You Imported It, So EU Law Calls You the Manufacturer: A CE Marking Reality Check

You Found the Perfect Supplier. Then Reality Showed Up.

You found the perfect supplier. The price is right, the samples look good, and the factory tour went well — clean floors, busy production lines, a smiling quality manager handing you a folder of certificates. Then someone back in Europe asks: "Who's responsible for the CE mark?" And suddenly you realize it's you — not the factory, not the trading company, not the freight forwarder. You.

This is the moment where importing into the European Union stops being a procurement exercise and becomes a regulatory one. And if you're not prepared for it, it can get expensive.

The Central Misconception: The Factory Does Not Handle CE for You

Let's get the uncomfortable part out of the way. Under EU law — specifically the New Legislative Framework built on Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 and Decision No 768/2008/EC — the importer who places a product on the EU market carries obligations that mirror those of the manufacturer. In many practical scenarios, the importer effectively is the manufacturer for regulatory purposes.

That folder of certificates your factory handed you? It probably contains test reports from a Chinese or Turkish lab. Maybe a CE logo printed on letterhead. What it almost certainly does not contain is a properly drafted EU Declaration of Conformity (DoC) — because that's a document you need to sign, not the factory.

The factory's "CE certificate" is usually a test report confirming that a sample passed certain tests at a certain moment. It is not a Declaration of Conformity. It does not transfer legal responsibility. And it does not mean the product is compliant.

What the CE Mark Actually Requires of the Importer

Here is what EU legislation actually demands from you as the person placing a product on the single market.

1. Identify the Applicable Directives and Regulations

Not every product falls under the same rules. You need to determine which EU directives or regulations apply to your specific product. Common ones include:

• Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 — replacing the old Machinery Directive as of January 2027, but already relevant for new designs
• Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2014/35/EU — electrical equipment between 50 and 1,000 V AC
• Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive (EMC) 2014/30/EU — anything electronic
• Food Contact Materials Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 — if your product touches food
• REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 — chemical substances in articles
• General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) (EU) 2023/988 — the new catch-all, in force since December 2024

Many products fall under multiple directives simultaneously. An imported electric kitchen appliance, for example, must comply with LVD, EMC, REACH, food-contact rules, and GPSR.

2. The EU Declaration of Conformity — Your Document, Your Signature

The DoC is the legal document in which you declare that the product meets all applicable EU requirements. It must include:

• Your company name and full postal address
• Product identification (model, batch, serial numbers)
• A list of all directives and harmonized standards applied
• Your signature (or that of your authorized representative)

This is not something the factory writes for you. If they do, and it bears their Chinese address as the "manufacturer," it may not satisfy importer obligations under the New Legislative Framework.

3. The Technical File Must Exist — And Be Accessible for 10 Years

EU law requires that a technical file exists for every CE-marked product. This file must include risk assessments, design documentation, test reports, and evidence of conformity. As the importer, you don't necessarily need to create the technical file — but you must ensure it exists and that you can produce it on demand for market surveillance authorities.

"Keeping the technical file for 10 years" means you need access to the full file: risk assessments, test reports, design drawings, manufacturing specifications. Not just a PDF of the Declaration of Conformity saved in your email.

4. Product Labelling: CE Mark + Your Name and Address

The product itself must bear the CE marking, and — critically — your name and postal address as the importer. This is not optional. Market surveillance authorities use this information to trace non-compliant products back to the responsible economic operator.

Where Importers Get Burned

In our experience, these are the failure points that trip up importers most frequently — and most expensively.

Relying on the factory's "CE certificate." We see this constantly. The factory hands over a document with a CE logo, the importer files it away, and everyone sleeps well until a customs authority or market surveillance inspector asks for the actual Declaration of Conformity. The factory's document is a test report at best and a marketing prop at worst.

Missing EU Declaration of Conformity. This is the single most common compliance failure. The DoC is the one document that must exist for every CE-marked product, and it must name the importer (or manufacturer/authorized representative) with an EU address. Without it, the CE mark on the product is legally meaningless.

No traceability system. When a recall happens — and if you import long enough, one will — you need to identify which batches are affected and where they went. EU law requires traceability. That means batch numbers, delivery records, and a system to link them.

GPSR overlap. The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, in force since December 2024, adds a "responsible person" requirement and catches products that previously slipped through the cracks — items not covered by specific harmonized legislation now need formal safety documentation and a named EU contact person.

The suspiciously cheap CE package. If someone offers full CE documentation for €200 on a complex machine or electronic device, you are buying a test report at best and a Word template at worst. Proper conformity assessment for a machine under the Machinery Regulation involves a genuine risk assessment, applicable harmonized standards, and often engagement with a Notified Body. That costs what it costs.

