Article 21 of Machinery Regulation 2023/1230: how market surveillance of machinery works

Direct answer: Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 refers control of machinery already placed on the market to the general market surveillance regime of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, giving national authorities the power to inspect, demand technical documentation, order corrective measures and, where the risk justifies it, prohibit marketing, withdraw from the market or recall machinery already sold, all coordinated between Member States through the ICSMS information and communication system. This is not a one-off check at the border: it is a continuous system that can be triggered at any point in the commercial life of the machine. In this article we explain what authorities check, what happens when they detect non-compliant machinery, and how the response is coordinated between countries of the Union.

Regulation 2023/1230, fully applicable from 20 January 2027, integrates machinery into the horizontal market surveillance framework that Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 already applies to other harmonised products, reinforcing intervention powers against online sales and imports from third countries.

What exactly do national authorities check?

Article 21.1 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 establishes that Article 11 and Articles 13 to 21 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 apply to machinery and related products covered by the Machinery Regulation itself. In practice, this authorises authorities to require the manufacturer or its authorised representative to provide the EU Declaration of Conformity under Article 19, the technical documentation of Annex IV, information on any notified bodies that were involved, and physical access to the machine for inspection, testing or sampling when necessary.

Checks are not limited to documentation: they include physical verification of the CE marking under Article 20, the instructions for use under Article 10, the safety devices required by Annex III and, with increasing frequency, machinery sold through e-commerce platforms — an area to which Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 devotes specific attention by requiring information society service providers to cooperate with authorities when requested.

What happens when non-compliant machinery is detected?

The procedure follows a staged sequence taken from Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. First, the authority requires the economic operator — manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or distributor, whichever is best positioned — to take adequate and proportionate corrective measures within a set period, to end the non-compliance or reduce the risk. If the operator does not take those measures within the deadline, the authority may adopt all appropriate provisional measures to prohibit or restrict the marketing of the machine on its national market, withdraw it from the market or require its recall from end users who have already acquired it.

When the machine presents a serious risk to the health or safety of persons, the authority may act immediately without first granting that correction period, and must inform the European Commission and the other Member States without delay through the rapid alert system when the risk may affect marketing in more than one country. This mechanism is the same Safety Gate (formerly RAPEX) that already operates for other harmonised consumer and industrial products in the Union.

How do authorities from different Member States coordinate?

Coordination operates on several levels. At the operational level, the ICSMS system allows any market surveillance authority to check whether a machine or a manufacturer has already been subject to measures in another Member State, avoiding the same non-compliance being investigated in isolation and without coordination twenty-seven times over. At the institutional level, the Union Product Compliance Network, created by Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, facilitates the exchange of good practices, joint planning of sectoral inspection campaigns and the resolution of disagreements when two Member States reach different conclusions on the conformity of the same machine.

When one Member State adopts a restrictive measure and another Member State or the Commission raises objections about its justification, the Union safeguard procedure provided for in Article 21.2 of the Machinery Regulation in conjunction with Chapter IX of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 is triggered, which can end with a decision by the European Commission binding on all Member States on whether the national measure was justified or must be withdrawn.

A practical case: the recall that started with a single complaint

Automatismos Vidal, a fictitious importer established in Spain of a table circular saw manufactured outside the Union, received a complaint from a user following an incident without serious injuries in which the blade guard came loose during normal use. The regional industry authority inspected a unit of the same reference, confirmed that the guard did not meet the strength requirement of Annex III and required the importer — given the lack of response from the non-EU manufacturer — to recall all units sold in the previous year. The importer had to locate 340 buyers, replace the defective component and document each intervention. The case was recorded in ICSMS and two other Member States that had received the same model started their own inspections in the following weeks, illustrating how a single local incident can escalate into coordinated action across the Union.

IgeraIndustria in action: preparing for a market surveillance inspection

Frequently asked questions about Article 21

Can a market surveillance authority inspect without prior notice?

Yes. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 does not require prior notice for market surveillance inspections, and in practice many actions are launched precisely without announcement to verify the real conditions of marketing, especially at trade fairs, warehouses and points of sale.

Who pays the costs of a machinery recall from the market?

The costs of corrective measures, including recall, are borne by the economic operator responsible for the non-compliance, usually the manufacturer. When the authority must act as a substitute because the operator does not respond, it may also pass on the costs of that action to the operator in accordance with applicable national law.

What is the difference between market withdrawal and recall?

Market withdrawal prevents new units that have not yet reached the end user from continuing to be marketed, while recall involves contacting users who already own the machine to correct, replace or refund it. Recall is the more burdensome measure and is only required when the detected risk justifies it.

Are second-hand machines imported from outside the EU also subject to market surveillance?

Yes, if they are placed on the Union market for the first time from a third country they are considered new for the purposes of the Regulation and are subject to the same surveillance regime, including the requirement for an EU Declaration of Conformity and CE marking under Articles 19 and 20.

Which authority carries out machinery market surveillance in Spain?

Competence lies with the industry bodies of the autonomous communities, coordinated at state level by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, within the framework of Law 21/1992 on Industry and its implementing regulations, which transposes the obligations of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 into Spanish law.

Does IgeraIndustria directly manage a market surveillance inspection?

No. IgeraIndustria does not replace the authority or act as a legal representative before it. Its function is to help technical teams organise and verify the documentation required by the Regulation before an inspection takes place, and to respond quickly when a formal request is received.

Last updated: July 2026 | Author: Jordi Bassols, Industrial Safety Engineer, COEIC Registered | Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2023 on machinery, Article 21 (OJEU L 165, 29.6.2023); Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products, Articles 11, 16 and 34; Law 21/1992 on Industry. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or engineering advice. IgeraIndustria — free trial. EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or engineering advice. For the conformity assessment of your machinery, consult a notified body or a qualified industrial safety engineer.