CE Marking (CE Mark) for Non-automatic Weighing Instruments: EU Council Directive of 20 June 1990 (90/384/EEC)

Brief Introduction of
Directive 90/384/EEC
Non-automatic Weighing Instruments

This directive has been amended by the following Council Directives:
1. 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992 (General Product Safety);
2. 93/68/EEC of 22 July 1993 (CE Marking directive).

* The term 'EC Mark' appeared in this directive is out of date and has been officially replaced by term 'CE Marking' in 1993 in the CE Marking directive 93/68/EEC.

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 20 June 1990 on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States relating to non-automatic weighing instruments (90/384/EEC)

CHAPTER I
Scope, placing on the market, free movement

Article 1
1. A Weighing Instrument is defined as a measuring instrument serving to determine the mass of a body by using the action of gravity on that body. A weighing instrument may also serve to determine other mass-related magnitudes, quantities, parameters or characteristics.
A non-automatic weighing instrument is defined as a weighing instrument requiring the intervention of an operator during weighing.
This Directive applies to all non-automatic weighing instruments, hereinafter referred to as 'instruments'.

2. A distinction is made in this Directive between two categories of instrument use:
(a) 1. determination of mass for commercial transactions;
2. determination of mass for the calculation of a
toll, tariff, tax, bonus, penalty, remuneration, indemnity or similar type of payment;
3. determination of mass for the application of laws
or regulations; expert opinion given in court proceedings;
4. determination of mass in the practice of medicine for weighing patients for the purposes of monitoring, diagnosis and medical treatment;
5. determination of mass for making up medicines on prescription in a pharmacy and determination of mass in analyses carried out in medical and pharmaceutical laboratories;
6. determination of price on the basis of mass for
the purposes of direct sales to the public and the making-up of prepackages;
(b)
all applications other than those listed in point 2 (a) of this Article.

Article 2
1. Member States shall take all steps to ensure that instruments may not be placed on the market unless they meet the requirements of this Directive which apply to them.
2. Member States shall take all steps to ensure that instruments may not be put into service for the uses referred to in Article 1 (2) (a) unless they meet the requirements of this Directive which apply to them.

Article 3
Instruments used for the applications listed in Article 1 (2) (a) must satisfy the essential requirements set out in Annex I.
In cases where the instrument includes or is connected to devices which are not used for the applications listed in Article 1 (2) (a), such devices shall not be subject to the essential requirements.

Article 4
1. Member States shall not impede the placing on the market of instruments which meet the requirements of this Directive which apply to them.
2. Member States shall not impede the putting into service for the uses referred to in Article 1 (2) (a) of instruments which meet the requirements of this Directive which apply to them.

Article 5
1. Member States shall presume conformity with the essential requirements referred to in Article 3 in respect of instruments which comply with the relevant national standards implementing the harmonized standards that meet the essential requirements referred to in Article 3.
2. The Commission shall publish the references of the harmonized standards referred to in paragraph 1 in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Member States shall publish the references of the national standards referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 6
Where a Member State or the Commission considers that the harmonized standards referred to in Article 5 (1) do not fully meet the essential requirements referred to in Article 3, the Commission or the Member State concerned shall bring the matter before the Standing Committee set up under Directive 83/189/EEC, hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee', giving its reasons for doing so. The Committee shall deliver an opinion without delay.
In the light of the Committee's opinion, the Commission shall inform the Member States whether or not it is necessary to withdraw those standards from the publications referred to in Article 5 (2).

