RED FAQ Importers

Article 12 of Directive 2014/53/EU requires importers to place only compliant radio equipment on the market. The importer does not redo the manufacturer's conformity assessment, but it must check that the appropriate Article 17 procedure has been carried out and that the radio equipment is constructed so it can be operated in at least one Member State without infringing applicable radio-spectrum requirements.

The importer must also check that the manufacturer has drawn up technical documentation, applied the CE marking, supplied the Article 10(8), 10(9), and 10(10) information and documents, and met the product-identification and manufacturer-contact duties in Article 10(6) and 10(7).

The importer has its own traceability duty. It must indicate its name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, and postal contact address on the radio equipment. Where that is not possible, the information may appear on the packaging or in a document accompanying the equipment, including cases where the importer would otherwise have to open the packaging.

The importer must also verify manufacturer traceability and user information. Article 12 points importers back to the manufacturer's type, batch, serial-number or equivalent identification, manufacturer name and postal address, instructions and safety information, EU declaration information, and restriction information.

Importer duties continue after placement. While radio equipment is under the importer's responsibility, storage or transport conditions must not jeopardise compliance with the Article 3 essential requirements.

When appropriate for the risks presented by the equipment, the importer must carry out sample testing, investigate complaints, keep a register of complaints, non-conforming radio equipment and recalls where necessary, and keep distributors informed of monitoring. If an importer has reason to believe equipment it placed on the market is non-compliant, it must immediately take corrective measures to bring the equipment into conformity, withdraw it, or recall it as appropriate.

For 10 years after the radio equipment has been placed on the market, the importer must keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of market surveillance authorities and ensure that technical documentation can be made available on request.

Article 15 also requires economic operators, on request, to identify who supplied them with radio equipment and who they supplied it to. They must be able to present that information for 10 years after being supplied with the equipment and for 10 years after supplying it.

Directive 2014/53/EU treats an importer as the manufacturer where the importer places radio equipment on the market under its own name or trade mark, or modifies equipment already placed on the market in a way that may affect compliance with the Directive. In that case, the importer is subject to the manufacturer obligations in Article 10, not only the importer obligations in Article 12.

This matters for private-label devices, rebranded equipment, and material changes to hardware, firmware, accessories, radio settings, charging interfaces, labels, instructions, or intended use. If the importer triggers Article 14, it must be able to support the manufacturer-level conformity assessment, technical documentation, EU declaration, CE marking, production-control, instruction, traceability, corrective-action, and authority-cooperation duties.

Market surveillance issues often start as missing or mismatched administrative evidence: the CE marking is absent or misused, the EU declaration is missing or incorrect, the notified-body number is wrong where required, Article 10 or Article 12 traceability information is absent, false, or incomplete, required user information does not accompany the equipment, or technical documentation is unavailable or incomplete.

Do not rely on a voluntary certificate as proof of RED compliance. The Commission's RED page warns that voluntary or additional certificates are not a recognised means to prove compliance in market-surveillance or customs checks; CE marking follows the applicable conformity assessment procedure.