Obligations of Economic Operators
Overview of Obligations
The European Accessibility Act establishes specific responsibilities for different actors in the supply chain to ensure that products and services meet the accessibility requirements. These obligations are tailored to the role of each economic operator in the market.
The Directive defines four types of economic operators with distinct responsibilities:
- Manufacturers: Any natural or legal person who manufactures a product or has a product designed or manufactured, and markets that product under their name or trademark
- Importers: Any natural or legal person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market
- Distributors: Any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the market
- Service Providers: Any natural or legal person who provides a service on the Union market or makes offers to provide such a service to consumers in the Union
Manufacturers: Key Obligations
Manufacturers bear the primary responsibility for ensuring that products comply with the accessibility requirements. Their key obligations include:
- Ensuring that products are designed and manufactured in accordance with accessibility requirements
- Carrying out the conformity assessment procedure
- Drawing up technical documentation
- Drawing up the EU declaration of conformity
- Affixing the CE marking
- Ensuring that procedures are in place for series production to remain in conformity
- Maintaining records of complaints and non-conforming products
- Providing information and documentation to demonstrate product conformity
Importers: Key Obligations
Importers act as gatekeepers, ensuring that products from third countries comply with the European accessibility requirements before placing them on the EU market. Their main obligations include:
- Verifying that the manufacturer has carried out the appropriate conformity assessment
- Ensuring that the product bears the CE marking
- Checking that required documentation is complete and accurate
- Verifying that the manufacturer is identified on the product
- Refraining from placing non-compliant products on the market
- Including their contact information on the product
- Ensuring proper storage and transport conditions
- Cooperating with market surveillance authorities
Distributors: Key Obligations
Distributors make products available on the market after they have been placed on the market by the manufacturer or importer. Their key obligations include:
- Verifying that products bear the CE marking
- Ensuring that products are accompanied by required documentation in appropriate languages
- Checking that manufacturers and importers have complied with their requirements
- Ensuring that storage and transport conditions do not jeopardize compliance
- Taking corrective measures when aware of non-compliant products
- Providing all necessary information and documentation to authorities
Service Providers: Key Obligations
Service providers must ensure that their services comply with the accessibility requirements of the Directive. Their main obligations include:
- Designing and providing services in accordance with accessibility requirements
- Preparing the necessary information explaining how services meet accessibility requirements
- Making information available to the public on how the service meets requirements
- Ensuring ongoing compliance with accessibility requirements
- Implementing appropriate procedures for service provision
- Providing information to market surveillance authorities upon request
- Taking corrective measures when services fail to comply
Economic Operators with Multiple Roles
In cases where an economic operator performs multiple roles (e.g., a manufacturer also acting as a distributor), they must fulfill the obligations associated with each role they undertake in the supply chain.
Additionally, importers or distributors are considered manufacturers for the purposes of the Directive when they:
- Place a product on the market under their own name or trademark
- Modify a product already placed on the market in a way that affects compliance
In such cases, they assume all the obligations of manufacturers.