LegalizeRegulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC Text with EEA relevance
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:
‘construction product’ means any product or kit which is produced and placed on the market for incorporation in a permanent manner in construction works or parts thereof and the performance of which has an effect on the performance of the construction works with respect to the basic requirements for construction works;
‘kit’ means a construction product placed on the market by a single manufacturer as a set of at least two separate components that need to be put together to be incorporated in the construction works;
‘construction works’ means buildings and civil engineering works;
‘essential characteristics’ means those characteristics of the construction product which relate to the basic requirements for construction works;
‘performance of a construction product’ means the performance related to the relevant essential characteristics, expressed by level or class, or in a description;
‘level’ means the result of the assessment of the performance of a construction product in relation to its essential characteristics, expressed as a numerical value;
‘class’ means a range of levels, delimited by a minimum and a maximum value, of performance of a construction product;
‘threshold level’ means a minimum or maximum performance level of an essential characteristic of a construction product;
‘product-type’ means the set of representative performance levels or classes of a construction product, in relation to its essential characteristics, produced using a given combination of raw materials or other elements in a specific production process;
‘harmonised technical specifications’ means harmonised standards and European Assessment Documents;
‘harmonised standard’ means a standard adopted by one of the European standardisation bodies listed in Annex I to Directive 98/34/EC, on the basis of a request issued by the Commission, in accordance with Article 6 of that Directive;
‘European Assessment Document’ means a document adopted by the organisation of TABs for the purposes of issuing European Technical Assessments;
‘European Technical Assessment’ means the documented assessment of the performance of a construction product, in relation to its essential characteristics, in accordance with the respective European Assessment Document;
‘intended use’ means the intended use of the construction product as defined in the applicable harmonised technical specification;
‘Specific Technical Documentation’ means documentation demonstrating that methods within the applicable system for assessment and verification of constancy of performance have been replaced by other methods, provided that the results obtained by those other methods are equivalent to the results obtained by the test methods of the corresponding harmonised standard;
‘making available on the market’ means any supply of a construction product for distribution or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;
‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a construction product on the Union market;
‘economic operator’ means the manufacturer, importer, distributor or authorised representative;
‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person who manufactures a construction product or who has such a product designed or manufactured, and markets that product under his name or trademark;
‘distributor’ means any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a construction product available on the market;
‘importer’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union, who places a construction product from a third country on the Union market;
‘authorised representative’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on his behalf in relation to specified tasks;
‘withdrawal’ means any measure aimed at preventing a construction product in the supply chain from being made available on the market;
‘recall’ means any measure aimed at achieving the return of a construction product that has already been made available to the end-user;
‘accreditation’ has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation (EC) No 765/2008;
‘factory production control’ means the documented, permanent and internal control of production in a factory, in accordance with the relevant harmonised technical specifications;
‘micro-enterprise’ means a micro-enterprise as defined in the Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (1);
‘life cycle’ means the consecutive and interlinked stages of a construction product’s life, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal.
CHAPTER II
DECLARATION OF PERFORMANCE AND CE MARKING
Article 4
Declaration of performance
Article 5
Derogations from drawing up a declaration of performance
By way of derogation from Article 4(1) and in the absence of Union or national provisions requiring the declaration of essential characteristics where the construction products are intended to be used, a manufacturer may refrain from drawing up a declaration of performance when placing a construction product covered by a harmonised standard on the market where:
(a) the construction product is individually manufactured or custom-made in a non-series process in response to a specific order, and installed in a single identified construction work, by a manufacturer who is responsible for the safe incorporation of the product into the construction works, in compliance with the applicable national rules and under the responsibility of those responsible for the safe execution of the construction works designated under the applicable national rules;
(b) the construction product is manufactured on the construction site for its incorporation in the respective construction works in compliance with the applicable national rules and under the responsibility of those responsible for the safe execution of the construction works designated under the applicable national rules; or
(c) the construction product is manufactured in a traditional manner or in a manner appropriate to heritage conservation and in a non-industrial process for adequately renovating construction works officially protected as part of a designated environment or because of their special architectural or historic merit, in compliance with the applicable national rules.
Article 6
Content of the declaration of performance
The declaration of performance shall contain, in particular, the following information:
(a) the reference of the product-type for which the declaration of performance has been drawn up;
(b) the system or systems of assessment and verification of constancy of performance of the construction product, as set out in Annex V;
(c) the reference number and date of issue of the harmonised standard or the European Technical Assessment which has been used for the assessment of each essential characteristic;
(d) where applicable, the reference number of the Specific Technical Documentation used and the requirements with which the manufacturer claims the product complies.
The declaration of performance shall in addition contain:
(a) the intended use or uses for the construction product, in accordance with the applicable harmonised technical specification;
(b) the list of essential characteristics, as determined in the harmonised technical specification for the declared intended use or uses;
(c) the performance of at least one of the essential characteristics of the construction product, relevant for the declared intended use or uses;
(d) where applicable, the performance of the construction product, by levels or classes, or in a description, if necessary based on a calculation in relation to its essential characteristics determined in accordance with Article 3(3);
(e) the performance of those essential characteristics of the construction product which are related to the intended use or uses, taking into consideration the provisions in relation to the intended use or uses where the manufacturer intends the product to be made available on the market;
(f) for the listed essential characteristics for which no performance is declared, the letters ‘NPD’ (No Performance Determined);
(g) when a European Technical Assessment has been issued for that product, the performance, by levels or classes, or in a description, of the construction product in relation to all essential characteristics contained in the corresponding European Technical Assessment.
