Inspections Find Most Imported Electronic Equipment Comes Up Short
The Estonian Technical Surveillance Authority checked 7,000 pieces of electronic equipment bought online from international sellers in the first six months of 2013, finding faults in 6,100.
The majority of equipment lacked the CE marking - mandatory for products sold in the EEA - and were purchased from online retailers or on forums based outside the EU, the authority saiin a press release on Thursday.
“Customers often fail to pay attention to the fact that even smaller electronic equipment, such as sports watches, GPS systems, electronic dog collars, car multimedia and video equipment must conform to European standards,” the authority said, adding that besides the CE marking, all products must have the model code and the manufacturer's contact information written on them.
The authority, in cooperation with the Customs Board examines only packages they suspect of not meeting requirements.
The 6,100 products were either destroyed or returned to the senders.