S.I. No. 424/1992 - European Communities (Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments) Regulations, 1992.


S.I. No. 424 of 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (NON-AUTOMATIC WEIGHING INSTRUMENTS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

Regulation

1. Citation and commencement.

2. Interpretation.

3. Derogation and repeal.

4. Scope of application.

5. Placing on the market and putting into service.

6. Offences and penalties.

7. Essential requirements.

8. Standards.

9. Divergence of standard from essential requirements.

10. Safeguard clauses.

11. Conformity to essential requirements.

12. EC type examination.

13. EC declaration of type conformity.

14. Quality system approval.

15. Surveillance of quality system.

16. EC verification.

17. EC unit verification.

18. Common provisions — place of verification and gravity issue.

19. Conformity with other Directives.

20. Notified bodies.

21. EC mark and inscriptions.

22. Review.

23. In-service inspection.

24. Inspectors.

S.I. No. 424 of 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (NON-AUTOMATIC WEIGHING INSTRUMENTS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, PÁDRAIG FLYNN, Minister for Industry and Commerce, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 90/384/EEC1 of 20 June, 1990 hereby make the following Regulations:

1 O.J. No. L189, 20.7.90, p.1.

1 Citation and commencement.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments) Regulations, 1992.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1993.

2 Interpretation.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"the Commission" means the Commission of the European Communities;

"the Directive" means Council Directive 90/384/EEC of 20 June, 1990*;

*O.J. No. L189/1,20.7.90.

"weighing instrument" means a measuring instrument serving to determine the mass of a body by using the action of gravity on that body. A weighing instrument may also serve to determine other mass-related magnitudes, quantities, parameters or characteristics;

"instrument" means a non-automatic weighing instrument;

"non-automatic weighing instrument" means a weighing instrument requiring the intervention of an operator during weighing;

"relevant national standard" means a national standard of any Member State applicable to non-automatic weighing instrument implementing the harmonised standards whose

reference numbers have been published in accordance with Article 5 (2) of the Directive;

"examination and tests" means the appropriate examinations and tests described in the relevant national standard or such equivalent tests;

"notified body" means a body designated by the Minister for Industry and Commerce and notified to the other Member States and the Commission in accordance with Article 9 of the Directive or a body similarly designated by another Member State;

"inspector" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 24;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;

"Member State" means a Member State of the European Communities;

"inscriptions" means the relevant data as described in Annex IV of the Directive;

"sticker" means that described in paragraph 1.1(b) of Annex IV of the Directive, except as provided for in Regulation 23;

"EC mark of conformity" means the mark specified in Article 10 of the Directive;

"manufacturer" means a manufacturer of non-automatic weighing instruments;

"authorised representative" means a representative established within the European Communities authorised in writing by the manufacturer;

"place on the market" and cognate words, shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 5;

(2) In these Regulations, a reference by number to a Regulation is to the appropriate Regulation of these Regulations.

3 Derogation and repeal.

3. (1) By way of derogation from Regulation 1, it shall be permitted during a period of ten years from 1 January, 1993 to place on the market and also to put into service instruments which conform to the rules in force prior to that date. Such instruments shall continue to be subject to such rules only.

(2) Except to the extent of paragraph 1, Council Directive 73/360/EEC2 is repealed as from 1 January, 1993.

2 O.J. No. L335, 5.12.73, p.1.

4 Scope of application.

4. A distinction is made in these Regulations between two categories of instrument use:

( a ) (i) determination of mass for commercial transactions;

(ii) determination of mass for the calculation of a toll, tariff, tax, bonus, penalty, remuneration, indemnity or similar type of payment;

(iii) determination of mass for the application of laws or regulations except use of instruments by the Weights and Measures Service of the State in the application of weights and measures laws and regulations; expert opinion given in court proceedings;

(iv) determination of mass in the practice of medicine for weighing patients for the purposes of monitoring, diagnosis and medical treatment;

(v) determination of mass for making up medicines on prescription in a pharmacy and determination of mass in analyses carried out in medical and pharmaceutical laboratories;

(vi) determination of price on the basis of mass for the purposes of direct sales to the public and the making up of packages prepacked other than those made up in predetermined constant quantities in accordance with the Quantity Control Act, 1980;

( b ) all applications other than those listed in paragraph (a).

