[OT] EU warning label on goods

[Bill]

I just bought a plastic assembly from Hong Kong as a spare to attach a camera to a windscreen.

It came in a packet with a yellow, printed, stuck on label reading:

" Goods not fulfilling the conditions laid down in Articles 28 and 29 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union".

As far as I can tell, these articles imply that the mounting is not allowed free passage into or between EU states and may be liable to customs and other duties. My package was obviously from Hong Kong, and also had a large customs declaration sticker saying it was a bike bag of value $10. I paid about ?2.00 including "Free Postage". for the assembly.

Has anyone else seen one of these labels? Will I be ordered off the ferry if the mounting is discovered? :-)

[Max Demian]

attach a

Only if you put the sticker on the item.

Reminds me of the green and red stickers telephones had on them that told you that you were/weren't allowed to plug them into the telephone sockets, when the GPO (as I think it was still known) deigned to allow us sockets for telephones.

[Tim Streater]

Still nationalised then.

[whisky-dave]

I think the current punishment is to be keel hauled. :-)

[Brian Gaff]

No its called covering ones back I'd suggest. its always gone on to make illegal legal as nobody could figure out how to treat it under other laws.

Very Yes Minister in an EU kind of way. Brian

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Seems perfectly logical to me. It can be imported and used with the warnings. But not imported for re-sale within the EU.

It's probably the same as many of the power tools etc that Lidl sell. They appear to come from Germany - but I doubt they are totally made in German factories. So commissioned by a German firm who are then responsible for making sure they comply and so on. Not so different from incorporating electronic components from the far east in something which *is* made in the EU.

[marco.geracao]

This has nothing to with taxes and other misinformation going around. First off, the yellow sticker related to taxes refers to articles 9 and 10. 9 an d 10. Not 28 and 29. On the other hand, the yellow sticker stating articles 28 and 29 refer to goods that are not allowed in all EU member states or t hat cannot be sold among member states, ie: tobacco related products or, mo re recently, ecigars and/or ecigars consumables. Dangerous materials such a s ion/lithium batteries and so on. Until now, I haven't found one website t hat explains the truth about this issue. One last thing, I've only received packages with this sticker ONLY if they arrive to Europe by the Netherland s.

Articles 28 and 29 talk about "products originating in Member States and to products coming from third countries which are in free circulation in Memb er States." The keyword here is FREE CIRCULATION. As I said earlier, there are goods that CANNOT, I repeat CANNOT circulate freely among all EU member countries. That's why you get the sticker when such products enter the EU from abroad.?

[Brian Gaff]

I could not have lived another minute till I knew that and of course the French ignore all of it and just carry on as normal. Brian