Tool/software:
Dear business partner,
We currently purchase batteries from you (as such and / or installed or enclosed) for distribution in the EU internal market. The legal conformity of the products we sell is a top priority for us and for our customers.
Due to this, we asked you to confirm that the batteries you deliver to us comply with the Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of July 12, 2023 on batteries and waste batteries (so-called Batteries Regulation, hereinafter: Regulation 2023/1542).
For this purpose, we kindly asked you to send us a completed and signed reply letter, which we had attached to our e-mail.
With today's mail we would like to ask for your assistance in two respects:
- If you have not already done so: We would like to remind you to complete and sign the reply letter and send it to us. We have attached this letter again (Attachment). Please send it to us by 30-May-2025. For more details, see (Note 1) below.
- We would also highlight that the Battery Regulation requires you to enclose certain additional documents with your deliveries. We herewith ask you to ensure this in the future as well. In particular, this includes enclosing the instructions and safety information. For more details, see (Note 2) below.
We would like to explicitly emphasize that suppliers are obliged to proactively provide Farnell with the necessary documentation for each individual battery not yet supplied, latest when ordered by Farnell and to keep Farnell updated in case of changes.
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We want to explain our requests in more detail as follows:
(Note 1) Necessity of completing the reply form – EU Declaration of Conformity is not sufficient
As you can see from the reply letter, various obligations arising from the Battery Regulation are listed individually and their existence is confirmed.
This includes, for example, the presence of a CE marking (Art. 19 Regulation 2023/1542), technical documentation in accordance with Annex VIII Regulation 2023/1542, an identification marking in accordance Art. 38 Para. 6 2023/1542, a manufacturer's marking (Art. 38 Para. 7 Regulation 2023/1542). Please consult the reply letter for the specific obligations required.
The confirmation of these requirements is of great importance to us, otherwise we will not be able to fulfill our legal obligations.
In particular, we would like to clarify the following:
The confirmation of these individual obligations is not rendered obsolete by the existence of an EU Declaration of Conformity or a CE marking. In other words, an EU Declaration of Conformity or a CE marking is not enough!
Why?
Art. 38 Regulation 2023/1542 lists the obligations of a manufacturer within the meaning of the Regulation 2023/1542. Drawing up an EU declaration of conformity and affixing the CE marking (Art. 38 Para. 3 Regulation 2023/1542) are obligations that are explicitly mentioned alongside further obligations. For example, in addition it is the manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that the batteries bear an identification mark in accordance with Article 38 Para. 6 Regulation 2023/1542. The manufacturer is thus explicitly subject to various obligations.
Correspondingly, as an importer or distributor, we cannot and must not rely on the existence of an EU declaration of conformity and CE marking!
We must make sure that the EU declaration of conformity and the CE marking are available (Art. 41 Para. 2 Letter a, Letter c and Art. 42 Para. 2 Letter b, Letter c, Para. 3 Regulation 2023/1542).
However, this is by no means sufficient. As is clear from Art. 41 Regulation 2023/1542, we must for example also ensure
- that the technical documentation has been prepared in accordance with Annex VIII (Art. 41 Para. 2 Letter a),
- that a label in accordance with Art. 13 is available (Art. 41 Para. 2 Letter b),
- that operating instructions and safety information are available (Art. 41 Para. 2 Letter
- that the batteries bear a model identification (Art. 41 Para. 2 Letter d in conjunction with Art. 38 Para. 6), and
- that the manufacturer identification is available (Art. 41 Para. 2 Letter d in conjunction with Art. 38 Para. 7).
In summary: By relying solely on the EU Declaration of Conformity or the CE marking, we would be in breach of our obligations, which could lead to intervention by the market surveillance authorities. This is not acceptable.
In this respect, please send us the completed reply letter by the date indicated above.
(Note 2) Necessity of enclosing further documents
The reply letter also lists the documents and information that must be enclosed with the batteries on delivery. Enclosing these documents is mandatory under Regulation 2023/1542. If these documents are not enclosed, the market surveillance authorities may also intervene in this regard.
In particular, we have to stress, that the manufacturer must include instructions and safety information with the batteries. This obligation follows from Art. 38 Para. 1 Letter a Regulation 2023/1542. The following must be complied with in accordance with Article 38 Para 1 Letter a Regulation 2023/1542:
- These instructions and safety information must be clear, understandable and readable.
- In addition, they must be written in a language or languages which can be easily understood by end-users as determined by the Member State concerned. We therefore ask you to provide the operating instructions and safety information in English as default and in other languages, as required by EU Member States, upon request.
Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
Thanks
Gopal
