Machinery ordinance – new standards for production and distribution

Significant changes for machine builders and distributors coming soon!

The law of new technologies does not end with the IT or Game Dev industry. New technologies are also strongly present in the industries of automation and robotics, machine manufacturing, electrical and electronic equipment, including household appliances, which we use every day in our homes – and not only smart and IoT devices.

The production, safety requirements or rules for the marketing and distribution of machines, tools and other equipment are regulated by numerous pieces of EU legislation (mainly directives).

Those involved in the production and distribution of machinery will soon be facing significant changes. These will be introduced by the already enacted Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2023 on machinery and repealing Directive 2006/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 73/361/EEC (the “Machinery Regulation”).

It will replace the 2006/42/EC Machinery Directive currently in force. The Machinery Regulation does not only apply to industrial and consumer machinery. It also covers small vehicles for personal use and light electric vehicles such as scooters and bicycles.

The Machinery Ordinance introduces changes such as:

Provision of product manuals in digital format. Hard copy information will still have to be made available, but only at the request of customers.

Clarification of when a substantial modification of a machine occurs that triggers a reassessment of the product’s conformity with safety requirements and the issuing of a new CE marking.
Mandatory third-party conformity assessment for six categories of ‘high-risk’ machinery.
Introduction of general requirements on cyber security and artificial intelligence.

The provisions of the Machinery Ordinance will take effect from 14 January 2027. However, many entities are already legitimately preparing for their implementation.

If you have any questions related to the current regulations on the topic of machine manufacturing and distribution or the changes that the Machine Ordinance will introduce, please feel free to contact Ewa Knapińska of our law firm.

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