UK authorised representative for Chinese machinery
A manufacturer can appoint a UK authorised representative by written mandate to handle specified machinery compliance tasks for Great Britain. Agree the tasks and access to technical evidence; the manufacturer remains responsible for the product and delegated work. Discuss the factory evidence with Cambridge China Bridge.
Start with the manufacturer’s written mandate
For the Great Britain market, the manufacturer can appoint an authorised representative established in the UK by written mandate. A sourcing agreement or a UK contact address alone does not establish which compliance tasks the manufacturer has delegated. Ask for the manufacturer’s written appointment before treating anyone as its representative.
As a practical drafting checklist, identify the manufacturer, representative, machinery models, configurations and intended market. Describe each task, who approves changes, how documents are accessed and what happens when the appointment ends. This guide concerns Great Britain; arrange a separate scope review for Northern Ireland. For the wider purchase specification, use our machinery sourcing guide.
Specify the compliance work being delegated
Machinery guidance permits a written mandate covering all or part of the manufacturer’s obligations and formalities. Depending on its scope, this can cover ensuring essential safety requirements are met, technical file availability, safety instructions, conformity assessment, drawing up the declaration of conformity and affixing the relevant conformity marking.
Avoid a vague promise to “handle certification”. Ask the representative to identify the assessment route, evidence it will review and documents it will deliver. Put declaration preparation, signature arrangements and marking checks into the agreed task list. Our CE, UKCA and ISO guide explains the wider documentation questions.
Make technical evidence access workable
The responsible person must ensure that the technical file is compiled and available on request. Ask the representative to demonstrate that it can obtain the evidence for the machinery you are buying, rather than relying on a factory assurance that documents exist. For partly completed machinery, see our paperwork guide for partly completed machinery.
Agree access to the risk assessment, drawings, control circuit information, test reports, instructions and production change records. Name a factory engineering contact and agree how confidential documents can be shared for review or an authority request. Try retrieving a document before shipment. Use the production line technical file guide when the purchase involves connected machines. For noise test evidence, see our guide to comparing machinery noise claims. For replacement equipment, see our guide to integrating second-source machinery.
Keep the manufacturer’s responsibility visible
HSE states that the manufacturer remains responsible for the product and for the proper performance of obligations carried out by its authorised representative. Delegating paperwork or conformity work therefore does not remove the manufacturer’s responsibility.
Keep the factory involved in decisions about guards, safety controls and changes to the build. Ask it to confirm that the supplied configuration matches the evidence reviewed by the representative. Agree how defects will be investigated, who provides engineering answers and how revised documents reach the buyer. For local repair support, see our guide to appointing a UK machinery service partner.
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Use the mandate as a purchase checkpoint
Before approving shipment, compare the mandate, declaration, instructions, evidence index and machine identification. Resolve missing access, conflicting model names or unexplained design changes with the factory and representative. Use the quality inspection guide to plan checks on the actual build alongside the document review. For format-change trials, see our machinery size changeover approval guide.
Cambridge China Bridge has its own staff in China. Ask us to help gather the factory evidence and coordinate questions with your appointed representative. Keep the sourcing work and the manufacturer’s written appointment explicit in the order documents.
Frequently asked questions
Can my sourcing agent be my machinery representative?
For Great Britain, a manufacturer can appoint a UK-established representative by written mandate. A sourcing agreement alone does not define the delegated compliance tasks.
Can a representative handle machinery conformity assessment?
Yes, machinery guidance permits delegation of all or part of the manufacturer’s obligations. Specify the assessment work in the mandate and agree the evidence and deliverables.
Does the representative need access to the technical file?
If file availability is delegated, arrange working access to the factory evidence. The responsible person must ensure the file is compiled and available on request.
Does appointing a representative remove factory responsibility?
No. HSE says the manufacturer remains responsible for the product and the proper performance of obligations carried out on its behalf.