BREXIT: ATEX Notified Body Activities
Executive Overview
April 2019
As things are currently, nothing has been determined and we are on another ‘extension’ to try and resolve this. With respect to ATEX there are still several possible outcomes:
- Some form of new deal will be negotiated that will include provision for the recognition of UK ATEX Notified Bodies in which case we may be able to carry on witout interruption ‘business as normal’
- Even with a deal there may be some need to align or re-negotiate the UK and EU’s conformity assessment relationship through an MOU or agreement that may involve a ‘short’ interruption in Notification.
- No deal or failure to recognise UK Certification Bodies. In this case the UK will adopt the ‘UKCA’ Mark (see below) and will (after a short time) stop accepting CE and EU Certification (all products on the UK Market requiring 3rd party certification will have to be certified by a UK Body.
As no one can possibly know what situation we will be left in, ExVeritas has taken the provision of opening an ATEX Notified body in the EU (Denmark) so that in any situation we will be able to issue both UK and EU Certification.
Full Details and links to Government information
The Government has of Saturday 2nd February published the new UK marking (UKCA). In the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the new marking may be applied to certain products replacing the CE marking, as this will include ‘ATEX’ Products we are making our customers aware of the potential changes.
If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the EU intends to stop recognising the competency of UK-based Notified Bodies to assess products and issue certificates of conformity for the EU market.
The new marking is part of the Government’s preparations to introduce a new framework under which UK Notified Bodies can continue to operate if we leave the EU without a deal.
For more information on the marking and how to use it, please see the UK Governments online guidance on using the UKCA marking. For further guidance on the circumstances in which the marking will need to be applied, please see: Goods regulated under the ‘new approach’ if the UK leaves the EU without a deal
Update 1st February: EUROPEAN COMMISSION Guidance Document on UK Notified Body acceptance.
In order to help our customers with planning for the UK’s exit from the EU, we have prepared this document which is based on our current understanding of the situation as of the 9th of January 2019. Many of our services will not be affected, and all our accreditation is UKAS which is the only accreditation recognised by the UK Government, so in the event of any ‘UK Certification Body’ being formed, ExVeritas already holds the necessary accreditation:
- IECEx CB and TL will remain unchanged
- UKAS ISO9001 Issue will remain unchanged
- UKAS Accreditation as an Ex Inspection Body will remain unchanged
- ATEX CAT 3 and UKAS certificates remain unchanged
ATEX Notified Body Certification
If the UK and the EU agree an exit deal, ExVeritas UK Notified Body (NB) status, would continue at least until December 2020. If the relevant text in the governments proposed deal is passed the UK Notified Body (NB) status will remain during the transition.
The other possibility is that there is a ‘no-deal‘ exit from the EU. In this case we would cease to be an EU Notified Body and would therefore be unable to issue ATEX certificates from the UK and would issue ATEX Certificates and hold Technical Files at ExVeritas ApS who are part of the ExVeritas Group and are ATEX Notified in Denmark.
ExVeritas ApS are accredited by the National Accreditation Body of Denmark (DANAK) against the EU ATEX Directive, Registration Number 7044. ExVeritas ApS have also been Notified against the ATEX Directive by the Danish Safety Technology Authority as required by NANDO.
Current customers certificates will be transferred free of charge and remain valid with the same certificate numbers. The number of the notified body which controls your Quality Assurance Notification (QAN) and Technical File Lodges which appears on product nameplates or EU D of C will have to change if ExVeritas UK were the issuing body.
It is also worth noting that in the event of a ‘no-deal‘ exit from the EU, there will be a short period of time when CE marked products will be allowed to be imported into the UK. At the end of this period of time CE marking would become invalid, and products destined for the UK would have to carry a ‘UK Authorised Body’ mark which ExVeritas will be able to supply (in addition to ATEX and IECEx).
The transfer would automaticity take place prior to 29th March 2019 in the event of the removal of UK Notified Bodies from NANDO (Europe).
UK Certification Bodies and the ‘UK Mark’
There is a draft new UK ‘Ex’ Scheme that is based on the same system as ATEX in the EU but the words ‘EU’ are removed and replaced by ‘UK’, the CE is replaced with the ‘UK Mark’, Notified Bodies are replaced with UK Approval Bodies (nominated by UKAS/Secretary of state as we are now for Notification). If this became a statutory instrument then the current EU Certication for ATEX would not be accepted (the certificate would have to be issued by a UK Body)
Trading goods regulated under the ‘New Approach’ if there’s no Brexit deal
Published 13 September 2018
As ExVeritas are ATEX Notified in the UK and in the EU our customers will be guaranteed continued access to both the UK and EU Markets
Sean Clarke CEng MSc MIET
Managing Director, ExVeritas