CE Marking (CE Mark) for appliances burning gaseous fuels: EU Council Directive of 29 June 1990 (90/396/EEC)

Brief Introduction of
Directive 90/396/EEC
Appliances Burning Gaseous Fuels

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 29 June 1990
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
appliances burning gaseous fuels (90/396/EEC)

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* The term 'EC Mark' appeared in this directive is out of date and has been officially replaced by term 'CE Marking' in 1993 in the CE Marking directive 93/68/EEC.

CHAPTER I
Scope, placing on the market and free movement

Article 1
1. This Directive shall apply to:
- appliances burning gaseous fuels used for cooking, heating, hot water production, refrigeration, lighting or washing and having, where applicable, a normal water temperature not exceeding 105 gC, hereinafter referred to as 'appliances'. Forced draught burners and heating bodies to be equipped with such burners will also be considered as appliances,
- safety devices, controlling devices or regulating decives and sub-assemblies, other than forced draught burners and heating bodies to be equipped with such burners separately marketed for trade use and designed to be incorporated into an appliance burning gaseous fuel or assembled to constitute such an appliance, hereinafter referred to as 'fittings'.
2. Appliances specifically designed for use in industrial processes carried out on industrial premises are excluded from the scope defined in paragraph 1.
3. For the purposes of this Directive, 'gaseous fuel' means any fuel which is in a gaseous state at a temperature of 15 gC under a pressure of 1 bar.
4. For the purposes of this Directive, an appliance is said to be 'normally used' when it is:
- correctly installed and regularly serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions,
- used with a normal variation in the gas quality and a normal fluctuation in the supply pressure, and
- used in accordance with its intended purpose or in a way which can be reasonably foreseen.

Article 2
1. Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the appliances referred to in Article 1 may be placed on the market and put into service only if, when normally used, they do not compromise the safety of persons, domestic animals and property.
2. Member States shall communicate the types of gas and corresponding supply pressures used on their territory to the other Member States and the Commission before 1 January 1991. They shall also communicate all changes in good time. The Commission shall ensure that this information is published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 3
Appliances and fittings as referred to in Article 1 shall satisfy the essential requirements applicable to them set out in Annex I.

Article 4

Article 5

Article 6

Article 7

CHAPTER II
Means of certification of conformity

Article 8
1. The means of certification of conformity of series-manufactured appliances shall be:
(a) the EC type-examination as referred to in section 1 of Annex II, and
(b)
prior to their being placed on the market, at the choice of the manufacturer:
- the EC declaration of conformity to type referred to in section 2 of Annex II, or
- the EC declaration of conformity to type (guarantee of production quality) referred to in section 3 of Annex II, or
- the EC declaration of conformity to type (guarantee of product quality) referred to in section 4 of Annex II, or
- EC verification as referred to in section 5 of Annex II.
2. In the case of production of an appliance as a single unit or in small quantities, EC verification by single unit, as referred to in section 6 of Annex II, may be chosen by the manufacturer.
3. After completion of the procedures referred to in paragraphs 1 (b) and 2, the EC mark of conformity shall be affixed to conforming appliances in accordance with Article 10.
4. The procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall be applied in respect of fittings as referred to in Article 1 with the exception of the affixing of the EC mark of conformity and, where appropriate, the drawing-up of the declaration of conformity. A certificate shall be issued declaring the conformity of the fittings with the provisions of this Directive which apply to them and stating their characteristics and how they must be incorporated into an appliance or assembled to assist compliance with the essential requirements applicable to finished appliances.
The certificate shall be supplied with the fitting.
5. Where the appliances are also subject to other Community Directives:
- their compliance with the essential requirements of this Directive shall be verified in accordance with the procedures laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2, and
- it shall be ensured that they also comply with the essential requirements of the other Directives in accordance with the procedures laid down in those Directives.
The affixing of the EC mark as referred to in paragraph 3 shall certify that the provisions of all the applicable Directives have been complied with.
6. Records and correspondence relating to the means of certification of conformity shall be drawn up in the official language(s) of the Member State where the body responsible for carrying out these procedures is established or in a language accepted by it.

Article 9
1. Each Member State shall notify the Commission and the other Member States of the bodies, hereinafter called the 'notified bodies', responsible for carrying out the procedures referred to in Article 8.
The Commission shall publish for information purposes in the Official Journal of the European Communities a list of the notified bodies with their identification symbols and shall ensure that the list is kept up to date.
2. Member States shall apply the criteria set out in Annex V for assessing the bodies to be notified.
Bodies which satisfy the assessment criteria laid down in the applicable harmonized standards shall be presumed to satisfy the criteria set out in that Annex.
3. A Member State which has notified a body must withdraw approval if it finds that the body no longer meets the criteria referred to in paragraph 2. It shall immediately inform the Commission and the other Member States accordingly.

CHAPTER III
EC mark of conformity

CHAPTER IV
Final provisions

ANNEX I
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

1. GENERAL CONDITIONS
2. MATERIALS
3. DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

ANNEX II
PROCEDURE FOR CERTIFICATION OF CONFORMITY

1. EC TYPE-EXAMINATION
2. EC DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY TO TYPE
3. EC DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY TO TYPE (guarantee of production quality)
4. EC DECLARATION OF TYPE CONFORMITY (guarantee of product quality)
5. EC VERIFICATION
6. EC VERIFICATION BY UNIT

ANNEX III
EC MARK AND INSCRIPTIONS

ANNEX IV
DESIGN DOCUMENTATION

ANNEX V
MINIMUM CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF NOTIFIED BODIES

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CE Marking (CE mark) EU/EC Declaration of Conformity: definition and required content

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