According to its own reports, the Federal Network Agency sanctioned more than 8,100 different types of devices in online and stationary retail in 2023, which corresponds to a total of more than 73 million units. These products did not fulfil the legal requirements and in some cases had significant defects. In 2023, the Federal Network Agency's online market surveillance alone identified more than 2,400 conspicuous offers and had them deleted from the sales platforms. This affected over 64 million devices.
The high figure is also the result of the consistently high number of non-compliant products, particularly from third countries. In 2023, a large number of products were found on new online platforms that had already been identified as conspicuous on established platforms in previous years. For example, around 260 offers of faulty energy-saving boxes were deleted from online marketplaces.
Devices with formal defects such as missing information on the EU Responsible Person and missing CE marking may not be offered for sale in Germany.
Another focus of online market surveillance was the review of hand-held transmitters and radio remote controls. Around 1 million offers of radio transmitters were cancelled as they operate in a security-relevant military frequency range.
The Federal Network Agency inspected almost 3,000 device types in the German retail sector. A total of 31 sales bans were issued and 1,006 requests to rectify defects were issued for non-compliant products. This affected over 8 million devices.
Among other things, inverters for balcony power plants were found to have both formal and metrological defects, some of which posed a high risk. The use of non-compliant inverters can lead to interference in the frequency ranges used by the police, fire brigade and emergency services.
The Federal Network Agency also inspected smart, radio-controlled sockets that may pose a risk to life and limb due to electric shock to live parts. Thanks to the cooperation between the Federal Network Agency and the responsible economic operators concerned, the products were recalled and production was halted.
In 2023, more than 5,100 suspicious consignments of goods were reported to the Federal Network Agency by customs. Around 92 per cent of these were suspicious and were not released for the European market. More than 860,000 products were affected by the import ban.
The intensive cooperation between the Federal Network Agency and customs ensures effective market surveillance. If non-compliant products are identified, they are stopped at the external border and do not reach the German market.
Further information on market surveillance by the Federal Network Agency and detailed statistics from 2023 can be found here: www.bundesnetzagentur.de/marktueberwachung
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