• The Trade Inspection Authority has verified whether appropriate type approval certificates have been issued for vehicle parts and accessories available on the market.
• The number of irregularities identified has been insignificant. The inspectors questioned only 3% of the products controlled.
• The majority of reservations concerned labeling.

A type approval certificate confirms that the vehicle, its components and accessories comply with the applicable technical requirements. The Trade Inspection Authority was verifying whether such documents have been issued for products offered on the market. The audit was performed in Q2 2017 at 121 businesses across Poland dealing with manufacturing, importing or selling vehicle parts and accessories. First and foremost, the inspectors focused their attention on those traders who had a record of past irregularities, or those that consumers were complaining about.

The auditors analyzed 351 product lots. As far as trade approval certificates are concerned, their reservations concerned only 11 products lots (approx. 3%). These comprised brake pads, light bulbs, mirrors and front direction indicators. Some certificates provided by entrepreneurs failed to correspond with the products assessed. In other cases, the approval marking was missing on the product.

The Trade Inspection Authority took a closer look at the manner in which parts and accessories are labeled as well. The irregularities identified involved incomplete information contained in operation manuals, as well as lack of compatibility between the labeling and the approval documentation or EU rules and regulations. Such reservations have been identified in the case of 51 products (approx. 14.5%).

Entrepreneurs whose products have been found to be labeled incorrectly, remedied the cases of noncompliance on a voluntary basis. They supplemented the missing information or withdrew the products from trade and returned them to their suppliers.

Type approval certificate - basic facts

• It confirms that the product conforms to the applicable legal regulations and meets the relevant technical requirements.
• Type approval certificates are required for: vehicles (e.g. passenger cars, trailers), their parts (e.g. lamps, mirrors, brake pads, towing hitches) and accessories (e.g. child seats, hazard triangles).
• The documents are issued by the Director of the Technical Transportation Supervision Authority.
• Relevant applications must be filed by manufacturers.
• The Trade Inspection Authority verifies whether type approval certificates have been issued for vehicles or their parts offered on the market. If the certificates are missing, the manufacturer or the importer may be fined, with the fine equaling up to 25% of the sales value of the questioned product.

Additional information for the media:

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