses that manufacture compliant products from unfair competition.
Another purpose of the legislation is to avoid unnecessary costs and difficulties for the Market surveillance authorities (MSAs) and the authorities in charge of controls on products, i.e. border authorities, that must verify and enforce those requirements. All products must provide easily accessible contact details for the MSAs and the traceability of a product.
What does the legislation mean in practical terms as a manufacturer?
In summary, this legislation means that any product sold in the EU with a CE marking must have an economic operator established in the EU, and any product sold in the UK with a CE and/or UKCA marking must have an economic operator established in the UK.
If you are a manufacturer established in the territory, then you are also the economic operator, although you may wish to appoint an alternative economic operator for administrative reasons. If you are a manufacturer not established in the territory, then as a manufacture you must appoint an economic operator that can be any of the following:
An importer. If you work with multiple importers, then you can either select just one importer to act as the economic operator or appoint multiple importers. However, there can only be one appointed economic operator per product.
A service fulfillment provider. For example, online selling platforms that ship products from outside the territory to customers inside the territory, or logistics services that store products in the territory and manage the storage and shipping of the products.
An Authorised Representative.
If you do not appoint an economic operator, then the importer or the service provider that brings in the products will automatically take on the roles and responsibilities of the economic operator and will be held responsible by the authorities. Most service providers are aware of the rules, but this is not the case with all importers who may not be fully aware of their responsibilities.
What information must I give to the economic operator?
The economic operator must have a copy or have easy access to the technical file for a product and copies of the corresponding certificates. The technical file should include the following information:
how the product is designed and manufactured
how the product has been shown to conform to the relevant requirements
the addresses of the manufacturer and any storage facilities
If requested by the authorities, they may also require copies of test reports, manuals, product images and packaging information.
This information must be held on file for ten years after the product has been placed on the market.
What the the advantages of appointing an Authorised Representative as my economic operator?
There are many advantages to appointing an Authorised Representative as your economic operator and most manufacturers have now chosen this option. For example:
the manufacturer prefers not to involve their customer in any MSA enquiry or action.
the manufacturer prefers not to hand over the full technical file to the customer when requested by the MSA.
the customer/importer does not want to deal with the MSA in case of an action.
the manufacturer has several customers (importers) and prefers to have just one name and address for all the products.
the AR will provide information and updates regarding the relevant product legislation.
the AR will file the technical documentation and will keep it available on request for the market surveillance authorities for the specified period.
the AR will support you with the UKCA mark for your products if applicable.
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