5 Placing on the market and putting into service.

5. (1) Only instruments which meet the requirements of these Regulations that apply to them may be

( a ) placed on the market,

( b ) put into service for the uses referred to in Regulation 4(a).

(2) Any person who places on the market or causes to be placed on the market or who causes to be offered for sale, whether by lease, rental or other type of agreement, any instrument which does not meet the requirements of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) Any person who places in service or causes to be placed in service or uses for any of the applications referred to in Regulation 4 (a), any instrument which does not meet the requirements of these Regulations that apply to it shall be guilty of an offence.

(4) In these Regulations "places on the market" means—

( a ) import,

( b ) sell (whether by wholesale or retail),

( c ) offer or expose for such sale,

( d ) distribute free of charge, or

( e ) supply by a manufacturer for any of those purposes,

and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

6 Offences and penalties.

6. (1) An person guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, in the case of an individual, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment and the instruments concerned shall be liable to be forfeited.

(2) Where the commission by any person of an offence under Regulation 5.2, 5.3, 10.3, 19.2, 21.2 or 23.8 is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall also be guilty of the offence and may be charged with and convicted of the offence whether or not proceedings are taken against the first mentioned person.

(3) Where an offence, committed by a body corporate, is proved to have been committed with the consent of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed guilty of the offence.

(4) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members paragraph (3) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

(5) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, proceedings for an offence under these Regulations may be instituted at any time within one year from the date on which the offence was committed.

(6) Proceedings for an offence under these Regulations may be brought and prosecuted by an inspector as described in Regulation 24.

(7) Details of prosecutions taken under paragraph (6) shall be notified to the Minister.

7 Essential requirements.

7. (1) Instruments which are put into use for applications referred to in Regulation 4 (a) must satisfy the essential requirements set out in Annex I of the Directive.

(2) If an instrument includes or is connected to devices which are not used for applications listed in Regulation 4 (a), the devices shall not be subject to the essential requirements referred in paragraph (1).

8 National standards.

8. (1) Instruments which comply with the national standards implementing the harmonised standards that meet the essential requirements shall be presumed to conform with the essential requirements referred to in Annex I of the Directive.

(2) The references of the national standards referred to in paragraph (1) shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil.

9 Divergence of standards from essential requirements.

9. (1) Where after receiving a report from the appropriate notified body, the Minister considers that the harmonised standards referred to in Regulation 8, do not fully meet the essential requirements referred to in Annex 1 of the Directive, he shall bring the matter before the Standing Committee set up under Council Directive 83/189/EEC(3), giving his reasons for doing so.

3 O.J. No. L109, 26.4.83, p.8.

(2) In the light of the Committee's opinion, the Commission shall inform the Member States whether or not it is necessary to withdraw those standards from the publications referred to in Regulation 8.

10 Safeguard clauses.

10. (1) If it appears to an inspector that two or more instruments of an approved type bearing the EC mark of conformity referred to in Regulations 13, 16 and 17 do not meet the requirements of these Regulations when properly installed and used for the purposes for which they are intended, he shall notify the Minister thereof.

(2) Where the Minister agrees with the opinion of the inspector, he may by direction in writing given to the person or persons who is placing or has placed such instruments on the market or in service, prohibit him from placing or continuing to place on the market or put into service such instruments, impose restrictions on his so doing or require him to take all practical steps to withdraw from the market or from service, as the case may be, any such instruments already placed by him on the market or in service and such person or persons shall comply with the direction.

(3) A person who places the EC mark of conformity on an instrument which does not comply with the requirements of the Directive that apply to it, shall be guilty of an offence under these Regulations. The Minister shall notify such offences to the Commission and the other Member States.

(4) Where the Minister decides to give a direction under paragraph (2), he shall immediately inform the Commission indicating why he intends to issue the direction and in particular whether non-compliance is due to:

( a ) failure to meet the essential requirements referred to in Regulation 7 where the instruments do not meet the standards referred to in Regulation 8;

( b ) incorrect application of the standards referred to in Regulation 8;

( c ) shortcomings in the standards referred to in Regulation 8 themselves.

