17.11.2022

CE acceptance in UK extended

The UK government has extended its acceptance of CE marked products for another two years.

The post Brexit move to replace the CE mark with a new UKCA marker was originally due to become mandatory at the end of 2020, when it became clear that this was totally impractical it was delayed until the end of 2021 and then end of 2022 and now it has been kicked a further two years further down the road until the end of December 2024.

So, CE marking will be recognised until 31st December 2024 or until a unit is delivered to an end customer. After that seems that if a UKCA sticker may be added to a CE certified machine and its documentation for sale through until the end of 2027. Although the relevant legislation has not been put in place or progressed, which could mean a further extended as we approach 2025.
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Vertikal Comment

This makes eminent sense, introducing a certification mark just for the UK makes zero sense and should never have been introduced in the first place. The CE mark is widely accepted even outside of the European Union and the standards of most western countries such as ANSI and the Australian equivalents have been moving ever closer to the European standards and CE as part of the ongoing ISO harmonisation efforts.

Sadly, the UK government has yet to admit to the folly and the huge costs of implementing its own mark, possibly because it has already spent millions on the project which brings no upside benefits whatsoever, but simply places an extra cost, ‘red tape’ and regulatory burdens on UK businesses and buyers.

With all that this government has on its plate, along with the need to cut costs there may yet be a chance that common sense will win out, and that it will be scrapped before it comes into effect and ideally before any taxpayers money is wasted on it.