Do Italian customs require all products to be labelled?
Question
If exporting childrens stationery products to Italy, is it a customs requirement to have the safety labels in Italian? Products are already C E marked and have the symbol stating not suitable for under three years of age.
Answer
Dear Debbie,
Thank you for your question. I contacted the UKTI team in Italy and Claudia Guinchiglia in Milan sent me this response.
"In a nutshell: yes, labels need to be written in Italian in clear and easily readable characters. This obligation is stated in art. 9 of the Italian “Codice del Consumo” (i.e. a legislative code which collects all main provisions on consumers’ protection) issued by the Ministry for Economic Development. The above mentioned article states that all information addressed to consumers need to be in Italian. It is allowed to use only foreign words which are of common use in Italian (for example “made in…”)
There are some labelling information which are compulsory and common to all sort of products and there are also other information and details which vary according to the type of product. If the company expands its query I can make a search and see if there are specific provisions ruling the concerned products. "
Claudia can be contacted on cla[email protected] if you would like more information.
Hope that this helps.
Jennie
Answer
To sell any product in Europe, you are required to translate the safety label into the recipient country’s language even if it already carries a CE marks
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/toys/files/tsd-guidance/tsd_rev_1-6_explanatory_guidance_document_en.pdf
Answer
Hi Debbie,
I would suggest that you contact the Italian Customs Authorities to ascertain if there are any import requirements on such items.
HM Revenue & Customs
Customs International Trade & Excise
www.hmrc.gov.uk/contactus