Article 8 — Obligations of manufacturers

1. When placing detergents or surfactants on the market, manufacturers shall ensure that those detergents or surfactants have been designed and manufactured in accordance with this Regulation. 2. Manufacturers shall draw up the technical documentation set out in Annex IV and carry out the conformity assessment procedure set out in that Annex. Where compliance of a detergent or end-user surfactant with the applicable requirements has been demonstrated by the procedure referred to in the first subparagraph, before placing the product on the market manufacturers shall: (a) create a digital product passport in accordance with Article 21; (b) ensure that the data carrier is available in accordance with Article 21(4); and (c) include a reference of the digital product passport in the registry referred to in Article 24(1) (the registry). 3. Manufacturers shall keep and, where necessary, update the technical documentation and the digital product passport for 10 years from the date on which the detergent or the surfactant has been placed on the market. 4. Manufacturers shall ensure that procedures are in place for series production to remain in conformity. Changes in product design or in characteristics, as well as changes in the test methods by reference to which the conformity of a product is declared, shall be adequately taken into account. When deemed appropriate with regard to the performance of, or the risks presented by, a detergent or surfactant, manufacturers shall carry out sample testing of such detergent or surfactant, investigate, and, if necessary, keep a register of complaints, of non-compliant detergents or surfactants and of recalls of such detergents or surfactants, and shall keep distributors informed of any such monitoring. 5. Manufacturers placing on the market detergents or surfactants shall ensure that those detergents or surfactants comply with Article 17(1), (3), (4) and (5), Article 18(1) and Article 19(1) and(2) and, where applicable, Article 17(2), Article 18(2) and Article 19(3). 6. Before placing on the market detergents or end-user surfactants which are mixtures for which there is no obligation to provide information in accordance with Article 45 of Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, the manufacturers established within the Union shall provide to the bodies appointed by Member States in accordance with that Article (the appointed bodies) the ingredient data sheet referred to in point 2.2 (e) of Annex IV to this Regulation (the ingredients data sheet). Where the detergent or end-user surfactant for which an ingredients data sheet has already been submitted no longer corresponds to the information included in that ingredients data sheet, the manufacturers shall submit an updated ingredients data sheet. The ingredients data sheet shall be submitted by electronic means in the format provided by the European Chemicals Agency and made available free of charge for notifications in accordance with Part A, Section 3.1, second paragraph, of Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. The submission shall be in a language easily understood by the appointed bodies, as determined by the Member State in which the product is made available on the market. 7. Manufacturers established outside the Union shall provide the authorised representative or the importer with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the compliance with this Regulation of the detergent or surfactant. 8. Where manufacturers consider or have reason to believe that a detergent or surfactant which they have placed on the market is not in compliance with this Regulation, they shall immediately take the corrective action necessary to bring the detergent or surfactant into conformity, to withdraw it or to recall it, as appropriate. Furthermore, where manufacturers consider or have reason to believe that a detergent or surfactant which they have placed on the market poses a risk to human health or to the environment, they shall immediately inform the competent national authorities of the Member States in which they made it available on the market to that effect, giving details, in particular, of any non-compliance and of any corrective action taken. 9. Manufacturers shall ensure that other economic operators in the supply chain concerned are kept informed without undue delay regarding any non-compliance or risk to human health or the environment that they have identified and of any consequent corrective action, recall or withdrawal. 10. Manufacturers shall, further to a reasoned request from a competent national authority, provide it with all the information and documentation, in electronic format and, on request, in paper format, necessary to demonstrate the compliance with this Regulation of a detergent or surfactant which they have placed on the market, in a language which can be easily understood by that authority. Manufacturers shall cooperate with that authority, at its request, on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by that detergent or surfactant. 11. Manufacturers shall make their communication channels, such as a telephone number, an electronic address or a dedicated section of their website, publicly available on their website, taking into account the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities and enabling end-users to submit complaints about potential non-compliance of products or safety issues.