(5) The Minister may, on receipt of the Commission's opinion, withdraw a direction given by him under paragraph (2).

11 Conformity to essential requirements.

11. (1) An instrument shall satisfy the essential requirements only if, as selected by the applicant, either procedure (a) or (b) is followed—

( a ) an EC type-approval certificate has been issued in respect of the instrument by a notified body and is in force and one of the following conditions are satisfied—

(i) an EC declaration of type conformity has been made, and an EC mark of conformity, inscriptions and sticker have been affixed to the instrument, by the manufacturer, in accordance with Regulation 13 or under the law of another Member State;

(ii) an EC verification has been carried out by a notified body and the instrument bears the EC mark of conformity, inscriptions and sticker which have been affixed in accordance with Regulation 16 or under the law of another Member State;

( b ) an EC unit verification has been carried out by a notified body and the instrument bears the EC mark of conformity, inscriptions and sticker which have been affixed in accordance with Regulation 17 or under the law of another Member State.

(2) EC type examination as specified in paragraph (1) (a) shall not be compulsory for instruments which do not use electronic devices and whose load-measuring device does not use a spring to balance the load.

(3) The documents and correspondence relating to the procedures referred to in paragraph (1) shall, so far as the procedures are carried out in the State, be drafted in the English language or a language accepted by the notified body.

12 EC type examination.

12. (1) An application for EC type examination shall be made in writing to the relevant notified body in the State by the manufacturer or his authorised representative and shall include:

( a ) the name and address of the manufacturer and, if the application is lodged by the authorised representative, his name and address,

( b ) a written declaration that the application has not been lodged with any other notified body, and

( c ) so far as relevant for assessment, the design documentation specified in Annex III of the Directive.

(2) The applicant shall, when requested by the notified body, make available an instrument, representative of the production envisaged, hereinafter referred called "type".

(3) On receipt of an application under paragraph (1) the notified body shall:

( a ) examine the design documentation and verify that the type has been manufactured in accordance with that documentation;

( b ) agree with the applicant on the location where examinations and tests shall be carried out;

( c ) perform or have performed the appropriate examinations and tests to check whether—

(i) the solutions adopted by the manufacturer meet the essential requirements where the standards referred to in Regulation 8 have not been applied, or

(ii) where the relevant standards have been applied that these have been applied effectively, thereby assuring conformity with the essential requirements.

(4) Where after carrying out the functions under paragraph (3), the type is considered as meeting the provisions of these Regulations, the notified body shall issue an EC type-approval certificate to the applicant. The certificate shall contain the conclusions of the examination, conditions (if any) for its validity, the necessary data for identification of the approved instrument and, if relevant, a description of its functioning. All the relevant technical elements such as drawings and layouts shall be annexed to the EC type-approval certificate.

(5) Subject to any restrictions imposed under paragraph (6) the certificate shall have a validity period of 10 years from the date of its issue, and may be renewed for subsequent periods of 10 years each.

(6) Where new techniques are employed or other fundamental changes to the design of the instrument are made, an EC type-approval certificate may be granted for a specified period, and—

( a ) the initial period for which the certificate is granted shall be restricted to a period of two years; and

( b ) one extension for a period of three years may be granted.

(7) The applicant shall keep the notified body that has issued the EC type-approval certificate informed of any modifications to the approved type.

(8) Where an EC type-approval certificate has been granted under paragraph (4) and modifications or additions to the approved type influencing conformity with the essential requirements of these regulations are proposed, the manufacturer, or his authorised representative, shall make written application to the same notified body for approval of the modifications or additions to the approved type.

(9) On an application under paragraph (8), the notified body shall carry out an examination of the approved type with the modifications or additions proposed and if satisfied that the type complies with the provision of the Directive that apply to it, shall approve the modifications or additions and issue an addition to the original EC type-approval certificate.

(10) ( a ) The notified body shall periodically make available to the Minister and to other Member States a list of:

(i) applications received for EC type-examination,

(ii) EC type-approval certificates issued,

(iii) applications for type-approval certificates refused,

(iv) additions and amendments relating to documents already issued,

and, on request, shall send to the Minsiter or the notified bodies of other Member States a copy of any EC type-approval certificate together with any Annexes to it that have issued.

