ATEX Guide 3rd edition June 2009, Art. 10.3 - Validity of EC Type-Examination Certificates/ EC Declarations of Conformity under the ATEX Directive 94/9/EC

If a manufacturer intends to place a product on the Community market, he has to fulfil the requirements of the relevant European directives and confirm this fact in a legally binding EC-Declaration of Conformity (EC-DoC).

For equipment for use in potentially explosive atmospheres the ATEX Directive 94/9/EC specifies various conformity assessment procedures, which depend on the equipment category and act as a basis for issuing the EC-DoC.

The manufacturer of a product (or the person who is responsible for placing a product on the market) has to take into account the current state of the art (technological knowledge available at the time of the placing on the market) when affixing the CE marking and issuing the EC-DoC.  This applies to equipment of all categories, regardless of whether or not a notified body was involved in the conformity assessment procedure.

The relevant standards applied are cited in the EC-DoC.  If a harmonised standard is applied, the reference of which has been published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU), compliance with the relevant Essential Health and Safety Requirements (EHSRs) of the Directive is presumed.  After the publication of a new or revised harmonised standard the superseded standard ceases to grant presumption of conformity.  The date of cessation is given in the OJEU.

This raises the question whether the manufacturer can use an existing EC Type-Examination Certificate and the EC-DoC based on a superseded standard to continue to place his products on the market.