ANACOM imposed fines totalling more than half a million euros (EUR 515,000) on Modelo Continente and Worten for selling radio equipment that did not comply with the law. In both cases, penalties were also imposed in the form of confiscation of the non-compliant equipment for the benefit of the State.
In the case of Worten, ANACOM imposed a lump sum fine of EUR 291,250, in addition to the collateral sanctions of confiscation of 34 models of radio equipment in favour of the State.
In the case of Modelo Continente, a lump sum fine of EUR 223,700 was imposed and 21 models of radio equipment were confiscated in favour of the State.
Both cases involved the sale of models of radio equipment on which the manufacturer had not affixed:
- the model name, batch number, serial number or any other identifying element;
- the manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and postal address with a single point of contact;
- instructions or safety information in Portuguese;
- some models had no information on the frequency bands in which they operate and the maximum radio frequency output power in those bands;
- the equipment was not accompanied by a copy of the EU Declaration of Conformity or the Simplified Declaration of Conformity (valid),
Moreover, ANACOM was not provided, upon request, with the full technical documentation and copies of the relevant EU Declarations of Conformity for some of the models of radio equipment sold by these companies.
This also involves the sale of radio equipment models as importers without a copy of the EU Declaration of Conformity or a (valid) Simplified Declaration of Conformity.
In addition, as distributors, 19 models of radio equipment were sold by Worten and 27 by Modelo Continente:
- some of which did not bear the CE mark;
- several models (some of them several times) were not accompanied by instructions and safety information in Portuguese;
- without any model name, batch number, serial number or other identifying element;
- without the importer’s name, company name, postal address and single point of contact.
The lack of this type of information puts consumers at a disadvantage for a number of reasons:
- The lack of instructions for use and safety means that many consumers are unable to understand how radio equipment works, putting its correct use at risk;
- Failure to take corrective measures to bring radio equipment into conformity with the standards set out in the RED, to withdraw it from the market or to recall it means that equipment which does not comply with the regulatory requirements designed to protect consumers may continue to be made available on the market;
- The lack of identification of equipment by batch or serial number, model or any other identifying element means that the accurate identification of equipment by consumers is not guaranteed, as they generally do not have the technical knowledge to identify it by other means;
- The lack of documentation in Portuguese means that many consumers are unable to understand some or all of the documentation that accompanies radio equipment, putting its correct use at risk;
- The absence of a valid declaration of conformity means that consumers cannot be sure that the conformity of the equipment has been assessed;
- The failure of distributors to provide a copy of the EU Declaration of Conformity and the instructions for use, the failure of manufacturers to provide a copy of the EU Declaration of Conformity and the complete technical documentation for models of radio equipment they have placed on the market, and the absence of an indication of the maximum radiated power in the frequency bands in which a radio equipment operates, makes it difficult to monitor the conformity of equipment with the applicable standards on health protection and electromagnetic compatibility, which seriously jeopardises not only the ability of this Authority to carry out full checks on equipment, but also, and above all, the guarantee of the quality of equipment and the consumers’ right to information;
- The lack of a postal address for the manufacturer makes it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to contact the manufacturer for any purpose, particularly if the product they have bought is faulty;
- The absence of a visible CE marking on equipment means that consumers cannot be fully confident that the equipment meets the optimum level of safety in use required at European level.
