“Anacom imposed fines on Modelo Continente and Worten totalling of more than half a million euros (515 thousand euros) for marketing radio equipment that does not comply with legal requirements. In both cases, additional sanctions for the loss of non-conforming equipment were also applied to the State”, says the regulator in a statement.
The document states that a single fine of 291,250 euros was imposed on Worten and advisory sanctions for the loss of 34 models of radio equipment in favour of the State.
In the case of Modelo Continente, the single fine was 223,700 euros, and 21 models of radio equipment were also seized in favour of the State.
At issue is the commercialization of equipment due to the manufacturer's failure, the importer's failure and the distributor's failure.
According to Anacom, the failures by the manufacturer included the lack of information such as model name, batch number, serial number or other identification elements, the name of the manufacturer, indication of a contact point, lack of instructions or information in Portuguese, lack of information on frequency bands or transmitted radio frequency power or European Union (EU) declarations of conformity.
In this sense, the regulator adds that, after requests, the complete technical documentation or copies of the respective EU declarations of conformity were not made available.
“And there is also the sale, as a distributor, of 19 models of radio equipment, in the case of Worten, and 27 in the case of Modelo Continente”, which did not contain the CE marking, instructions and safety information in Portuguese, the model name, batch number, serial number or other identification elements or the name of the importer.
Anacom argues that the lack of this type of information “is penalising for consumers for several reasons”.
The regulator considers that the lack of documentation or identification may compromise the proper use of equipment, make it difficult to monitor the compliance of equipment with applicable standards relating to health protection and electromagnetic compatibility, and makes contact impossible if products are defective or fail to levels of safety in use required in Europe.