As the magazine Spiegel Online reported, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) stopped the sale of nearly 23 million banned products.
With over 7.7 million units on offer, wireless headphones took first place among the conspicuous device types. For instance, these radio headsets operated on radio frequencies intended only for security-related services such as the police or fire department. That is prohibited by law. Numerous wireless headphones also had significant formal defects, such as missing German operating instructions or missing or incorrect technical documentation material.
Second place was taken by extremely cheaply offered measuring devices from third countries with a unit number of around 3.7 million, followed by around 3.3 million remote-controlled flying drones. For both device types, formal deficiencies such as missing CE markings, identification features or missing contact details of the responsible economic operator were increasingly determined.
LED lighting equipment and power supply units, for example, were also frequently conspicuous, as they can cause interference and pose a high risk in some cases.
The German Customs authoriries reported nearly 6,500 suspicious shipments of goods to the Federal Network Agency in 2021. In some 91 per cent of all cases, the Federal Network Agency did not approve the products for the German market as it identified clear defects. A total of around 320 products were affected.
Since 16 July 2021, the Market Surveillance Act has been in force in Germany in tandem with the new European Market Surveillance Regulation. Contact details of an economic operator established in the European Union are required to be provided for electrical and radio equipment. If no corresponding contact details are indicated, then the products may not be sold or imported into Germany.
How the Federal Network Agency operates
The Federal Network Agency randomly checks electrical and electronic products, consumer electronics, lighting, household appliances or products with integrated WiFi or Bluetooth. Products are inspected nationwide according to the following criteria, for instance:
- Is the CE mark on the product present and correct?
- Can the product be identified and are the manufacturer’s details correct?
- Are German operating instructions, including necessary instructions for use and cautionary notes, included with the product?
- Does a correct declaration of conformity exist?
- Can the product cause radio interference?
Having products tested by trade-e-bility
As the 2021 results show, the Federal Network Agency did not approve the products for the German market in around 91 per cent of the cases reported to it by Customs. The company trade-e-bility starts precisely at this point and checks your products and documents: not only with regard to the Federal Network Agency, but also according to possible risks arising from e.g., customs inspections, competition law admonitions, compliance risks of the products in your online store and numerous other criteria.
If you have any questions in this regard, our team of consultants will be pleased to assist you. Please call +49/40/75068730-0 or send an e-mail message to beratung@trade-e-bility.de.
Further particulars in this regard are available on the Federal Network Agency’s website:
