In contrast to the European Union, where furniture is generally not subject to compulsory CE marking, there is a special Technical Regulation in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which requires compulsory conformity assessment and an EAC marking for furniture circulating on the market of the EAEU. Importing furniture without EAC marking is fined with up to one million Rubel and can lead to suspention of the business activities.

Legal framework

The main technical document is TR CU 025/2012 On safety of furniture. It sets the requirements for furniture and its use with the aim to protect life, health, property and the environment. The EAC marking should protect consumers against misuse or misleading advertising.

Application area

The Technical Regulation TR CU 025/2012 applies to all furniture which is placed on the Eurasian market, i.e. either manufactured in the EAEU or imported from abroad. Individually crafted designer furniture is also covered by these rules, while second-hand or antique furniture not. TR CU is applied for furniture used at home, laboratories, hotels, theaters, public premises, shops etc.

According to the technical regulation the furniture can be devided into following functional classes:

• tables (dining, writing desk, coffee table, tables for terraces and antechambers etc)

• chairs, armchair, bench seat, stools, benches, puffs, coaches)

• beds

• mattress

• wardrobe, cupboards, bedside tables, racks, shelves, chest of drawers and others (chests, bookcases, folding screens, stands, hangers, boxes etc.)

• furniture for children (tables, chairs, beds, playpen, armchairs, boxes for toys, coaches, wardrobe, stools, benches, mattress etc.)

TR CU 025/2012 does not apply to:

• furniture for use in dental, medical and veterinary practice

• furniture for use on air, ground or underground transport

• antique furniture

• second-hand furniture

• sample furniture for advertising purposes or exhibition

There are two types of conformity assessment procedures applied to the furniture - EAC Certificate or EAC Declaration.

The EAC declaration as well as the EAC certificate can only be applied by the company established in the Eurasian Economic Union. For this reason, an authorized representative within the EAEU is required. If you need an authorized representative, we will be happy to offer you a suitable company that takes over this function.

EAC certification

The EAC certification is carried out by a certification body, which can be chosen by the applicant. It is only important that the certification body is accredited for the certification of the respective product.

For the EAC certification the certification procedure 1c, 2c and 3c are used. The procedures are definedn in attachment 4 of the Technical Regulation TR CU 025/2012.

EAC declaration

The EAC declaration is issued by the manufacturer of the furniture. All proofs are provided by the applicant, which is also responsible for all the information presented in the EAC declaration. The certification body assesses only the information coming from the accredited test laboratory. The EAC declarationn is printed on a paper in A4 format and registered sbubsequently. The accompanying documentations for EAC certification is equal for those for the EAC declaration.

EAC certification of electric lighting or electric household appliances

Some pieces of furniture with an integrated electric lighting may also subject to obligatory assessment according to other Technical Regulations, such as TR CU 004/2011 On safety of low-voltage equipment or TR CU 020/2011 On electromagnetic compatibility. In addition, other proofs of conformity may be required. In case of crockery the state hygienic registration is required. This is the case when it concerns electrical equipment with an alternating current between 50 and 1.000 Volt or a direct current between 75 and 1.500 Volt. According to the requirements of the TR CU 020/2011 and TR CU 004/2011 technical passport and instruction manual in Russian.

Differences between an EAC Certificate and an EAC Declaration

Schemes of EAC certification

Schemes of EAC declaration

Required documents

The accompanying documents must be written in Russian or in a language of the memver states of the EAEU. The documentations shall contain the following:

• test report

• data sheet

• product description

• certificate of the quality management system

• report of the manufacturing audit for serial production

5 steps for a successful conformity assessment of the furniture

1. Classification of the product: First of all, you have to define which kind of conformity assessment process should be applied for your product.

2. Choice of samples: In both cases samples must be sent to a test laboratory in the EAEU.

3. Preparation of the technical documents like technical passport or operational manual in Russian (for lighting)

4. Issuing of the EAC Certificate or EAC Declaration according to the test results and its registration

5. EAC marking of the furniture

EAC marking

The products declared according to TR CU 025/2012 must be marked with the EAC conformity mark before launching in the market. The conformity mark shall be affixed to each unit and (or) shipping documents. The marking must be carried out in such a way that it is easily recognizable and legible throughout the entire shelf life of the product. Appropriate marking may only be made if the corresponding production meets the requirements of all relevant technical regulations.

Requirements for the EAC conformity marking:

• EAC marking must be easy to read with the naked eye

• dimensions are not less than 5 mm

• EAC marking should be monochrome and colour contrast to the surface

• EAC sign can be placed in any way that guarantees its legibility throughout the life of products

Placement of the EAC mark

• The EAC logo must be printed/affixed on the label, placed on a fixed part of each piece of furniture. It is not appalled to put the EAC Sing on drawers, removable shelves and component parts that may be replaced.

• For furniture which is sold disassembled an EAC sign can be put on their packaging and in the accompanying documents attached to them.

• The EAC marking is also attached to accompanying documents, consignment notes.

Marking of furniture

Consumer information is provided in the form of marking, instruction manuals and if necessary assembly instruction.
The marking shall be in Russian or in any language of one of the member states of the EAEU, if it is required by the national legislation.

• designation of the product

• logo of the manufacturer

• country of production

• name and address of the manufacturer

• name and address of the importer or the authorized representative

• warranty time

• lifetime of the product defined by the manufacturer

• EAC mark

If the furniture is disassembled the label and the instruction manual shall be in the packaging.

Authorized representative

The manufacturer, which is not based in one of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, is not entitled to request the conformity assessment of furniture to comply with the requirements of TR CU 025/2012.

In order to be able to carry out a conformity assessment, the foreign manufacturer must commission a authorized representative in one of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. This then represents the foreign manufacturer's interest in working with the certification bodies of the Eurasian Economic Union with regard to the safety and quality of products and compliance with technical regulations.