What Powers Do Market Surveillance Authorities Hold?

Market surveillance powers are the powers of Member State authorities to check batteries on the market, require information and documentation, take samples, carry out checks and, where non-compliance or risk is found, require corrective action, restrict, prohibit, withdraw or recall batteries. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 sets battery specific surveillance and safeguard provisions, and Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 provides the general market surveillance framework for products subject to Union harmonisation legislation, including cooperation, controls on products entering the Union market, and the information system for surveillance measures. The two laws work together, with the battery Regulation providing the specific provisions and the general Regulation providing the framework.

Surveillance is a continuing control, not a one off approval at placing. A battery that was compliant at placing can become non-compliant through a design change, a supplier change, a labelling change or a passport update failure, and surveillance checks are designed to detect that drift. An operator who treats surveillance as a distant risk, rather than as a continuing check on the conformity file, will be unprepared when a request arrives, and the response will be assembled under time pressure from scattered files.

Who carries out market surveillance?

Market surveillance is carried out by the market surveillance authorities designated by each Member State, with the Commission and other Member States involved in the safeguard and cooperation procedures where a measure in one state affects the Union market. Authorities act within their Member State, cooperate through the information system and the Union Product Compliance Network, and coordinate on products that present a risk or a widespread non-compliance. An operator with sales in several Member States may therefore face surveillance checks in more than one state, on the same battery model, with the checks coordinated rather than duplicated.

An operator surveillance contact file should list, per Member State of sale, the designated authority, the contact route and the language for responses, with the file reviewed annually. A file with a single contact for all states will be inadequate when a check arrives in a state with a different authority and language. A file with per state contacts, reviewed and dated, allows a response to be routed correctly and quickly. The file should be kept with the conformity evidence, not in a separate commercial file.

What checks can authorities carry out?

Authorities can carry out documentary checks, visual checks, laboratory checks and sample testing, including checks of technical documentation, declarations, labelling, marking, QR code resolution, passport availability and access, and battery performance and safety where the check requires it. Authorities can require the operator to provide information, documentation and samples, and can carry out checks at the operator premises, at distributors and at customs. Checks are proportionate to the risk and the non-compliance suspected, and they are carried out under the powers in the battery Regulation and in Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

Worked check: an authority requests the technical documentation and a sample for a battery model. The operator provides the complete file, with the declaration, test reports and passport access, within the period set in the request. The authority check proceeds on the file provided. A second operator provides a partial file, with test reports missing, and the authority must request the missing evidence, delaying the check and creating an impression of non-cooperation. Completeness on first response is a surveillance discipline, not a courtesy.

What information can authorities require?

Authorities can require the information and documentation needed to demonstrate conformity, including technical documentation, declarations, test reports, quality system records, passport information within the authority tier, and information on the supply chain and distribution where relevant to the check. The operator must provide the information in a language that the authority can easily understand, within the period set in the request, and must cooperate with the check. A refusal to provide information, or a partial provision without explanation, can itself lead to a finding of non-compliance, even when the underlying battery is sound.

Information provision should be managed as a controlled response, with a single response coordinator, a document index, and a record of what was provided, when and to whom. A response assembled by several people without a coordinator will duplicate, omit or contradict documents. A coordinated response with an index allows the authority to follow the file, and it allows the operator to show what was provided if a later question arises about the response. The index should be retained with the conformity file.

What measures can authorities take?

Where non-compliance is found, authorities can require corrective action within a proportionate period, restrict or prohibit the making available of the battery, withdraw the battery from the market, or recall the battery from end users, depending on the seriousness of the non-compliance and the risk presented. Where a battery presents a serious risk, authorities can take immediate measures, including prohibition and recall, and must enter the measure in the information system. Where a measure in one Member State is found justified, the safeguard procedure in the battery Regulation and the general framework coordinate the measure across the Union market.

Measure readiness should be planned in advance, with a corrective action procedure, a withdrawal and recall procedure, and a communication plan for distributors and end users. A procedure created after a measure is imposed will be late, and the delay will be visible to the authority. A procedure created, tested and filed in advance, with roles, contacts and templates, allows a measure to be implemented within the period set, and it shows the operator as cooperating and in control. The procedure should be reviewed annually, with the review dated.

How do customs controls interact with surveillance?

Customs controls interact with surveillance through controls on products entering the Union market, including checks of the passport registry entry, declaration availability and marking, before release for free circulation. Where a market surveillance authority concludes that a product presents a serious risk or does not comply, customs can be required not to release the product for free circulation, with the relevant notice entered in the customs system. The customs check is an identifier and documentation check at the border, while the deeper conformity check takes place inland, and the two checks together form the market entry control.

Border readiness for an operator means that the registry entry, the declaration and the marking are correct at the time of import, with the evidence available to the importer. An importer who cannot show the declaration or the registry entry at the border will face a hold, even when the battery is technically compliant. The importer file should be checked before each shipment, with the check recorded, so that a border hold is a rare exception rather than a routine outcome.

What cooperation duties apply to operators?

Operators must cooperate with market surveillance authorities, provide information on request, take corrective action where required, and inform authorities where the operator has reason to believe a battery presents a risk or is not in conformity. Cooperation includes informing the authority in the Member State where the battery was made available, and, where the risk is widespread, informing authorities in other Member States affected. As checked on 28 October 2026, cooperation duties should be read in the battery Regulation operator chapter together with Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. This guide gives general educational information only and is not individual legal advice. A reader with a specific battery or market decision should check the current Regulation text and any applicable delegated act, as checked on 28 October 2026, before acting.

This guide gives general educational information only and is not individual legal advice. A reader with a specific battery or market decision should check the current Regulation text and any applicable delegated act, as checked on 28 October 2026, before acting. Surveillance is a continuing control, and the conformity file should be ready to produce complete on first request.