EU Regulatory Regime · High
CE marking — Machinery Regulation 2023/1230 — importer obligations + worked example
Status
Status: Active. Replaces Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC from 14 January 2027.
What you must do as the importer
Verify supplier issued the CE Declaration of Conformity (DoC). Affix CE marking. Maintain technical file for 10 years from last unit placed on market. For Annex IV machinery (e.g. presses, woodworking saws, sawmills), notified-body certification is required. Importer = manufacturer for legal purposes if the supplier is non-EU.
What goods are covered
- 84 — Mechanical machinery
- 8479 — Machines having individual functions
Worked example: a typical shipment that triggers
A €50,000 shipment of machinery (HS 840000) from CN into the EU triggers CE marking — Machinery Regulation 2023/1230. The customs duty + VAT are calculated as normal — but on top of that, the importer must satisfy the obligations above before the goods can be placed on the EU market.
Non-compliance is not a duty event — it is a market-access event
A common misunderstanding: importers focus on duty + VAT and treat compliance as a tickbox. EU customs increasingly hold goods at the border for missing documentation (DDS for EUDR, CBAM declarant status for steel/aluminium, EU Responsible Person for cosmetics). Holds become storage charges; storage charges become forced re-export. Validate before booking the freight.
Related OrcaTrade resources
See whether this regime applies to your specific shipment
Six questions, all four calculators (sourcing, routing, customs, warehouse), full landed cost — with this regime flagged on your specific HS code if applicable.
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