European LVD Directive 2006/95/EC updated to 2014/35/EU|Laws|SIT Testing Lab

The new LVD directive 2014/35/EU has been published on the Official Journal of the European Union (L 96/357) on March 29, 2014, which will repeal the old LVD Directive 2006/95/EC, in alignment to the NLF (New Legislative framework).

2014/35/EU will effect on April 20, 2016. Member States shall adopt and transit 2014/35/EU into national laws by 19 April 2016.

The Directive shall apply to electrical equipment designed for use with a voltage rating of between 50 and 1000V for alternating current and between 75 and 1500 V for direct current.

The updated LVD directive aims to ensure easier market access and a higher level of protection of life and property. They will involve:

•   Clearer responsibilities of manufacturers, importers and distributors when they sell products (e.g. in terms of conformity marking, labeling and traceability of products);

•   Possibility for wider use of electronic means for economic operators when demonstrating compliance; for example products’ technical documentation should not necessarily be in paper form and may be sent to market surveillance authorities electronically;

•   More guarantees for consumer safety through a traceability system allowing the tracking of defective or unsafe products and through clearer rules and improved supervision of conformity assessment bodies;

•   Better equipping national market surveillance authorities to track and stop dangerous imports from non-EU countries.

Especially:
Conformity assessment should remain solely the obligation of the manufacturer. There is no conformity assessment procedure in this directive which requires the intervention of a notified body.