When must I appoint an authorised representative for batteries?

What you need to do concretely

What is expected of you

An authorised representative comes into play when a manufacturer of batteries is established outside the European Union. The regulation does not treat this as something that every business can simply skip or, conversely, is obliged to do regardless of its own position: it is linked to the question of who in the supply chain acts as a manufacturer under the legislation. Anyone wondering whether that role applies to their own business will find the basis for that at Am I an importer or manufacturer according to the battery regulation? — because the obligation to appoint an authorised representative lies with the manufacturer, not with the importer itself.

The manufacturer outside the EU appoints an authorised representative

Once a manufacturer has no establishment in the EU, that manufacturer has the task of designating an authorised representative in writing. This is not a choice left to the European buyer. For a company with 10 to 100 employees that imports batteries or products containing batteries, this means in practice that enquiry must be made as to whether the manufacturer has already made this designation, and to whom. Without a designated authorised representative, there is no contact point within the EU that can act on behalf of the manufacturer — and this directly affects the question of who may and can draw up the battery passport. More on this division of roles is at Who is responsible for the battery passport?

The mandate is recorded in writing

Article 40 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 describes how the designation of an authorised representative is carried out via a written mandate. For a medium-sized company, this is primarily a matter of diligence: an oral agreement or an implicit division of roles is not sufficient. The mandate must indicate which tasks the authorised representative performs on behalf of the manufacturer. An importer or trader working with a manufacturer outside the EU is well advised to actually see and keep this document, not just hear that it is "arranged".

The authorised representative checks technical documentation

According to Article 40, the authorised representative has a supervisory task: to check whether the technical documentation has been drawn up and whether the conformity assessment procedure has been carried out. For an importing company, this means that the presence of an authorised representative does not automatically mean that all papers are in order — it means that there is someone who should check this on behalf of the manufacturer. This inspection also touches on the question of What conformity declaration and CE marking go with a battery?, because without correct documentation an authorised representative cannot properly carry out this task.

The authorised representative keeps documentation and cooperates with supervision

Another task that follows from Article 40 is the retention of documentation for a certain period and cooperation with requests from supervisory authorities. For a company working through a manufacturer outside the EU, this is relevant because a supervisory authority will not turn to the manufacturer in a third country, but to the authorised representative within the EU. A company that holds and sells stock itself will notice this sooner than a party that merely intermediates; see also what do I need to arrange as an online shop if I stock batteries for sale myself

The authorised representative is accessible and identifiable

The regulation expects the contact details of the authorised representative to be traceable — this aligns with the broader obligations of economic operators set out in Articles 38 to 44 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, in which name, address and contact details are a recurring element. For a medium-sized company, this is primarily a practical matter: it must be clear on documentation, packaging or in the battery passport who the authorised representative is, so that an importer, distributor or supervisory authority can reach them.

Where things go wrong in practice

An importer assumes that the manufacturer outside the EU "has arranged someone in Europe", without ever having seen a written mandate. Later it turns out that no one formally fulfils that role.

A company sells batteries under its own brand and assumes that the original manufacturer outside the EU will handle the authorised representative matter, while own-brand sales actually entail a different allocation of roles. What this means for the company's own obligations is explained at I sell batteries under my own brand — what obligations do I get?

A distributor assumes that the presence of CE marking already proves that an authorised representative has been appointed, while these are two separate obligations that must be checked independently.

Contact details of the authorised representative become outdated: the company moves, changes service provider, but the old details remain on documentation, causing supervisory authorities or customers to contact the wrong party.

An online shop that purchases directly from a factory outside the EU treats the authorised representative matter as something that "the supplier will take care of", without ever making enquiries — while this position is often comparable to that of an importer, with the corresponding responsibility.

What you can record

• The written mandate from the manufacturer to the authorised representative, including the date of appointment.
• Name, address and contact details of the authorised representative, as stated in documentation or in the battery passport.
• An overview of the tasks assigned to the authorised representative in the mandate, so that it is clear who carries out which check.
• Correspondence in which the manufacturer confirms who the authorised representative is, to be used if the manufacturer does not itself provide access to the underlying mandate.
• A fixed check at each change of manufacturer, supplier or import arrangement, to verify whether the authorised representative is still current and contactable.