Mandatory Pre-determined Nominal Quantities of Prepackages, Requirements for Marking of Prepackages, Tolerable Error of Actual Contents of Prepackages from Nominal Quantities and Procedure for Checking Actual Contents of Prepackages

(1) For the purposes of this Regulation, terms are used in the following meanings

1) multipack means additional packaging for grouping prepackages of the same type which can be removed without affecting the properties of the product;

2) negative error of actual contents means the quantity of a product by which the actual contents of the prepackage are smaller than the nominal quantity indicated on the packaging.

(1) The packer shall determine the value of the nominal quantity of a product before packing the product (hereinafter nominal quantity of a prepackage). The nominal quantity of a prepackage shall be expressed numerically and in the relevant compulsory units of measurement.

(2) The nominal quantity of a prepackage containing a liquid product shall be expressed in nominal volume and the nominal quantity of a prepackage containing other products shall be expressed in nominal weight unless otherwise prescribed by trading practices or legislation.

(3) The nominal quantity expressed in units of volume shall correspond to the volume of the product contained in the package at the temperature 20 °C. This requirement does not apply to deep frozen or frozen products.

(4) The nominal quantity of a prepackage expressed in units of mass indicates the actual weight of the product without an additional wrapping and cover (net weight).

(1) The products specified in section 2 of the Annex to Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules on nominal quantities for prepacked products, repealing Council Directives 75/106/EEC and 80/232/EEC, and amending Council Directive 76/211/EEC (OJ L 247, 21.9.2007, p. 17–20) may be placed on the market only if they are prepacked in the nominal quantities listed in section 1 of the Annex to Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. These requirements do not apply to the products specified in section 2 of the Annex to Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council which are sold in duty-free shops for consumption outside the European Union.

(2) Where, in the case of the products specified in section (1), two or more individual prepackages make up a multipack, the nominal quantities listed in section 1 of the Annex to Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council shall apply to each individual prepackage.

(3) Where, in the case of the products specified in section (1), a prepackage is made up of two or more individual packages which are not intended to be sold individually, the nominal quantities listed in section 1 of the Annex to Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council shall apply to the prepackage.

(1) The marking of a prepackage must include an item stating the nominal quantity of the prepackage and data on the packer, the person who organised packing or the importer of the prepackage.

(2) The marking of a prepackage shall be indelible, easily legible and visible in normal conditions.

(3) The item on the package stating the nominal quantity of the prepackage shall be clearly visible, distinguishable from its background and other items. If the item stating the nominal quantity has been fused or embossed onto the package, other items or symbols must not appear at the same place.

(4) The smallest permitted heights of letters and numbers used for marking the nominal quantity of a prepackage depend on the value of the nominal quantity and are set out in table 1.

Table 1

Nominal quantity Qn The smallest permitted heights of letters and numbers in millimetres Qn ≤ 50 g (or ml) 2 50 g (or ml) Qn ≤ 200 g (or ml) 3 200 g (or ml) n ≤ 1 kg (or l) 4 Qn > 1 kg (or l) 6

(5) The nominal quantity of a prepackage shall be expressed in grammes, kilogrammes, millilitres, centilitres or litres in such manner that the nominal quantity would be presented in a maximum three-digit number.

(6) Expressing a nominal quantity in a simple fraction or only in words is not allowed.

(7) The number of prepackages contained in a multipack and their nominal quantities shall be marked on the multipack. Where the number of multipacks and the nominal quantity of at least one individual prepackage is clearly legible through the multipack, then additional marking of the multipack is not mandatory.

(8) Aerosol dispensers shall indicate the total capacity of the container. The marking shall be such as not to create confusion with the nominal volume of the contents. By way of derogation from Article 8 (1) (e) of Council Directive 75/324/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to aerosol dispensers (OJ L 147, 9.6.1975, pp. 40–47), products which are sold in aerosol dispensers need not be marked with the nominal weight of their contents.

(1) A prepackage shall be marked with the e-mark set out in subsection 16 (5) of the Metrology Act in the same field of vision to the item stating the nominal quantity.

(2) The height of the e-mark to be attached onto a prepackage shall be at least 3 mm and its shape and proportions must correspond to the sample set out in the Annex.

(1) The shape and measurements of a prepackage shall reasonably correspond to the actual contents.

(2) Where a prepackage has several indications which provide information on the quantity of the product therein, the data presented on the nominal quantity of the prepackage shall be identical.

(1) The batch of prepackages and the prepackages in it must meet the following requirements

1) the average actual contents of a batch of prepackages are bigger than or equal to the nominal quantity;

2) the proportion in a batch of prepackages having a negative error greater than the tolerable negative error laid down in subsection (3) shall be sufficiently small for batches of prepackages to satisfy the requirements specified in section 2 of Annex II to Council Directive 76/211/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the making-up by weight or by volume of certain prepackaged products (OJ L 46, 21.2.1976, p. 1–11);

3) the negative error of the actual contents of a prepackage from its nominal quantity shall not be greater than twice the tolerable negative error given in section (3).

(2) The actual contents of a prepackage may be smaller than the nominal quantity provided only that it is caused by a random error in packing and provided that the requirements set out in subsection (1) are met.

(3) The tolerable negative error in the actual contents of an individual prepackage from the nominal quantity is indicated by T, the largest values of which are set out in Table 2.

Table 2

Nominal quantity Qn, g or ml T Per cent of Qn g or ml 5 to 50 9 – 50 to 100 – 4,5 100 to 200 4,5 – 200 to 300 – 9 300 to 500 3 – 500 to 1000 – 15 1000 to 10 000 (incl) 1,5 – Note: While using the second column of the table to determine the negative error in actual contents, the result shall be rounded up to the to the nearest one tenth of a gramme or millilitre.

(1) While checking the actual contents of prepackages in state supervision or certification, it is mandatory to adhere to the requirements for statistical checking of batches of prepackages laid down in Annex II to Council Directive 76/211/EEC.

(2) The packer and the importer shall check prepackages in accordance with the requirements for statistical checking of batches of prepackages laid down in Annex II to Council Directive 76/211/EEC or in accordance with another method ensuring the compliance of the actual contents of prepackages with the requirements set out in § 7 of this Regulation.

(3) While checking the actual contents of prepackages, the uncertainty of the measurement result must be less than 0.2 x T, where T means the tolerable negative error in actual contents from the nominal contents in accordance with Table 2.

(4) The actual contents of prepackages may be measured only by

1) direct measurement which means weighing of prepackages with their nominal quantity expressed in units of mass, or measurement of prepackages with their nominal quantity expressed in units of volume with a volume measuring instrument; or

2) indirect measurement which means determination of the volume of liquids with their nominal quantity expressed in units of volume, mixtures of liquids and solid substances, and other substances and mixtures thereof by weighing and measurement of density.

(5) The requirement of subsection 4 (1) is complied with if a measuring container bottle which meets the requirements of § 17 of the Metrology Act is used in manufacturing of prepackages and measurement of actual contents for products expressed in units of volume.

(6) Where prepackages are checked at the end of the packing line, the number in each batch shall be equal to the maximum hourly output of the packing line. In other cases the batch size shall be limited to 10 000 prepackages.

(7) The importer of prepackages may choose not to check the actual contents of prepackages in case the packer of a batch proves to the importer that the actual contents of the prepackages is within the tolerable error. In such case the importer of prepackages may organise the checking in further handling of the prepackages in accordance with the checking system established and documented by the importer.

(1) The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority shall carry out legal metrological control to check the compliance of the actual contents of prepackages.

(2) The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority may use a competent measurer for checking the actual contents of prepackages.

(3) The Consumer Protection and Technical Supervisory Authority shall select at random the prepackages to be checked from a batch of prepackages subject to checking.

(4) While choosing prepackages for checking, the Consumer Protection and Technical Supervisory Authority shall record at least the following data

1) time and place of selecting the prepackages;

2) data identifying the batch of prepackages;

3) nominal quantity of prepackages;

4) number of prepackages taken for checking.

(5) If the actual contents are checked outside the territory of the person handling prepackages, the Consumer Protection and Technical Supervisory Authority shall organise the packing and transport of the prepackages taken for checking in such manner as to ensure that the properties of the prepackages are maintained and the actual contents are intact until the sample arrives at the competent measurer.

(6) A package containing prepackages taken for checking outside the territory of the person operating prepackages shall be closed with a sticker indicating at least the position, name and signature of the official of the Consumer Protection and Technical Supervisory Authority, and the sampling date. The sticker shall be attached onto the packaging in such manner that it will not be possible to open the package without damaging the sticker.

(7) A competent measurer shall check the intactness of a package’s closing stickers and shall maintain the prepackages in conditions which ensure that the properties of the prepackages are maintained and the actual contents are intact until the actual contents are checked, prepackages are returned to a person handling them or destroyed.

(8) The Consumer Protection and Technical Supervisory Authority shall inform the person handling prepackages about the results in writing within two weeks after the start of the check.

(1) The prepackages manufactured in the EU Member States and marked with an e-mark are deemed to be in compliance with the requirements of the Metrology Act, unless a justified complaint is submitted to the Consumer Protection and Technical Supervisory Authority stating that these prepackages do not meet the requirements.

(2) If the system for ensuring the actual contents of prepackages has been certified by an accredited certification body, the Consumer Protection and Technical Supervisory Authority may deem it as a sufficient presumption of the compliance of the prepackages and the prepackages handling process.

The requirement for mandatory nominal quantities specified in section 1 of the Annex to Directive 2007/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council is not applied to marketing of products if the products have been released into free circulation

1) before 1 May 2004;

2) after 1 May 2004 but have been dispatched from the exporting state before 1 May 2004 according to the accompanying document of the products.