Frequently asked questions

All equipment included in the scope of Directive 2014/53/EU (if it is radioelectric) or in Directive 2014/30/EU (if it is not radioelectric) can be freely placed on the Spanish market without the need for administrative authorization provided that it meets the requirements set out therein. In essence, the manufacturer must have assessed compliance with the essential requirements, affixed the CE marking and complied with the administrative provisions.

The manufacturer must verify the possible existence of other rules of a sectoral nature (requirements of the aeronautical or merchant marine authorities, for example) or horizontal (environmental requirements), which are additional to the regulations referred to in this text.

Any company that sells equipment under its name or brand automatically acquires the responsibilities of manufacturer and must comply with the obligations of the manufacturer, especially those relating to conformity assessment.

Member States may not prevent the marketing of equipment on their territory that complies with the provisions of all applicable Directives. However, it is true that States have the capacity to legislate in addition, for example, on the language they require from documentation in their national markets.

On the other hand, it should be taken very much into account that radio spectrum legislation is not harmonised and that States may have restrictions on use that may limit the marketing of products in their territories. This end must be verified in the tool EPIS.

Member States may not prevent the marketing of equipment on their territory that complies with the provisions of all applicable Directives. However, it is true that States have the capacity to legislate in addition, for example, on the language they require from documentation in their national markets.

On the other hand, it should be taken very much into account that radio spectrum legislation is not harmonised and that States may have restrictions on use that may limit the marketing of products in their territories. This end must be verified in the tool EPIS.

Radio toys, apart from toys, are telecommunication equipment. Consequently, Directive 2014/53/EU applies to them. This standard is in addition to the Sectoral Toys Directive. The fulfillment of one does not guarantee the fulfillment of the other and vice versa. The manufacturer must therefore ensure that the product complies with the requirements of both directives.

For non-radio equipment, the fact of not using harmonised standards has no impact, the manufacturer is completely free to use any planned procedure.

However, for radio equipment, the following occurs:

  • For the essential requirements of safety and electromagnetic compatibility, the manufacturer may use any of the procedures provided. That is, it can use any technical standard, harmonized or not.
  • For the essential spectrum requirement, if it does not use a harmonised standard, it must necessarily go to the services of a notified body.

There are numerous telecommunications laboratories operating on a free-market basis; that is, there are no assessed prices. The manufacturer must take into account that he himself assumes full responsibility for the conformity of the equipment, then he must verify that the chosen laboratory can perform reliable tests.

The notified bodies are not, in themselves, laboratories. They provide a verification service to the manufacturer of the compliance of their equipment with respect to the essential requirements of the Directives. It is true that many of them also offer laboratory services, but the manufacturer must understand that these are different aspects. The use of notified bodies is mandatory for the essential radio spectrum requirement if the manufacturer does not use or partially uses harmonised standards; however, these bodies can be used in any scenario.

MINETAD carries out, on its own initiative, numerous inspections of telecommunication equipment marketed in Spain to the different companies that market them. In general, they are informative files whose objective is to determine if the team presents any type of breaches. The company may continue to market the equipment unless MINETAD initiates a specific recall procedure, in which case the sale of the equipment would no longer be possible.