Authorized Representative for EAC certification

Under current law and in accordance with the technical regulation of the Eurasian Economic Union, only a company established in the territory of the customs union may apply for EAC certification or registration of an EAC declaration (EAC Declaration of Conformity).

Companies outside the EAEU, for example in Germany or the EU, are not allowed to declare their own products or to mark them with EAC - Eurasian Conformity marks.

The reason for this is that the enforcement of the claims by appropriate regulatory authorities in foreign companies can lead to difficulties arising from violations of quality and safety standards.

You can work around this problem by using the services of an authorized representative in the Eurasian Economic Union.

According to the "Agreement on the coordinated policy of technical regulation, sanitation and phytosanitary measures" adopted by the Governments of the States of the Eurasian Economic Community on 25 January 2008, the authorized representative must comply with the following requirements:

• The authorized representative must be registered in the territory of a member state of the EAEU
• A contract must be concluded between the manufacturer and the authorized representative for the implementation of the EAC certification or the EAC declaration
• An authorized representative assumes responsibility for compliance with the quality and safety standards

On the basis of a service contract with the manufacturer, the authorized representative carries out the conformity confirmation of the products with the requirements of the technical regulation in his own name and responsibility. The address and contact information of the authorized representative is indicated in the declaration of conformity or in the certificate. Thus, the authorized representative acts as the guarantor of a foreign company in the EAEU.

The transfer of manufacturer's rights to the authorized representative shall be based on a written contract with a clear reference to the rights and limitations of the authorized representative.

Schmidt & Schmidt has a branch office in Russia and thus has the right to act as an authorized representative in the EAC conformity confirmation for companies from Germany and the EU, in accordance with the legislation of the EAEU.

Tasks of the authorized representative in Russia

The most important task of the authorized representative is to represent the interests of the foreign producer in the cooperation with the supervisory authorities of the Eurasian Economic Union in respect of both the safety and quality of products as well as compliance with technical regulations.

This means that the authorized representative must be accessible at the address indicated on the certificate of conformity and have the necessary technical documentation about the conformity of the products with the technical requirements of the EAEU to be submitted to the supervisory authority in a very short time.

The tasks of the authorized representative include:

• settlement of the certificate of conformity: EAC certification or registration of the EAC declaration of conformity on behalf of the manufacturer, on the basis of technical documentation, test reports and expert opinions made available by the manufacturer or by designated testing bodies
• storage of the technical documentation
• appointment as a contact for the regulatory and supervisory authorities in case of questions regarding safety, quality of the products
• representation of the manufacturer in the context of studies of consumer accidents and conformity control
• inform the manufacturer of the changes in the technical regulations relevant to the manufacturer's products
• inform the consumer about the product's characteristics
• participation in the withdrawal of the products from the market by decision of the supervisory authorities or of the manufacturer

According to Article 36 of the Federal Law № 184 of the Russian Federation "On technical regulation" the authorized representative is responsible for the non-compliance of technical regulations and for damage to life, health, property or the environment, both civil and criminal law.

Power of attorney for import in the EAEU

The authorized representative and not the producer is the owner of an EAC certificate or an EAC declaration. As applicant, only the authorized representative can decide who can use the EAC certificate or the declaration. This means that the authorized representative, at the request of the manufacturer, must give consent in form of a Power of Attorney to each importer in the Eurasian Economic Union, so that the importer, which is usually the buyer of goods, can present this power of attorney to custms at the time of import clearance. Without the power of attorney the goods cannot be released for free circulation and, in the worst case, will have to be disposed of at the expense of the shipper.

Thus, the manufacturer becomes somewhat dependent on his representative. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for the authorized representative to disappear. In this case, no new power of attorney can be issued and very valuable certificates for which the representative was named as applicant can no longer be used.

Therefore, the selection of a reliable Authorized Representative in EAC conformity assessment has enormous importance.