Brexit: new UK product safety mark or CE mark, or both? Update on no-deal legislation

As referred to in our earlier article, the draft legislation implementing the new requirements for currently CE-marked products, titled The Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, was issued in February and passed by Parliament on 20 March. The mammoth piece of legislation encompasses no less than 38 pieces of affected legislation, with Part 3 covering the amendments to the product safety regulations, encompassing all CE marked products with certain exceptions including pharmaceutical products and medical devices, and construction products. The Regulations will only take effect in the event of the UK exiting the EU without a deal.

Alongside this, the Office for Product Safety and Standards has issued Guidance on the changes under the legislation, which helpfully includes tables setting out the changes made under each piece of affected legislation. The Guidance reiterates that the regulatory landscape will not change significantly and that goods already on the EU and therefore the UK market before exit day can continue to circulate freely. Those products which meet the EU requirements, including those that have been CE marked following assessment by an EU-27 conformity assessment body can continue to be placed on the UK market without any additional requirements being imposed, although this is intended to be a time-limited measure. The length of this measure remains unknown – the Guidance only states that it will be determined after future consultation and that further legislation will be required.

The table below sets out the legislation amended by Part 3 of the Regulations, together with the relevant Schedule containing those amendments.

Whilst the position on Brexit remains uncertain, businesses should continue to consider the implications of the Regulations on their product and supply chains, to ensure that their own status and that of their products is clear and to plan for any operational changes that may be necessary.