A manufacturer develops a product type before the CRA applies. Can it continue to manufacture products identical to that type after the CRA applies?
As stated in section 2.2 of the Blue Guide, Union harmonisation legislation including the CRA applies to individual products, and not product types. Therefore, only individual products that have been placed on the market before 11 December 2027 do not need to comply with the CRA.
Products that are manufactured according to a type that is not compliant with the CRA cannot be placed on the market on or after 11 December 2027, even if the first instance of that product “type” has been placed on the market before 11 December 2027.
For example, a manufacturer has produced 10 000 copies of a router according to a type that is not compliant with the CRA. It places those 10 000 copies on the market before 11 December 2027. Even if those units have not reached their final user (but have been placed on the market), the manufacturer does not need to bring them into compliance with the CRA (see also entry 1.4 Does the CRA apply to products with digital elements placed on the market before 11 December 2027?). However, that manufacturer may not produce another 5 000 copies of that router and place them on the market after 11 December 2027, as those 5 000 copies would not be compliant with the CRA.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: This document is prepared by the Commission services and should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position. The replies to the FAQs do not extend in any way the rights and obligations deriving from applicable legislation nor introduce any additional requirement. The expressed views are not authoritative and cannot prejudge any future actions the European Commission may take, including potential positions before the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is competent to authoritatively interpret Union law.