Council Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 of 8 February 1993 on checks for conformity with the rules on product safety in the case of products imported from third countries
Modified by
Actconcerning the conditions of accession of the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Austria, the Republic of Finland and the Kingdom of Sweden and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded(94/C 241/08)
Decision of the Council of the European Unionof 1 January 1995adjusting the instruments concerning the accession of new Member States to the European Union(95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC), 194N395D0001, August 29, 1994
Decision of the Council of the European Unionof 1 January 1995adjusting the instruments concerning the accession of new Member States to the European Union(95/1/EC, Euratom, ECSC), 395D0001, January 1, 1995
Council Regulation (EC) No 806/2003of 14 April 2003adapting to Decision 1999/468/EC the provisions relating to committees which assist the Commission in the exercise of its implementing powers laid down in Council instruments adopted in accordance with the consultation procedure (qualified majority), 303R0806, May 16, 2003
Actconcerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded, 103T, September 23, 2003
Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006of 20 November 2006adapting certain Regulations and Decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement of persons, company law, competition policy, agriculture (including veterinary and phytosanitary legislation), transport policy, taxation, statistics, energy, environment, cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs, customs union, external relations, common foreign and security policy and institutions, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania, 306R1791, December 20, 2006
Corrected by
Corrigendum to Council Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 of 8 February 1993 on checks for conformity with the rules on product safety in the case of products imported from third countries, 393R0339R(01), April 16, 1993
Council Regulation (EEC) No 339/93of 8 February 1993on checks for conformity with the rules on product safety in the case of products imported from third countriesTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof,Having regard to the proposal from the CommissionOJ No C 329, 15. 12. 1992, p. 3.,Whereas products may not be placed on the Community market unless they conform to the rules applicable; whereas Member States are thus responsible for carrying out checks on their conformity;Whereas, in view of the abolition of controls at the Community's internal frontiers in accordance with Article 8a of the Treaty, Member States should, when carrying out controls at external frontiers, act in accordance with comparable detailed rules in order to avoid any distortion which might adversely affect safety and health;Whereas, with due regard for the powers of, and the means available to, the national administrations concerned, the customs authorities must, in the case of products from third countries, be closely involved in the market-monitoring operations and information systems provided for under Community and national rules;Whereas, in particular, if the customs authorities find, when carrying out checks in connection with releases for free circulation, that goods display certain characteristics which would give rise to a serious doubt as to the existence of a serious and immediate risk to health and safety, these authorities must be in a position to suspend the release of those goods and to inform the national authorities responsible for monitoring the market so that the latter may take suitable action;Whereas the same should apply when, in the same circumstances, the customs authorities find that a document which should accompany the products is missing and/or products are not market as specified in the Community or national rules on product safety in force in the Member State where release of the products for free circulation is sought;Whereas, in the interests of effectiveness and coordination, Member States must designate the national authority or authorities responsible for monitoring the market which must be notified by the customs authorities in the cases referred to above;Whereas, when thus notified, the authority responsible must be in a position to verify that the products concerned comply with the Community or national rules on product safety;Whereas, however, such authority must act within a sufficiently short period in the light of the serious doubt referred to above and the international commitments entered into by the Community, in particular with regard to checks on conformity with technical standards;Whereas, therefore, unless the national authorities responsible for monitoring the market take action, including the adoption of interim protective measures, within that same period, the release of the products in question for free circulation must be authorized provided that all the other import formalities have been completed;Whereas, however, this Regulation should, in the interests of consistency, apply only in so far as Community rules on health and safety do not contain specific provisions relating to the organization of border controls on specific products;Whereas such controls should comply, on the one hand, with the principle of proportionality and thus be strictly in keeping with requirements and, on the other, with the obligations set out in the International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods, which was approved on behalf of the Community by virtue of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1262/84OJ No L 126, 12. 5. 1984, p. 1.;Whereas, in order to ensure a high level of safety in respect of import operations, the Commission and each Member State should seek to ensure the transparency of the measures taken to implement this Regulation, while all the Member States should provide each other with the necessary assistance;Whereas, in particular, the customs authorities must be provided with information, suitable to the exercise of their duties, gained from knowledge of, on the one hand, the products or product categories which are more specifically concerned and, on the other, the marking of the products and the documents accompanying them;Whereas the implementation of this Regulation must be monitored so that adjustments can, where necessary, be made in the interests of effectiveness;Whereas this Regulation forms an integral part of the common commercial policy; whereas it is limited to what is required for the smooth operation of the checks carried out on products imported from third countries to ensure their conformity with the rules on product safety applicable on the Community market;Whereas such controls should comply with obligations incumbent upon the Community under GATT to conduct trade on a non-discriminatory basis and under the GATT Code on Technical Barriers to Trade, according to which standards should not be applied as a means of creating obstacles to international trade,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: