This is a person who places on the EEA market an apparatus which is covered by the Directive and imported from a third country.

Under the terms of the Directive (Article 10.1, third paragraph and Article 10.2, third paragraph), the importer must keep the manufacturers declaration of conformity and the technical construction file at the disposal of the competent authorities for a period of ten years after the last apparatus was placed on the market, where neither the manufacturer nor his authorised representative is established within EEA.

Should the importer want to accept more responsibilities than those above, he can of course become the authorised representative in agreement with the manufacturer.

The importer can become the manufacturer in the case where the importer modifies a product to suit the local market

In the situations described, the importer must assume the obligations of such parties.