|
CE Certification and Importing
Most hobbyists who are looking into buying a CNC machine have one major limiting factor that rises above all the rest, budget. Some hobbyists will import from China in order to save a little money and some will import because that is all they have the budget for. Regardless of why you are importing, any product that you do import needs to be CE certified if you find yourself in the EU. Most products imported from China do follow CE certification, but not all of them. Some small Chinese businesses are simply unaware of CE certification or may be unclear about just how CE certification laws apply to what they are selling. Some businesses, however, will purposely omit CE certification or try to trick consumers with counterfeit CE certification marks. Any time you import from China or any other country that does not require CE certification, you should use caution.
Many different products sold within the EU must follow certain directives in order to obtain permission for CE Certification and Importing, CNC machines being among these products. Each directive regulates a certain feature of certain products, such as electrical safety or energy efficiency. Directives can even cover factors that indirectly affect a product such as packaging, labeling and included instructions. Any item with a CE certification symbol should follow all directives that are applicable to that item. Selling an item that must meet those requirements without CE certification is illegal; if any item like that is spotted it will not make it through customs. Should it somehow make it through customs and is later discovered the item can be forcibly recalled and there will be some very nasty fines.
Rules of CE Certification and Importing
While providing CE certification is necessary to sell an item within the EU, importers are not legally required to do it. If you order something from any country that does not require CE certification (China, India, Australia, the United States or anywhere else) they do not, by law, have to put a CE certification symbol on their products. When you are considering ordering something by importing, check and see if that product is CE certified. If you cannot find those details about that specific product, look at the history of the company you are ordering from in general and see if they commonly comply with CE certification standards. Companies who do not use CE certification are not companies you should, or even can (if you are within the EU), order from. This can be especially important if you are not sure you are going to hang onto whatever you buy. Maybe you order a CNC machine and think, “If I do not like this one, I will resell it and try another.” Anything that you sell from the EU also requires CE certification. You cannot sell something locally or via export in the EU if it is not CE certified.
more for CE Certification and Importing, imported items can be stopped by EU customs, who can request documentation proving that the items are CE certified if they think that those items may be uncertified or counterfeits. If the proper documentation cannot be provided, those items are not going to get through customs. You must make sure that a CE certified item passes all aspects of CE certification in order to import it. If a CNC machine has passed the mechanical portion of CE certification but has failed the electrical portion, it is no good and will not be allowed past customs. Even if an item with improper certification somehow gets past customs, EU regulators can still show up asking questions about your item later. If you cannot provide proper documentation you will be up a creek without a paddle. On average, only 5% to 10% of Chinese manufacturers meet CE certification (depending on the industry). Before ordering a CNC machine or any product from China, do your research!