CE marking on goods from China is not a stamp the factory “adds if needed”. A mark on the housing without a test and without a document that follows this model is a sticker. For a market that requires CE, the series needs a report, a declaration and a label that match the goods in the carton. If they do not match, the problem does not wait in your warehouse. It waits at the first buyer or at control.
This is not legal advice and not a list of every directive. It is a check list before deposit, so you do not pay a series you cannot sell. Electronics as a category, Shenzhen and line QC stay on electronics import from China.
What the mark alone does not prove
The factory can print CE into the mould. That does not mean:
- the test was on this model, not a similar housing last year
- the lab is the name on the PDF they send
- voltage, adapter and manual match the market you import into
- the series in the container is the same as the sample that went to test
Ask for a link between three things: model code on the product, model code in the report, model code on the invoice. If they differ by one letter, ask before the balance, not after loading.
What to ask in the quote
Before you accept a piece price, in writing:
- Which rule they claim to cover. Not “we have CE”, but which product type and which test.
- Report number and date. An old report on another housing is not yours.
- Who the lab is. The name must sit on the document, not only in WeChat.
- Whether adapter and cable are in the same test if you sell them as a set.
- Who signs the declaration, and whether that is the manufacturer or a trader with no line.
- Language of manual and label for the market the goods go to.
If the factory says they will “fix papers in a week” without seeing the spec, treat the papers as missing. A test has a lead time. That lead is not a weekend.
Label, manual, serial
On the product or pack, as your market asks for that goods type:
- the mark you are allowed to place
- manufacturer or importer, as your market adviser says it must read
- model and series, so you can recall a lot if a sample fails
- a manual in the buyer’s language, not only Chinese and English if that is not enough
The customs broker checks whether a document follows the goods. The buyer checks whether the device works and whether a manual exists. Both gaps are your cost. Import documents cover invoice, packing list and origin. CE is not a substitute for them, and they are not a substitute for CE.
Where this hits beyond “ordinary electronics”
The same pattern applies outside phones and chargers:
- lighting, especially recessed and hotel, where the driver decides safety
- toys with batteries or small parts, with tests for that category
- machines and equipment with a mains plug
- products that look mechanical but have a power supply in the box
If you sell only into a channel that does not require CE, still write which market this series is for. Do not print a mark “just in case” on goods for a market that does not ask for it, and do not omit it on goods for a market that does.
QC that ties paper to carton
Pre-shipment QC should do more than count:
- compare a carton sample with the approved sample
- check the box label against the model in the report
- open several units and see whether adapter, fuse and manual are inside
- photograph the mark and keep those photos with the report
If QC finds a different driver than on the sample, the series stops. A cheaper part after approval is a common way the factory “saves” margin. You then hold a document on one product and goods that are another.
Papillon does not issue CE and does not replace a lab or your regulatory adviser. On the ground we ask the factory to hand over documents before the balance, we match model to sample, and we do not release shipment until QC and the folder speak about the same product.
Put in the brief: what the product is, which market it goes to, whether you already have a report, and whether this is a finished model or development. Contact.
Landed cost includes the lab if it is in the brief, and duty in two scenarios. The 1 July 2024 agreement wants HS and COO. A CE paper is not a COO. A COO is not CE. Both, when needed, go before loading, separately. LCL or FCL does not change that rule. It changes freight, by packed CBM.
Next step
Send the request: category, quantity, and date. You get a reply within 24 hours, with an outline of the total cost to destination where we can price it.
