Customs Controls in the area of Product Safety
Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which repeals Regulation EC No. 339/93, sets out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products.
This regulation states that the most effective way to ensure that unsafe or non-compliant imported products (i.e. coming from third countries) are not placed on the EU market, is to ensure that adequate checks be carried out before those products are released by Customs for free circulation. This requires the involvement and co-operation of both Customs and Market Surveillance authorities.
In this regard, the European Commission has published 
Guidelines for import controls in the area of product safety and compliance (PDF, 72KB). These Guidelines are intended as an instrument to assist Customs and Market Surveillance Authorities in improving co-operation methods and implementing good administrative practice in the area of product safety. Furthermore, the Guidelines can be used as a tool by Member State's Customs Administrations to assist in carrying out their role in the protection of citizens from unsafe goods.
Any questions regarding Customs related aspects should be directed to:
Teresa Hearty
Customs Division
Tel: 067 63376
Email: teresa.hearty@revenue.ie
Any questions regarding Market Surveillance aspects should be directed to:
Brian Dalton
Department of Jobs, Enterprise, & Innovation
Tel: 01 6312617
Email: Brian.Dalton@djei.ie
January 2012