Article 7
1. Where a Member State considers that instruments bearing the EC mark of conformity referred to in Annex 2, sections 2, 3 and 4, do not meet the requirements of this Directive when properly installed and used for the purposes for which they are intended, it shall take all appropriate measures to withdraw those instruments from the market or to prohibit or restrict their being put into service and/or placed on the market.
The Member State concerned shall immediately inform the Commission of any such measure, indicating the reasons for its decision, and in particular whether non-compliance is due to:
(a) failure to meet the essential requirements referred to in Article 3, where instruments do not meet the standards referred to in Article 5 (1);
(b)
incorrect application of the standards referred to in Article 5 (1);
(c)
shortcomings in the standards referred to in Article 5 (1) themselves.
2. The Commission shall enter into consultation with the parties concerned as soon as possible.
After such consultation the Commission shall immediately inform the Member State, which took the action, of the result. Should it find that the measure is justified it shall immediately inform the other Member States.
If the decision is attributed to shortcomings in the standards, the Commission, after consulting the parties concerned, shall bring the matter before the Committee within two months if the Member State which has taken the measures intends
to maintain them, and shall subsequently initiate the procedures referred to in Article 6.
3. Where an instrument which does not comply bears the EC mark of conformity, the competent Member State shall take appropriate action against whomsoever has affixed the mark and shall inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof.
4. The Commission shall ensure that the Member States are kept informed of the progress and outcome of this procedure.

CHAPTER II
Conformity assessment

Article 8

Article 9

CHAPTER III
EC mark of conformity and inscriptions

Article 10

Article 11

Article 12

CHAPTER IV
Final Provisions

Article 13

Article 14

Article 15
2. Member States shall apply such provisions from 1 January 1993.
3. However, by way of derogation from paragraph 2, Member States shall permit during a period of 10 years from the date on which they apply the provisions referred to in
paragraph 1 the placing on the market and/or putting into service of instruments which conform to the rules in force before that date.
5. Directive 73/360/EEC shall be repealed as from 1 January 1993, except as regards the application of paragraph 3.

Article 16

ANNEX I
The essential requirements that must be met by the instruments referred to in Article 1 (2) (a) are set out below.

METROLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS
1. Units of mass
2. Accuracy classes

3. Classification

4. Accuracy

5. Weighing results of an instrument shall be repeatable, and shall be reproducible by the other indicating devices used and with other methods of balancing used.
The weighing results shall be sufficiently insensitive to changes in the position of the load on the load receptor.
6. The instrument shall react to small variations in the load.
7. Influence quantities and time

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
8. General requirements
9. Indication of weighing results and other weight values
10. Printing of weighing results and other weight values
Printed results shall be correct, suitably identified and unambiguous. The printing shall be clear, legible, non-erasable and durable.
11. Levelling
12. Zeroing
13. Tare devices and preset tare devices
The instruments may have one or more tare devices and a preset tare device. The operation of the tare devices shall result in accurate zeroing and shall ensure correct net weighing. The operation of the preset tare device shall ensure correct determination of the calculated net value.
14.
Instruments for direct sales to the public with a maximum capacity not greater than 100 kg: additional requirements
Instruments for direct sale to the public shall show all essential information about the weighing operation and, in the case of price-indicating instruments, shall clearly show the customer the price calculation of the product to be purchased.
The price to pay, if indicated, shall be accurate.
Price-computing instruments shall display the essential indications long enough for the customer to read them properly.
Price-computing instruments may perform functions other than per-article weighing and price computation only if all indications related to all transactions are printed clearly, unambiguously and conveniently arranged on a ticket or label for the customer.
Instruments shall bear no characteristics that can cause, directly or indirectly, indications whose interpretation is not easy or straightforward.
Instruments shall safeguard customers against incorrect sales transactions due to their malfunctioning.
Auxiliary indicating devices and extended indicating devices are not permitted.
Supplementary devices are permitted only if they cannot lead to fraudulent use.
Instruments similar to those normally used for direct sales to the public which do not satisfy the requirements of this section must carry near to the display the indelible marking 'Not to be used for direct sale to the public'.
15.
Price labelling instruments
Price labelling instruments shall meet the requirements of price indicating instruments for direct sale to the public, as far as applicable to the instrument in question. The printing of a price label shall be impossible below a minimum capacity.

(1) OJ No L 39, 15. 12. 1980, p. 39.
(2) OJ No L 2, 3. 1. 1985, p. 11.(3) OJ No L 33, 15. 2. 1980, p. 39.

ANNEX II
1. EC type-examination
2. EC declaration of type conformity (guarantee of production quality)
3. EC verification
4. EC unit verification
5. Common provisions

ANNEX III
DESIGN DOCUMENTATION

ANNEX IV
Instruments subject to the EC conformity assessment procedure

ANNEX V

ANNEX VI

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