The UK government has announced it intends to extend the key UKCA and GB importer labelling grace periods, to assist businesses in complying with the post-brexit requirements for products sold in Great Britain.
The UK government has published a press release confirming that legislation will be introduced extending the relevant grace periods for certain UKCA and GB importer labelling matters. As a reminder, following Brexit, the CE marking will cease to be valid in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the new UKCA marking must be used for products placed on the market from 1 January 2023.
The legislation has not yet been published, but guidance has been updated to include the following key points:
- GB importer labelling requirement – the easement allowing GB importer details to be provided on accompanying documentation has been extended until 31 December 2025 (previously 31 December 2022) for products imported from the EEA or Switzerland. Until after this date, GB importer details can be affixed to the packaging or accompanying documentation, rather than the product itself.
- UKCA marking positioning – the UKCA marking and "important information" can continue to be displayed on a sticker on the packaging, or on an accompanying document until 31 December 2025 (also previously 31 December 2022).
- Third party conformity assessment validity – any conformity assessment activities carried out by EU bodies before the end of 2022 can be used as the basis for applying the UKCA marking until the expiry of the certificate or after 5 years, whichever is sooner.
The UK Government press release can be found here.
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