Product safety advice for businesses supplying goods in Northern Ireland
Placing manufactured goods on the Northern Ireland market
While the Northern Ireland Protocol applies, Northern Ireland will align with relevant EU rules relating to placing manufactured goods on the market. Find out what you need to do to comply with rules for placing manufactured goods on the market in Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, EU conformity markings continue to be used to show that goods meet EU rules. For most manufactured goods, this is the CE marking, but there are other markings for specific products (such as the wheel marking or Pi mark).
The UKCA marking cannot be used for goods placed on the Northern Ireland market. For more information, check the guidance for:
Check your legal responsibilities
Appoint an authorised person
From 16 July 2021, new rules came into force, and some businesses may now need to appoint an authorised representative in the EU or Northern Ireland to carry out compliance functions if there is no one in the supply chain in those areas who can carry out the functions.
Manufacturers
You are responsible for ensuring your product complies with the relevant EU rules and drawing up documentation such as the declaration of conformity. You can delegate some of the duties to an authorised representative – you will need to check the specific regulations that apply to confirm what can and cannot be delegated.
Northern Ireland-based importers, distributors and suppliers
You’ll become an ‘importer’ if you’re the one bringing goods for the first time into Northern Ireland from either Great Britain or another non-EU country and placing them on the Northern Ireland market. You need to agree whether you or your supplier will take on the role of ‘importer’ (for the purposes of relevant EU rules).
Fulfilment service providers
If your business model fits this description, you are a fulfilment service provider: “Any natural or legal person offering, in the course of commercial activity, at least two of the following services: warehousing, packaging, addressing and dispatching, without having ownership of the products. (This excludes postal, parcel and freight services).”
If there is no manufacturer, importer or authorised representative established in NI (or the EU) who is responsible for the compliance tasks listed in Article 4, you (as a fulfilment service provider) are responsible by default.