EU Machinery Regulation dates for your calendar
2023-07-13 The EU Machinery Regulation is ripe for your calendar – at least that’s what everyone thought. However, the EU has now corrected some dates and published them in the Official Journal on 2023-07-04. We have updated our article from 2023-07-01 accordingly.
2023-07-01 / updated 2023-07-13 The EU Machinery Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery, is effective January 20, 2027. All clear. The EU Machinery Regulation is ripe for your calendar. Can you mark directly thick. Now, however, there are some articles that already apply much earlier.
- Articles 26 to 42 from January 20, 2024 (instead of from January 14, 2024).
- Article 50(1) from 20 October 2026 (instead of from 14 October 2023)
- Article 6(7), Article 48 and Article 52 from July 19, 2023 (instead of from July 13, 2023)
- Article 6(2) to (6) and (11), and Article 47 and Article 53(3) from July 20, 2024 (instead of from July 14, 2024)
Good to put these dates on your calendar as well. Even better if you keep in mind roughly what these articles are about in the first place.
July 19, 2023 – At-risk products and committee procedures
Manufacturers of at-risk products should pay attention to July 19, 2023. Article 6 is about categories of machinery listed in Annex I that are subject to the relevant conformity assessment procedures.
As early as July 19, 2023, a category of machinery will be included in Annex I, Part A, if it presents a serious inherent potential risk and additionally lacks, for example, harmonized standards. Or another defined condition. You guessed it: machines with certain risks end up in Annex I Part A.
A category of machinery that “only” poses a serious inherent potential risk, but does not meet one or more of the conditions listed under letters a to d, will be included in Annex I, Part B. (cf. Art. 6(7))
Products covered by Article 11 of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and also those products for which a procedure under Article 11 of Directive 2006/42/EC has already been initiated will be covered by Chapter VI of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 from 19 July 2023.
This chapter deals with Union market surveillance and safeguard procedures. For example, also about national procedures for dealing with risk products that fall within the scope of this Regulation. Risks may be to the health or safety of persons, domestic animals or property where applicable, and to the environment where applicable (cf. Art. 52).
Article 48 deals with committee procedures. The Commission is to be assisted by a committee, details of which are set out in this Article. This article also applies as of July 19, 2023.
October 20, 2026 – Sanctions
Anyone who wants to know early on what penalties await him or her in the event of infringements: regulations on penalties and implementation of the rules are to be issued by the member states from October 20, 2026. Effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions must be applied in the event of breaches of the regulation by economic operators, including criminal sanctions for serious infringements. By October 20, 2026, the regulations and measures should be notified to the Commission (see Art. 50).
January 20, 2024 – Conformity Assessment Bodies
If you need a notified body for your conformity assessment pay attention to January 20, 2024. From January 20, 2024 all articles of the EU regulation around notification of conformity assessment bodies apply. This affects the notification to the Commission of which independent third parties perform conformity assessment tasks under the Regulation.
Also affected: Requirements for notifying authorities, application for notification, notification procedure, obligations of notified bodies, appeal against decisions of notified bodies etc. (cf. Art. 26 to 42).
January 20, 2027 – Goodbye Machinery Directive
The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC will be history on January 20, 2027 (cf. Art. 51). From then on, the new regulation will be binding in all parts and directly applicable in every member state.
Consequently, you may make products available on the market that are placed on the market in accordance with Directive 2006/42/EC before January 20, 2027 (cf. Art. 52).
In the end, it will certainly be interesting for manufacturers whether their products are listed in Annex I, Part A or B. The reason lies in the respective conformity regulations. The reason lies in the respective conformity assessment procedures, which must be applied accordingly.
Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 Annex I instead of Machinery Directive Annex IV
Machinery and associated products that fall under the categories listed in Annex I Part A are subject to the specific conformity assessment procedures referred to in Article 25(2). This means: for the conformity assessment of your products you have to involve a notified body.
Machinery and related products falling under the categories listed in Annex I, Part B are subject to the specific conformity assessment procedures referred to in Article 25(3). If you are a manufacturer of the corresponding products, you can – also under the new regulation – choose module A for conformity assessment on your own responsibility and demonstrate conformity without involving a notified body. For modules B, C, H, G you involve a notified body.
The plan is for member states to submit category classification information for Part A or B by July 20, 2025, and every five years thereafter. As a manufacturer, you should also always keep an eye on these dates (cf. Art. 6 and 25).
Clarify questions already now
So much for the next deadlines that you can register for the EU Machinery Regulation. In loose succession, we will continue to report on Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 in our CE Plus blog.
Would you like to get some answers earlier about the new Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 on machinery: Ask our CE experts.
Deadline corrections of the EU
Deadline corrections of the EU according to Official Journal L169/35 of 2023-07-04 you will find here.
