The UK Mark

The UK Government has made provision for a ‘UKCA’ mark in Great Britain (under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, Northern remains within the Single Market for the time-being and thus products placed on the NI market should be CE marked).

The Government has also added two derogations to the above. Firstly, Manufacturers may place CE marked products on the UK market indefinitely (see here) and secondly, they have introduced a 'Fast Track' process whereby manufacturers may apply the UKCA mark to a product where it meets EU legislation, so long as the Declaration refers to that EU legislation (see here).

Manufacturers who place products on the market within the EU will not see any change in the legislation that applies to their products – the EU have not indicated that they intend to change any product legislation as a result of Brexit. There are, however some implications of UK Manufacturers being located outside the EU which should be considered:

• Manufacturers who use a UK Notified Body should contact that body ASAP to understand their ‘Post Brexit’ plans or if, indeed the UKCA mark is more appropriate
• Manufacturers who distribute through an EU supply chain should understand that the economic operator status of that supply chain will change which may require changes to packaging.
• Manufacturers of Machinery are also reminded that if they intend to place products on the EU market, they should nominate the person who is responsible for compiling the Technical File who must be located within the EU. This will be the case until 14th January 2027 when a new Machinery Regulation comes into force in the EU.

Note: The provisions were put in place by the previous (Sunak led) Government. At the time of writing it is unknown whether the current Government intend to amend this arrangement.