The draft law will help prevent counterfeit and dangerous products from entering the domestic market and introduce European approaches to placing construction products on the market
The Verkhovna Rada supported draft law No. 2698 “On the provision of construction products on the market”, which is one of the conditions of the Ukraine-EU association and introduces into the Ukrainian legal space the provisions of the 305th Council of Europe Regulation on construction products – mandatory for all European Union countries.
In particular, the initiative will help prevent counterfeit and dangerous products from entering the domestic market and introduce European approaches to placing construction products on the market. The bill was supported by 322 MPs today, September 2.
Bill No. 2698 provides for mandatory confirmation of compliance with the requirements for essential product characteristics (declaration), as currently implemented in the European Union.
Essential characteristics and their specific indicators are specified in European or national standards or assessment documents developed by European and Ukrainian specialists. Standards are adopted by responsible state bodies taking into account European norms and requirements, and product compliance will be confirmed by authorized bodies (laboratories or experts) at the request of the manufacturer.
The bill also clearly defines the responsibility of all market participants – manufacturers, distributors, and resellers.
Manufacturers will be required to accompany each batch with a declaration of conformity of construction products (primarily in electronic form) from 01.01.2023, in accordance with the same rules and procedure for all. That is, it will be easily traceable and impossible to replace.
According to the provisions of the draft law (as also provided for by Regulation 305 of the Council of Europe and the European Union), a list of categories of construction products subject to mandatory declaration is being introduced. In Ukraine, such a list is planned to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers (but at the first stage it will correspond to the list contained in the provisions of Regulation 305).
In particular, the new quality rules will apply to: doors, windows, shutters, gates, thermal insulation and sanitary products, floor coverings, construction adhesives, flat and profiled glass products, etc.
According to the report, according to estimates by manufacturers, industry associations and experts, the level of counterfeiting (products that do not meet standards) is up to 70% of cables and windows, and in cement this figure reaches up to 30%. In general, experts estimate the level of counterfeit products in the construction market to be up to 30% of the total volume.
“Finally, Ukraine will have control over the origin and quality of construction products, which will help to quickly identify counterfeit or unsafe products (and find those responsible for violations).
This will significantly protect the rights of producers of quality products and take a step towards “industrial visa-free” access for Ukrainian goods on the world and European markets,” commented Olena Shulyak, the author of the bill.
We would like to add that European approaches will be introduced in Ukraine from January 1, 2023. They will concern:
- circulation of construction products on the market;
- requirements for the quality of building materials at the European or international level;
- responsibilities and rights of manufacturers, distributors, sellers;
- mechanisms for protecting consumers from dangerous or counterfeit construction products;
- quality control of construction products according to international experience.
