You wish to distribute your products in Russia and other countries within the Eurasian market, but you are aware that there are many things to do to comply with the EAC legislative requirements.
How to choose your applicant
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was first created on 1st January 2015 with the name Eurasian Customs Union. It aimed at ensuring the free circulation of goods and services within the Community territory (Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan). Its technical regulations define the EAC standards for all member countries.
First of all, among many requirements to meet to get the EAC certification, it is mandatory to choose an applicant, an authorized representative, that can be represented by a legal person or an individual entrepreneur who owns a registered office in an EAEU State. Without an applicant, a foreign company won’t be able to start the EAC certification process. The applicant, therefore, acts as the interface with the certification bodies within the EAC territory.
The relation between the manufacturer and the applicant is regulated by a representation agreement. In accordance with the currently applicable law, only a company or a person based in the customs territory can apply to an EAC certification (or declaration) and affix the EAC mark, being responsible for product conformity together with the manufacturer.
The EAC system aims at ensuring higher effectiveness of control activities on foreign companies by preventing companies based outside of the Eurasian Economic Union from acting alone. Therefore, it is essential for a manufacturer to understand the importance of the role of the applicant, before learning about the entire list of documents to draw up, including technical dossiers, and the applicable regulations to a specific product (see for example the regulations related to hazardous substances or fire safety products).
From a legal point of view, the election of the applicant is, therefore, the starting point to make careful choices in the appointment of the assignment and obtain the EAC certification within a reasonable time and without making mistakes.
We need to be wary of the opinions that consider the EAC system close to the CE system. Of course, there are many points shared by a mandatory certification process among different countries. It is also true that the EAEU Technical Regulations have been inspired by European legislation. However, there are a few major differences related to the scope, technical documentation, and conformity assessment procedures. Furthermore, the withdrawal of certificates is much more frequent than in other countries, such as Europe or the USA. These withdrawals may lead to retroactive invalidity of the certificates with potential severe problems for exporters of products within the EAC territory and the exposure to the damage compensation.
How to deal with non-conformity issues
The election of the applicant is the first starting point to approach the EAC certification. As already mentioned in the previous paragraph, this figure acts as the main reference figure for control and market surveillance authorities, even in the event “non-conformities” are detected in accordance with the technical regulations. It is therefore of utter importance to be prepared to manage liability in the EAC certification process.
Article 36 of the Federal Law from December 27, 2002 (FZ-184) defines the Liability for non-compliance of products and manufacturing processes. There are three types of liabilities for both the manufacturer and applicant:
- Liability for the violation of technical regulations, related to the non-compliance with the requirements established by the technical rules.
- Liability for the violation of market or border surveillance procedures, related to the violation of any orders and decisions given by control authorities.
- Liability for product damage. It refers to the violation of technical rules during design, production, storage, transport, and sale. If the non-conformity of a product leads to an injury to the life or health of natural or legal persons, the manufacturer shall compensate for the damage caused and take all necessary measures to prevent future damages.
The manufacturer must implement all necessary measures to prevent future damages related to the export of goods to Russia or other EAEU member countries, for example by promptly removing any defects. If the manufacturer fails to carry out the program of damage elimination, surveillance authorities may submit a request to the courthouse for the mandatory withdrawal of the product from the market, which also includes the reimbursement for any loss inflicted on the purchaser and the application of administrative sanctions up to about $ 17,000 USD.
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