The Concrete Checklist: Before the Container Ships

Before you confirm that purchase order, walk through this:

1. Identify every applicable directive and regulation. Use the EU's "Blue Guide" (2022 edition) as your roadmap.
2. Obtain or commission actual testing to the relevant harmonized standards — from a lab you trust, not just the cheapest quote.
3. Draft the EU Declaration of Conformity with your company name, EU postal address, and a list of all applicable directives and standards.
4. Verify the technical file exists and is complete. You should have copies of or guaranteed access to: risk assessment, test reports, design documentation, manufacturing process descriptions.
5. Confirm product labelling includes the CE marking, your importer name and address, batch/serial identification, and any directive-specific markings (e.g., the wheelie bin symbol for WEEE).
6. Establish your traceability system. Batch numbers linked to production records, delivery destinations, and customer records.
7. Appoint your responsible person under GPSR if applicable — this may be you, or a separate authorized representative.
8. Set up a document retention system — you need to keep the technical file and DoC accessible for at least 10 years after the last unit is placed on the market.

GPSR 2023/988: The New Layer You Cannot Ignore

The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 has been in force since December 13, 2024. It replaced the old General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) and introduces several changes that directly affect importers:

• Responsible person requirement: Every product placed on the EU market must have a "responsible person" established in the EU. For importers, this is typically you.
• Extended scope: GPSR covers consumer products that are not subject to specific EU harmonisation legislation. If your product previously fell into a "gap" — not covered by LVD, EMC, or other directives — GPSR now catches it.
• Online marketplace obligations: If you sell through platforms, the platform may also have obligations, but yours don't disappear.
• Incident reporting and recalls: More structured obligations for corrective action when products turn out to be unsafe.

The practical impact: more products now require formal documentation than before, and the importer's name must appear on or with the product even for items that previously required minimal compliance work.

The Akacia Approach

At Akacia Import & Export, we build compliance documentation into the order specification from day one — not as an afterthought when the container is already on the water. If you're sourcing industrial goods or consumer products into the EU and want CE, REACH, and GPSR handled as part of the buying process rather than a scramble at customs, that's what we do.

We've written separately about private-label CE requirements and importer liability — the short version is that when your brand goes on the product, your obligations increase further.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the CE mark a quality certification?

No. The CE mark is not a quality seal or a certificate of excellence. It is a legal declaration that the product meets the essential health and safety requirements of all applicable EU directives. A product can be CE-marked and still be mediocre in quality — it just means it meets the regulatory floor, not that it's good.

Can the Chinese factory provide CE marking for me?

The factory can affix the CE symbol to the product and even prepare technical documentation. But under the New Legislative Framework, the importer is the economic operator responsible for ensuring the product actually complies. If the factory's documentation is incomplete, incorrect, or fabricated, the legal liability sits with you — the importer — not the factory in Shenzhen or Istanbul. You can use factory-generated test reports as inputs, but the Declaration of Conformity and the compliance decision are yours.

What's the penalty for non-compliance?

Penalties vary by EU member state, but they range from product seizure at the border to forced recalls, fines (which can reach hundreds of thousands of euros), and in serious cases, criminal prosecution. Under GPSR, market surveillance authorities also have the power to order online listings removed. The financial risk is not theoretical — customs authorities in Germany, the Netherlands, and France conduct regular market surveillance operations targeting imported goods.

Do I need a Notified Body for all products?

No. Many product categories allow for self-assessment — the manufacturer (or importer acting as manufacturer) performs the conformity assessment internally using harmonized standards. However, some product categories or higher-risk configurations require third-party assessment by a Notified Body. Machinery in certain Annex categories, medical devices, pressure equipment, and personal protective equipment are common examples where Notified Body involvement is mandatory.

What changed with GPSR 2023/988?

The biggest practical change is the "responsible person" requirement. Every consumer product on the EU market now needs a named entity in the EU who is responsible for compliance. For importers, this was often implicitly you anyway — GPSR makes it explicit and extends the obligation to product categories that previously had minimal formal requirements. It also introduces structured obligations for recalls and safety alerts.

How is CE different from EAC, UKCA, or other marks?

CE applies to products placed on the EU/EEA single market. The EAC mark (Eurasian Conformity) applies to the Eurasian Economic Union (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan) — it is a completely separate system with different technical regulations and test requirements. The UKCA mark applies to Great Britain (not Northern Ireland, which still uses CE under the Windsor Framework). These marks are not interchangeable. A product with an EAC mark is not legal for sale in the EU, and vice versa. If you import into multiple markets, you need separate conformity assessments for each.

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This article is published by Akacia Import & Export for informational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. For product-specific compliance guidance, consult a qualified regulatory advisor or contact Akacia for a preliminary assessment.