( b ) The notified body shall inform the Minsiter and all other Member States forthwith of withdrawals of EC type-approval certificates.

13 EC declaration of type conformity.

13. (1) A manufacturer who has opted for the EC declaration of type conformonity procedure referred to in Regulation 11.1 (a) (i) and who has implemented an approved quality system which is subject to surveillance as described in Regulation 15 may, after carrying out the appropriate examinations and tests declare that the instruments concerned are, where applicable, in conformity with the type as described in the EC type-approval certificate and satisfy the requirements of these Regulations that apply to them.

(2) ( a ) The manufacturer shall affix the EC mark of conformity to each instrument together with the sticker and inscriptions provided for in Annex IV of the Directive.

( b ) The EC mark shall be accompanied by the identification code of the notified body responsible for EC surveillance as described in Regulation 15.

14 Quality system approval.

14. (1) In order to carry out EC declaration of type conformity a manufacturer shall first lodge an application in writing for approval of his quality system with the relevant notified body.

The application shall include an undertaking:

( a ) to carry out the obligations arising from the approved quality system,

( b ) to maintain the approved quality system to ensure its continuing suitability and effectiveness.

(2) The manufacturer shall make available to the notified body all relevant information including in particular the quality system's documentation and the design documentation of the instruments.

(3) On application made to it under paragraph (1), the notified body shall examine and evaluate the quality system to determine whether it satisfied the requiements referred to in paragraph 2.3.2 of Annex II of the Directive. It shall presume conformity with these requirements in respect of quality systems that implement the relevant national standard.

(4) ( a ) After carrying out its obligations under paragraph (3), the notified body shall inform the Minister and the other notified bodies of its decision.

( b ) Where the notified body is satisfied that the system meets the requirements referred to in paragraph 2.3.2 of Annex II of the Directive, it shall grant to the manufacturer an approval of the quality system.

( c ) The notification of approval to the manufacturer shall include the conclusions of the examination and evaluation carried out by the notified body.

(5) Where the notified body, after carrying out its obligations under paragraph (3), refuses to grant an approval of the quality system it shall in writing, inform the manufacturer and the Minister of its decision and the grounds for its decision.

(6) The manufacturer or his authorised representative shall keep the notified body that has approved the quality system informed of any updating of the quality system in relation to changes brought about by, for example, new technologies and new quality concepts.

(7) If a notified body withdraws approval of a quality system, it shall so inform the Minister and the other notified bodies.

15 Surveillance of quality system.

15. (1) Where a manufacturer has made an EC declaration of type conformity under Regulation 13 (1), the notified body to whom the manufacturer made an application for approval of the quality system shall carry out EC surveillance, and in particular

( a ) shall periodically carry out audits in order to ensure that the manufacturer is maintaining and applying the quality system and provide the manufacturer with an audit report, and

( b ) may, from time to time, carry out unscheduled visits to the places of manufacture, inspection, testing and storage and—

(i) check whether the manufacturer is maintaining and applying the quality system, nad

(ii) at its discretion, carry out full or partial audits, and shall provide the manufacturer with a report on each such visit and on any such audit.

(2) For the purpose of assisting the notified body to carry out the audits and checks specified in paragraph (1), the manufacturer shall grant the notified body access to the manufacture, inspection, testing and storage premises and shall keep available for inspection by the notified body all necessary information, including—

( a ) the documentation of the quality system,

( b ) the instrument design documentation, and

(c) the quality records.

16 EC verification.

16. (1) An application for EC verification shall be made to a notified body by the manufacturer or his authorised representative established in the Community and each application, where appropriate, and subject to paragarph (2) shall, be accompanied by a copy of the type-approval certificate if the notified body so requests.

(2) An application under paragraph (1) in respect of instruments not subject to EC type-approval according to Regulation 11.2 shall, if the notified body so requests, be accompanied by the design documentation as specified in Regulation 12.1 (c) relating to those instruments.

(3) Where after carrying out the appropriate examinations and tests the notified body is satisfied that the instruments, where appropriate, have been manufactured in conformity with an approved type and satisfy the provisions of these Regulations that apply to them, it shall affix to each instrument the EC mark of conformity, the sticker and its own identification code.

