The requirement for labeling of goods imported into the territory of the EAC

If for the importation into the customs territory of the Customs Union of products (goods) in respect of which mandatory requirements are established within the Customs Union, approved by the Decision of the BoardECE No. 294 of December 25, 2012, established the need to submit to the customs authorities during the customs declaration of imported goods documents on the assessment of their compliance with mandatory requirements within the Union or information about such documents.

If yourproductA Declaration of Conformity is required orCertificate of Conformitythen you need to familiarize yourself with this information.

In accordance with the lawThe EAEUand the legislation of the Russian Federation on customs regulationcustoms authoritiesensure compliance with prohibitions and restrictions, which include technical regulation measures, with respect to goods imported into the Russian Federation.

According to paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 53 of the EAEU Treaty of 29.05.2014, products put into circulation on the territory of the EAEU must be safe. Products in respect of which entered into forcetechnical regulations, is put into circulation on the territory of the EAEU, provided that it has passed the necessary conformity assessment procedures established by the technical regulations.EAC sign

In accordance with paragraph 6 of the Protocol on Technical Regulation within the EAEU (Annex No. 9 to the EAEU Treaty), it is established that products that meet the requirements of technical regulations applicable to these products and have passed the conformity assessment procedures established by technical regulations are subject to mandatory labeling with a single product circulation mark on the EAEU market and according to the Procedure for applying a single the mark of circulation of products on the EAEU market, approved byBy the decision of the Customs Union Commission No. 711 of 15.07.2011. , it is marked with it before the release of products into circulation on the EAEU market.

It is important to understand that the information contained on the label must fully correspond to the information stated in the goods declaration and in the technical documentation attached to the product.

The list of general requirements was listed in Government Decree No. 1037 of 15.08.1997 . "On measures to ensure the availability of information in Russian on non-food products imported into the territory of the Russian Federation", although it became invalid on 13.03.2018 in accordance with the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 246.

Information about non-food products, taking into account their type and characteristics, should contain the following information in Russian:

  • product name;
  • the name of the country, the manufacturer (the name of the company can be indicated by letters of the Latin alphabet);
  • purpose (scope of use), main properties and characteristics;
  • rules and conditions for effective and safe use;
  • other information about goods in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, the requirements of state standards for certain types of non-food products and the rules for their sale.

The information must be placed on the packaging or label of the product, set out in the technical (operational) documentation attached to the product, leaflet inserts for each unit of the product or in any other way accepted for certain types of goods.

The most important thing on the label is the name of the product. It should include the actual name of the product in Russian and the article or model, but this is not all the information that should be present on the label.

The Customs Union has a number of technical regulations that impose requirements depending on the type of goods. So, for example, there is a separate technical regulation (TRTS) 005/2011 "On packaging safety", and it establishes that the packaging must be marked with a characteristicthe "glass-fork" icon, if the container is intended for food products, andcrossed-out icon "glass-fork", if not for food.

In addition, different regulations additionally establish requirements for where exactly the marking should be applied. There are two main requirements –markingit must be on each unit of the product and on the packaging container as a whole. Usually on the box. But some products also have their own nuances.

As a rule, labels are agreed upon for products that are subject to the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union at the stage of registration of permits: declarations of conformityTR CUor a certificate of compliance with the TR CU. The certification body checks the label and indicates how it needs to be changed or supplemented. Only after that, its sample can be sent to the seller for a sticker oncargoand boxes.

View the list of labeling requirements for light industry products according to TR CU 017/2011

  1. Product labeling must be reliable, readable and accessible for inspection and identification. The marking is applied to the product, the label attached to the product or the product label, the packaging of the product, the packaging of a group of products or a leaflet to the product. The marking must contain the following mandatory information:
    • product name;
    • name of the manufacturing country;
    • the name of the manufacturer, or the seller or the person authorized by the manufacturer;
    • the legal address of the manufacturer, or the seller or a person authorized by the manufacturer;
    • product size;
    • composition of raw materials;
    • trademark (if available);
    • a single product circulation mark on the market of the member states of the Customs Union;
    • manufacturer's warranty obligations (if necessary);
    • date of manufacture;
    • batch number of the product (if necessary).
  2. Depending on the type and purpose of light industry products, the marking should contain the following information:
    • For clothing and textile products, additional information should contain:
      • the type and mass fraction (percentage) of natural and chemical raw materials in the material of the top and lining of the product. The deviation of the actual content of raw materials should not exceed + 5 percent;
      • model;
      • product care symbols;
      • instructions on how to care for the product during operation (if necessary).
    • For knitted and textile fabrics, piece products made of them, carpets, blankets, bedspreads, curtains, additional information should contain:
      • the type and mass fraction (percentage) of the raw material (pile surface for carpets and products made from them). The deviation of the actual content of raw materials should not exceed + 5 percent;
      • the mass of the piece at normalized humidity (for knitted fabrics); - color stability (for knitted and textile fabrics);
      • type of finish (if available);
      • symbols for the care of the product. For shoes, additional information should contain:
      • model and (or) article of the product;
      • type of material used to make the top, lining and bottom of shoes;
      • instructions for shoe care (if necessary).
    • For clothing and fur products, additional information should contain:
      • the type of fur and the type of its processing (dyed or unpainted);
      • product care symbols;
      • instructions for the care of the product during operation (if necessary). For leather goods, additional information should contain:
      • name of the upper material;
      • model;
      • operating instructions (if necessary).
    • For leathers, additional information should contain:
      • the area or mass of the skin;
      • thickness (if necessary);
      • variety.
    • For fur skins, additional information should contain:
      • type of fur;
      • type of processing;
      • grade, brand;
      • area or size.
  3. The marking and information must be provided in the Russian language or the official language of the member state of the Customs Union, on the territory of which this product is manufactured and sold to the consumer.
    • For imported products, it is allowed to indicate the name of the country where the products are manufactured, the name of the manufacturer and its legal address using the letters of the Latin alphabet.
  4. The indications "environmentally friendly", "orthopedic" and other similar indications are not allowed without appropriate confirmations.

