ATEX manufacturer vs authorised representative duties: the legal dividing line
Article 2 defines a manufacturer by conduct. It makes a product, has one designed or manufactured, and markets it under its name or trade mark, or uses it for its own purposes. Contracting out production does not remove this role.
An authorised representative must be established within the Union and receive a written mandate for specified tasks. A sales title or website address does not establish the role. Buyers should request the controlled written mandate and verify the manufacturer, covered products and specified tasks instead of assuming that an informal message proves the appointment.
This review uses the current EUR-Lex consolidated text dated May 30, 2026, the original Official Journal act and the European Commission's 2022 Blue Guide. EUR-Lex identifies the consolidated text as a documentation tool and the relevant Official Journal acts as authentic.
Duties at a glance
| Decision point | Manufacturer under Article 6 | Authorised representative under Article 7 |
|---|---|---|
| How the role arises | By manufacturing, commissioning manufacture, marketing under its name or trade mark, or using the product for its own purposes | By a written mandate from the manufacturer |
| EU establishment | Article 2 does not define the manufacturer by EU establishment | Must be established within the Union |
| Design and manufacture | Must ensure the product meets the applicable Annex II essential health and safety requirements | This Article 6(1) obligation cannot be included in the mandate |
| Technical documentation | Must draw up the required technical documentation | The duty to draw it up under Article 6(2) cannot be included in the mandate |
| Conformity assessment | Must carry out or have carried out the applicable Article 13 procedure | May support only to the extent lawfully specified, without replacing the manufacturer's duty |
| Declaration, attestation and records | Creates the applicable conformity document and retains the required records | May keep those records available when the mandate specifies the task |
| Authority response | Supplies conformity information and cooperates on risk elimination | Must be able to provide information and cooperate within the mandate |
| Responsibility | Remains responsible for the product and the obligations assigned to the manufacturer | Acts on the manufacturer's behalf for specified tasks, under the manufacturer's responsibility |
What Article 6 requires the manufacturer to control
Article 6 begins with the product. When placing a product on the market or using it for its own purposes, the manufacturer must ensure that design and manufacture comply with the applicable Annex II requirements. It must prepare technical documentation and carry out, or have carried out, the relevant Article 13 conformity assessment.
For a product other than a component, demonstrated conformity leads to an EU declaration of conformity and CE marking. For a component, the Directive refers to a written attestation of conformity. The appropriate copy must accompany the product, subject to the batch or consignment provision.
Continuing controls include retaining technical and conformity records for ten years, maintaining series-production conformity, addressing relevant design or standards changes, identifying products, providing manufacturer contact details, and supplying required instructions and safety information.
Suspected non-conformity requires the necessary corrective response, including withdrawal or recall where appropriate. Risk cases also trigger authority information and cooperation. A representative may execute defined communications, but the manufacturer retains responsibility.
For document-matching steps, see the MMAIATEX guide to verifying IECEx certificates and ATEX documents. A logo, certificate cover, declaration template or similar model name is not enough to establish the status of the exact product supplied.
What an authorised representative may be mandated to do
Article 7 requires the representative to perform the tasks stated in the mandate. The mandate must allow at least three functions:
- Keep the EU declaration of conformity or component attestation, where applicable, and the technical documentation available to national market-surveillance authorities for ten years after placement on the market.
- Provide a competent national authority, following a reasoned request, with the information and documentation needed to demonstrate conformity.
- Cooperate with competent national authorities, at their request, on action to eliminate risks posed by products covered by the mandate.
A useful mandate identifies the legal manufacturer, covered products, specified tasks, documents held, effective dates, retention controls, authority contacts and escalation route. It should also explain how the representative receives current files after a product or standards change.
The mandate is not an open-ended power to declare products compliant. The representative's authority remains limited to specified, permitted tasks.
Duties that a mandate cannot transfer
Article 7 expressly excludes two responsibilities from an authorised representative's mandate:
- The Article 6(1) obligation to ensure that products are designed and manufactured in accordance with the applicable Annex II requirements.
- The Article 6(2) obligation to draw up the technical documentation.
This matters when a buyer asks who approved a design, selected the conformity route or compiled the technical file. The answer must identify the manufacturer and connect the exact product to its technical documentation, procedure and declaration or attestation.
The representative may hold and provide a file drawn up by the manufacturer. Storage or authority response does not make it the designer or file author.
A representative does not automatically replace an importer or distributor
Manufacturer and authorised representative duties are not the same topic as supply-chain due diligence. Yesterday's MMAIATEX guide on ATEX importer vs distributor duties covers Articles 8 and 9. An importer places a product from a third country on the Union market. A distributor makes an already placed product available further in the chain.
A non-EU manufacturer can appoint an EU representative, yet an importer role may still arise when a third-country product is first placed on the Union market. EU establishment alone does not make the representative an importer, and an importer is not a representative without a written mandate. If one company performs several roles, record each separately.
The ATEX 114 vs ATEX 153 responsibilities guide explains why product-market duties do not replace workplace risk assessment, area classification, installation and operation duties.
Buyer checklist for a written ATEX mandate
Before relying on the arrangement, record these answers:
- Who is the legal manufacturer for the exact product and configuration?
- Is the representative established within the Union?
- Is there a current written mandate signed or otherwise controlled by the manufacturer?
- Which product families, models and specified tasks are in scope?
- Does the mandate avoid assigning compliant design/manufacture or technical-file creation to the representative?
- Who holds the current declaration or component attestation and technical documentation?
- How are ten-year retention, revision status and access continuity controlled?
- Who responds to a reasoned authority request and in which required language?
- What is the escalation route for suspected non-conformity, risk, correction, withdrawal or recall?
- Are importer and distributor roles documented separately where they also exist?
Product-law role mapping is not installation approval. The IEC 60079-14:2024 buyer checklist covers additional installation evidence that must be assessed for the intended hazardous area.
Current MMAIATEX certification status
The public MMAIATEX About page states that ATEX, IECEx and CCC certification work is in progress. MMAIATEX Explosion-proof Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. does not claim here that an identified model has completed ATEX conformity assessment. A photograph, IP rating, test report, representative appointment or standard reference is not product-specific evidence. Verify the model, marking, conformity document, applicable certificate schedule and intended-use limits.
Safety and legal disclaimer
This is general compliance education, not legal advice, conformity assessment, certification, market-surveillance approval, area classification or installation authorisation. Apply the Directive with its authentic acts, national measures, other applicable law, language rules and controlled product records. Qualified professionals must decide the actual transaction and product.
Request an ATEX role and document review
Send the destination Member State, legal manufacturer, mandate, supply-chain route, model and suffix, intended use and available conformity records. MMAIATEX can organise this information for review by the responsible operators and advisers.