(4) If after carrying out the examinations and tests referred to in paragraph (3), the notified body refuses to affix the EC mark of conformity or sticker to any instrument under that paragraph, it shall in writing, inform the applicant of its decision and of the grounds for its decision.

17 EC unit verification.

17. (1) An application for EC unit verification shall be made to a notified body, by the manufacturer or his authorised representative.

(2) An application under paragraph (1) shall be accompanied by the design documentation as specified in Regulation 12.1 (c).

(3) Where after carrying out the appropriate examinations and tests, the notified body is satisfied that the instrument, generally designed for a specific application, meets the requirements of these regulations which apply to it, the notified body shall affix to the instrument, the EC mark of conformity, the sticker and its own identification code.

(4) If after carrying out the examinations and tests referred to in paragraph (3), the notified body refuses to affix the EC mark of conformity or sticker to the instrument under that paragraph, it shall in writing inform the applicant of its decision.

18 Common provisions — place of verification and gravity issue.

18. The locations at which the EC declaration of conformity, the EC verification and the EC unit verification may be carried out shall be determined in accordance with paragraph 5 of Annex II of the Directive.

19 Conformity with other Directives.

19. (1) No person shall affix an EC mark of conformity to an instrument if the mark cannot be taken as indicating that the instrument also fulfils the requirements of other Community Directives applicable to it.

(2) Any person who affixes an EC mark of conformity in contravention of paragraph (1), shall be guilty of an offence under these Regulations.

20 Notified bodies.

20. (1) The Minister may, for the purposes of carrying out the functions specified in Regulation II designate and notify to the Commission and the other Member States bodies to—

( a ) carry out EC type-examination and issue EC type-approval certificates,

( b ) examine, evaluate and approve a quality system in respect of instruments and to carry out EC surveillance,

( c ) carry out EC verification,

( d ) carry out EC unit verification.

(2) In designating a body under paragraph (1), the Minister may, limit the designation to a specified period, and, subject it to conditions and, in particular, the body must meet the minimum criteria specified in Annex V of the Directive.

(3) The Minister may revoke a designation if he is satisfied that the body ceases to comply with such conditions. In any such case he shall inform the other Member States and the Commission.

21 EC mark and inscriptions.

21. (1) Unless otherwise stated in these Regulations, affixing the EC mark of conformity, sticker, inscriptions or symbol shall be the responsibility of the manufacturer or his authorised representative and shall be applied in accordance with Annex IV of the Directive.

(2) Any person who gives information in connection with an instrument by means of a misleading mark or inscription or otherwise, which is likely to be confused with an EC mark of conformity, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) Where either a notified body or a manufacturer affixes an EC mark of conformity and sticker to an instrument used for any of the applications referred to in Regulation 4, and which includes or is connected to devices that have not been subject to conformity assessment as referred to in Regulation 11, each of those devices shall bear the symbol restricting its use as defined by Annex IV.3 of the Directive. This symbol shall be affixed to the devices in a clearly visible and indelible form.

(4) Where in accordance with Article 11 of the Directive, a notified body in the State responsible for the issuing of a type approval certificate or the approval of a quality system has established that an EC mark of conformity has been wrongly placed on an instrument, and where the manufacturer has failed to comply with a written request from the notified body to take the appropriate measure within the time specified in the request to conform with the requirements of these Regulations, the notified body shall, withdraw the EC type-approval certificate issued by it or the approval of the quality system, as the case may be.

22 Review.

22. (1) Any decision taken resulting in a restriction being imposed on the placing on the market or putting into service of an instrument shall be notified to the person concerned, stating the exact grounds for the decision and confirming the right to appeal against the decision under paragraph (2) and the time limit for bringing such an appeal.

(2) Any person aggrieved by a decision under paragraph (1) may, by notice in writing given to the Minister not later than 14 days after receipt by that person of notice of that decision, appeal to the Minister against the decision and the Minister, having considered any submission made to him by the person and any other interested parties and the report of any inquiry held under paragraph (3) in relation to the appeal or of any assessor appointed under paragraph (4) in relation thereto, may uphold, vary or reverse the decision.

