If a foreign manufacturer wants to obtain a certificate of conformity for their products as soon as possible or does not know how the EAC certification market works, a foreign manufacturer can make a number of specific mistakes. This article refers to some common mistakes that can be prevented and thus additional costs, violations or the invalidation of received EAC certificates and the EAC declarations.
1. You are only going to one consulting company
Dealing with only one consulting company increases your likelihood of encountering companies that are dishonest or do not fully understand the scope of the work ahead. This can lead to errors in the offer and consequently to an incorrect definition of the required conformity assessment procedure. Ultimately, such an error can lead to invalidation of the certificate of conformity, a fine or administrative liability.
2. You prioritize low price and short deadlines
When there are several offers, many foreign manufacturers opt for a lower price and short deadlines for carrying out the conformity assessment procedure. However, this path can have negative consequences. One of the steps of conformity assessment is often conducting tests, which can be neglected by some conformity assessment firms to significantly reduce costs. What is associated with the missing check is explained in the next paragraph.
3. You do not conduct tests
The tests always take a lot of time, effort and money, so often foreign manufacturers, companies that help them pass the conformity assessment procedure, certification bodies neglect this important point of EAC certification or EAC declaration. If such a violation is found, the confirmation of conformity will be declared invalid, and fines are also possible. The only possible solution in this case is to apply again and issue a certificate of conformity, which means the next round of the whole process from start to finish.
4. You do not hold face-to-face meetings or phone calls
A phone call or an online meeting is enough to understand how well a company is able to carry out a conformity assessment and to feel its professionalism. You can also ask all your questions to better understand the conformity assessment process.
5. You assume no responsibility
With an EAC declaration, the overall responsibility for each step of the conformity assessment procedure lies with the applicant/authorized representative. In the case of EAC certification, despite the fact that part of the responsibility lies with the certification body, the consequences of non-fulfilment of obligations will be fully borne by the applicant. In this case you have to check all participants of the workflow.
Applicant and Authorized Representative
Only a company resident in the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union may be the applicant for the EAC certification or the EAC declaration. You can get around this problem by using the services of an Authorized Representative in the Eurasian Economic Union.
Who is the Authorized Representative?
According to the Protocol on Technical Regulation in the Eurasian Economic Union (Appendix No. 9 to the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union):
The Authorized Representative - a legal or natural person duly registered by a member state of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) who represents the (foreign) manufacturer on the basis of a contract in the conformity assessment and placing products on the common customs territory of the EAEU and for the manufacturer to take responsibility for compliance with Union quality and safety standards.
What to look out for when applying for EAC certification you can find in this article.
Schmidt & Schmidt is a reliable partner for our customers in the conformity assessment process. Not only do we help you to determine the required scope of work quickly and precisely, we also guarantee the high-quality implementation of all required steps of the conformity assessment procedure.
