One of the most frequent topics in customer calls is about blocking issues in customs and certification. The standard situation is the blocking at customs by the customs officer, who by requesting test reports and certifications, finds himself in front of importers who have no idea of the documents necessary for importation, and this then causes seizure of the goods and heavy economic sanctions.
The law does not admit ignorance and, as expected, the customs officer always refuses to release the cargo before checking the certificates.
The next step taken by the importer is almost always to call his Chinese supplier, requesting these famous certifications. The problem is that not even the supplier very often knows what documents they are and all this inevitably causes the consequences already mentioned in customs.
Without certificates in Europe you don’t go anywhere
About a year ago we received a similar call from an importer whose customs officers had seized an entire shipment of toys. The toys did not comply with the latest European regulations and In this case the supplier had provided a certificate, too bad it was false.
As we have said, it is essential not to trust the supplier with regard to the compliance of the labels on the products being imported.
The legal responsibility for ensuring label compliance always rests with the importer without exception.
What is the moral of the story? That you should avoid importing from China? No, but you need to know what you are doing and make sure you have all the certificates in order before sending the cargo from China.
We can certainly identify a set of behaviors designed to decrease the probability of all this happening:
Never assume that the supplier knows the certification standards and regulations in force in the importing country (Italy, for example)
When it comes to certificates, small to medium-sized importers often take a defensive attitude such as “Taking care of the certificates is the supplier’s job!” Although this may make sense theoretically, in practice the responsibility – and consequences – always lie with the importer.
Only a minority of Chinese – and more generally Asian – suppliers are aware of European certification standards.
Make sure the certificates are for the products you want
A product certificate (e.g., CE, RoHS, or REACH) is only valid for a specific product. In other words, there is no certificate that is valid for all types of products made by a given supplier. If you intend to purchase two different models from a given supplier, you will need to make sure that the certificates are valid for both products.
Verify the authenticity and validity of the documentation they send you
Coming across fake certificates and reports is very common when importing: we always recommend contacting the body that issued the documents to be sure that the CE certifications are valid and reliable.
We always recommend that you have a sample of the goods you intend to import tested before completing your purchase and having the goods shipped. Both in China and Hong Kong there are several companies that can carry out such tests. The price of a test varies from several hundred to several thousand euros, depending on the product and the certificate in question. Of course, we recommend that you be supported by experts such as those at ImportazioneFacile.it in order to identify the right standards for the product and follow the laboratory in the execution of the reports.
Need help determining which regulations are required for your product to comply with European regulations?
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Rely on ImportazioneFacile.it experts who will check all the documents and verify that the products you want to import comply with CE certifications.
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