(3) The Minister may appoint an officer to hold an inquiry in connection with an appeal under this Regulation and to report to the Minister on the findings and result of the inquiry.

(4) The Minister may appoint an assessor to assist him and to make a report to him in relation to an appeal under this Regulation or to assist an officer of the Minister in relation to an inquiry being held by the Minister under paragraph (2).

(5) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Minister under these Regulations may appeal to the High Court against the decision and the court may vary, annul or confirm the decision.

23 In-service inspection.

23. (1) Instruments in use bearing either

( a ) the EC mark of conformity, or

( b ) the national verification stamp in respect of instruments exempt from the provisions of these Regulations in accordance with Regulation 3.1,

shall be subject to inspection by an inspector to establish their continued conformity with the requirements of the relevant Regulations.

(2) The maximum permissible errors applicable for inspection purposes shall be those set out in Annex 1.4.2 of the Directive.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), inspections shall be carried out at least once every two years.

(4) At the discretion of the inspector, arrangements may also be made for special surprise inspections from time to time.

(5) If on inspection an instrument is found to comply with the Regulation, the inspector shall apply the inspection sticker.

(6) If on inspection an instrument is found to be outside the maximum permissible errors, or otherwise does not meet the requirements of those Regulations, notice shall be issued by the inspector to the user of the instrument to have the necessary adjustments carried out so as to bring the instrument within the maximum permissible errors referred to in Annex 1.4.1 of the Directive within fourteen days.

(7) If on the expiry of the fourteen day period, the instrument still fails to comply with this Regulation, the inspector shall apply a rejection sticker.

(8) Any person who uses an instrument bearing a rejection sticker shall be guilty of an offence under these Regulations.

(9) The stickers referred to in this Regulation shall be applied on or as near as possible to the indicating device of the instruments and shall be clearly visible when the instrument is in its normal position for use.

(10) The stickers shall be in a form approved by the Minister and shall contain at least the following data:

Weights and Measures Services (Irl)

Date of Inspection or Rejection..............

Inspector's Number..............................

24 Inspectors.

24. (1) In these Regulations, "inspector" means an Inspector of Weights and Measures appointed under the Weights and Measures Acts, 1878 to 1961, to exercise, for the purposes of these Regulations and the Directive, the powers conferred by this Regulation.

(2) An inspector may, on production of his warrant of appointment if so required by any person affected, for the purposes of these Regulations and of the Directive—

( a ) at all reasonable times enter any premises or place in which he has reasonable grounds for believing that there is an instrument or an instrument is being manufactured, or any premises or place that are part of the undertaking engaged in the manufacture of appliances,

( b ) at such premises or place, inspect and take copies of, or extracts from, any books, records or other documents which he finds in the course of his inspection,

( c ) carry out or have carried out such examinations, tests, inspections and checks of the place and any equipment, machinery or plant in or at the place as he reasonably considers to be necessary for the purposes of his functions under these Regulations or the Directive,

( d ) require any person at the premises or place and the owner or person in charge and any person employed in connection therewith to give to him such information and to produce to him such books, documents and other records which are in that person's power or procurement as he may reasonably require for the purposes of his functions under these Regulations or the Directive,

( e ) take possession of and remove for examination and checking an instrument and retain such instrument for such time as he considers reasonable for the purposes of his functions under these Regulations or the Directive.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23rd day of December, 1988.

PÁDRAIG FLYNN,

Minister for Industry and Commerce.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations come into effect on 1st January, 1993 and implement Council Directive 90/384 on the harmonisation of the laws of Member States relating to Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments.

They provide for the free movement within the Community of all non-automatic weighing instruments and set out essential requirements which must be met for instruments intended for certain specified uses.

They provide that the essential requirements may be met through adoption by a manufacturer of the European Standard for Non-Automatic Weighing Instruments. They also provide for the appointment of notified bodies to carry out the various functions such as type-approval, verification and quality system approval and set out the obligations on manufacturers and the conditions under which they may issue a declaration of conformity and attach the EC mark to instruments.

The Regulations empower the Minister to order the withdrawal from the market or impose restrictions on the placing on the market of instruments bearing the EC mark which do not meet the requirements of the Regulations.

The Regulations also provide for an appeals procedure, powers of inspectors and penalties for offences.