In case of detection of absenceEAC markingsthe customs authority will most likely want to initiate an administrative offense case under Article 16.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. "Non-compliance with prohibitions and (or) restrictions on the import of goods into the customs territory of the EAEU or into the Russian Federation and (or) export of goods from the customs territory of the EAEU or from the Russian Federation."

This article assumes a fine of 50 to 300 thousand rubles and the possibility of confiscation of goods. On average, an AP case is conducted for two to four months, then a decision is made on the AP case, after which it will be necessary to pay a fine. All this time the cargo will be in a warehouse of responsible storage. After the fine is paid, the participant hasForeign economic activitythere are two options: either send the goods tore-export, or transport the goods toCustoms warehouseand mark it there, and then re-submit the declaration to customs. Both options lead to serious additional financial costs and expenses.

The shipment of the cargo should always be preceded by the label approval process. Usually, the importer sends its sample to the seller, and the seller then attaches the label to the goods and boxes before shipping.

There are a number of typical errors that, according to the customs authorities, are critical, click to see them.

  1. The seller used someone else's boxes with already printed information. For example, there are cases when the manufacturer has some unused packages from the old batch, and the Russian buyer ordered goods of a different article or model, and these packages are suitable for him. This can subsequently lead to serious problems with customs clearance. 
  2. The manufacturer is not indicated on the boxes. For example, the manufacturer of the goods and the country of origin must be indicated on the boxes. But often, in order to save money, importers agree with the seller that labels should be made "for the sale" of the goods. That is, they indicate themselves as the manufacturer. Thus, on the one hand, labels will not need to be glued on the cargo when it is sold in Russia, and on the other hand, this is a very convenient way to avoid unnecessary costs. Often, the importer does not specify this information specifically so that the final buyer of this product does not contact the manufacturer directly, bypassing the intermediary importer's company. Nevertheless, the absence of this information is a direct violation of the law, which leads to the initiation of an administrative case.
  3. Incorrect temperature regime and expiration dates. The temperature of storage and transportation must be indicated on the label of food products. However, there are cases when the temperature range indicated on the label is very different from reality. For example, the product is stored at a temperature of 5 to 20 degrees. But it happens in winter, it's minus 8 degrees outside, and the cargo is not in a refrigerated container. In this case, the phytosanitary surveillance service may prohibit the import of goods into the country.
  4. For food products, the expiration date must be indicated. It happens that the goods were transported longer than the number of days indicated on the package. In this case, the product may also fail to pass phytosanitary control.
  5. Incomplete data on labels. If the goods are being transported, but incomplete information is indicated on the labels. It is necessary to specify the data about the importer – the name of the company and its legal address. In addition, it is mandatory to indicate the country of origin of the goods. As a rule, it is written next to the manufacturer's address. This information is especially necessary if a foreign trade participant wants to receive preferences. The result of the absence of this information on the label may be not only a refusal of preferences, but also in some cases cases of administrative offenses.
  6. The EAC sign is missing or the marking is incorrect. Perhaps the most common problem isEAC marking. In accordance with the current legislation of Russia and the EAEU countries, if the imported goods are subject to the technical regulations, they must be marked with a single "EAC" address mark. He says that the products have passed all the conformity assessment (confirmation) procedures established in the technical regulations of the Customs Union and meet all the requirements set out in them.

AppropriateDecision of the Customs Union Commission No. 711it was adopted back in 2011, but with special vigilance, customs took up its execution relatively recently. Participants of foreign economic activity often come across the fact that there is no mandatory EAC marking on the labels of goods that are subject to declaration of conformity, or this marking is present on the label pasted on the box, but is not on the product. Sometimes the sign on the label itself looks incorrect – it is strongly elongated horizontally or vertically, which is also a violation of the law.

According to paragraph 2 of the Protocol on Technical Regulation within the EAEU (Annex No. 9 to the EAEU Treaty), the release of products into circulation is the supply or import of products for the purpose of its distribution on the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union. According toThe EAEU TC import of goods into the customs territory of the Union- performing actions related to crossing the customs border, as a result of which goods arrived at the customs territory of the EAEU before their release by customs authorities.

The absence of a single circulation mark on the accompanying documents, goods or packaging may indicate the risk of non-compliance with technical regulation measures related to the submission of invalid documents (not related to the goods) to the customs authorities.
When confirming such risks during the application of customs control forms, and measures to ensure them, other than checking the presence of a sign of treatment, administrative liability is provided for in relation to participants of foreign economic activity under the article16.3 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

Please note that this responsibility only for the absence of a sign of address, established by part 3 of Article 16.2 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, cannot occur.

There is a letter from the Federal Customs Service of Russia No. 01-11/50898 dated 15.05.2018 on the initiation of cases of administrative offenses in connection with non-compliance with technical regulation measures written by Colonel-General of the Customs Service R.V. Davydov, it explains the situations regarding the absence of the EAC mark and incorrect labeling of goods.

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