Article 7
Supply of the declaration of performance
However, where a batch of the same product is supplied to a single user, it may be accompanied by a single copy of the declaration of performance either in paper form or by electronic means.
Article 8
General principles and use of CE marking
If a declaration of performance has not been drawn up by the manufacturer in accordance with Articles 4 and 6, the CE marking shall not be affixed.
By affixing or having affixed the CE marking, manufacturers indicate that they take responsibility for the conformity of the construction product with the declared performance as well as the compliance with all applicable requirements laid down in this Regulation and in other relevant Union harmonisation legislation providing for its affixing.
The rules for affixing the CE marking provided for in other relevant Union harmonisation legislation shall apply without prejudice to this paragraph.
In this respect, Member States shall not introduce any references or shall withdraw any references in national measures to a marking attesting conformity with the declared performance in relation to the essential characteristics covered by a harmonised standard other than the CE marking.
Article 9
Rules and conditions for the affixing of CE marking
CHAPTER III
OBLIGATIONS OF ECONOMIC OPERATORS
Article 11
Obligations of manufacturers
Manufacturers shall, as the basis for the declaration of performance, draw up technical documentation describing all the relevant elements related to the required system of assessment and verification of constancy of performance.
Where appropriate, the Commission may, by means of delegated acts in accordance with Article 60, amend that period for families of construction products on the basis of the expected life or part played by the construction product in the construction works.
Manufacturers shall, where deemed appropriate with regard to ensuring the accuracy, reliability and stability of the declared performance of a construction product, carry out sample testing of construction products placed or made available on the market, investigate, and, if necessary, keep a register of complaints, of non-conforming products and of product recalls, and keep distributors informed of any such monitoring.
Article 12
Authorised representatives
The drawing up of technical documentation shall not form part of the authorised representative’s mandate.
An authorised representative shall perform the tasks specified in the mandate. The mandate shall allow the authorised representative to carry out at least the following tasks:
(a) keep the declaration of performance and the technical documentation at the disposal of national surveillance authorities for the period referred to in Article 11(2);
(b) further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide that authority with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the construction product with the declaration of performance and compliance with other applicable requirements in this Regulation;
(c) cooperate with the competent national authorities, at their request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by construction products covered by the mandate of the authorised representative.
Article 13
Obligations of importers
Where an importer considers or has reason to believe that the construction product is not in conformity with the declaration of performance or not in compliance with other applicable requirements in this Regulation, the importer shall not place the construction product on the market until it conforms to the accompanying declaration of performance and it complies with the other applicable requirements in this Regulation or until the declaration of performance is corrected. Furthermore, where the construction product presents a risk, the importer shall inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities thereof.
Article 14
Obligations of distributors
Where a distributor considers or has reason to believe that a construction product is not in conformity with the declaration of performance or not in compliance with other applicable requirements in this Regulation, the distributor shall not make the product available on the market until it conforms to the accompanying declaration of performance and it complies with the other applicable requirements in this Regulation or until the declaration of performance is corrected. Furthermore, where the product presents a risk, the distributor shall inform the manufacturer or the importer thereof, and the market surveillance authorities.
Article 15
Cases in which obligations of manufacturers apply to importers and distributors
An importer or distributor shall be considered a manufacturer for the purposes of this Regulation and shall be subject to the obligations of a manufacturer pursuant to Article 11, where he places a product on the market under his name or trademark or modifies a construction product already placed on the market in such a way that conformity with the declaration of performance may be affected.
Article 16
Identification of economic operators
For the period referred to in Article 11(2), economic operators shall, on request, identify the following to market surveillance authorities:
(a) any economic operator who has supplied them with a product;
(b) any economic operator to whom they have supplied a product.
CHAPTER IV
HARMONISED TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Article 17
Harmonised standards
When provided for in the relevant mandate, a harmonised standard shall refer to an intended use of products to be covered by it.
Harmonised standards shall, where appropriate and without endangering the accuracy, reliability or stability of the results, provide methods less onerous than testing for assessing the performance of the construction products in relation to their essential characteristics.
The harmonised standard shall include technical details necessary for the implementation of the system of assessment and verification of constancy of performance.
The Commission shall publish in the Official Journal of the European Union the list of references of harmonised standards which are in conformity with the relevant mandates.
The following shall be indicated for each harmonised standard in the list:
(a) references of superseded harmonised technical specifications, if any;
(b) date of the beginning of the coexistence period;
(c) date of the end of the coexistence period.
The Commission shall publish any updates to that list.
From the date of the beginning of the coexistence period it shall be possible to use a harmonised standard to make a declaration of performance for a construction product covered by it. National standardisation bodies are under the obligation to transpose the harmonised standards in conformity with Directive 98/34/EC.
Without prejudice to Articles 36 to 38, from the date of the end of the coexistence period, the harmonised standard shall be the only means used for drawing up a declaration of performance for a construction product covered by it.
At the end of the coexistence period, conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn and Member States shall terminate the validity of all conflicting national provisions.
Article 18
Formal objection against harmonised standards
Article 27
Levels or classes of performance
Where classes of performance in relation to the essential characteristics of construction products are not established by the Commission, they may be established by the European standardisation bodies in harmonised standards, on the basis of a revised mandate.
Reading this document does not replace reading the official text published in the Official Journal of the European Union. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies arising from the conversion of the original to this format.