Authorised representative duties: acting for a manufacturer established outside the Union

An authorised representative is a person established in the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on its behalf in relation to specified tasks. Article 40 sets out the obligations of authorised representatives. The role exists for manufacturers established outside the Union, who need a Union based actor to perform defined tasks, such as keeping technical documentation and the declaration available, cooperating with authorities, and taking corrective action where required.

The mandate is the foundation of the role. Without a written mandate that specifies the tasks, a person is not an authorised representative for the purposes of the Regulation, however the person is described in commercial correspondence.

What must a mandate contain?

A mandate must be written, must identify the manufacturer and the authorised representative, must specify the tasks delegated, and must state that the manufacturer remains responsible for the tasks that are not delegated and for conformity itself. The mandate should identify the battery models or categories covered, the period of the mandate, and the arrangements for keeping documentation available and for cooperating with authorities. A mandate that delegates everything, without limit, is not a mandate for specified tasks. It is an attempt to transfer manufacturer responsibility, and the Regulation does not permit that transfer. A mandate that is oral, or that is inferred from a distribution agreement, does not meet the written requirement. The passport record should allow a reader to identify the authorised representative where one acts for the manufacturer, and should not present the representative as the manufacturer.

Which tasks can be delegated?

Tasks that can be delegated include keeping the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation available to authorities, providing information and documentation to authorities on request, and cooperating in corrective action. Tasks that cannot be delegated include the design and manufacture of the battery in conformity with the Regulation, the drawing up of technical documentation as a manufacturer act, and the drawing up of the declaration of conformity as a manufacturer act, except where the Regulation expressly provides for the representative to act on the manufacturer’s behalf in a defined administrative capacity. The distinction is between acting for the manufacturer in dealings with authorities and the market, and being the manufacturer. An authorised representative who draws up a declaration in its own name, or who presents itself as the manufacturer in the passport record, exceeds the mandate and misleads a reader about responsibility.

How does the representative affect the passport record?

The representative affects the record through documentation availability and cooperation, not through origination of model data. The representative does not create the model layer, does not calculate carbon or recycled content, and does not perform the conformity assessment. The representative ensures that the declaration and documentation that support the record can be made available, and that corrections and authority requests are handled. Where the representative is the contact point for a model, the record should show the representative contact route alongside the manufacturer identity, with the role of each stated. A reader who needs the manufacturer should be directed to the manufacturer. A reader who needs documentation through the representative route should be directed to the representative. Both routes must be clear, and neither should obscure the other.

What happens when a mandate ends?

When a mandate ends, by expiry, termination or withdrawal, the representative must cease to act as representative, must transfer documentation and information as the mandate and the Regulation require, and must inform authorities where a transfer affects availability of documentation. The manufacturer must appoint a new representative where one is required, or must make alternative arrangements for documentation availability. The passport record should reflect the current representative position, with a version note for the change, and should not continue to show a former representative as the current contact. A record that shows a former representative as current misdirects enquiries and authority requests, and delays corrective action. Mandate changes are version events for the contact information in the record, not silent edits.

What does the mandate table summarise?

What limits apply to representative claims?

A representative claim states that a person acts under a written mandate for specified tasks. It does not state that the representative is the manufacturer, that the representative guarantees conformity, or that the representative holds the design and test evidence as its own. This guide gives general educational information only and does not give legal advice for a particular manufacturer, representative or mandate.