Skip to content
spilma
FREN

Northern Ireland: EU Battery Regulation now enforceable

updated 19 Oct 20266 min read

Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries has applied in Northern Ireland since 18 February 2024, under the Windsor Framework, but the offences and penalties needed to enforce it there were missing. The Batteries (Placing on the Market) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/1053), made on 25 September 2026 by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, fill that gap. Under regulation 1(2) they came into force on the 22nd day after they were made, that is 17 October 2026. From that date, a breach of the EU Regulation's placing on the market requirements in Northern Ireland is a criminal offence, and the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 are revoked there, apart from two provisions saved for a transitional period.

In short:

  • Enforcement: the Secretary of State must enforce S.I. 2026/1053 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 in Northern Ireland, with the powers of the Market Surveillance (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2021. According to the Explanatory Memorandum, the Secretary of State intends to appoint the Office for Product Safety and Standards to enforce on their behalf.
  • Offences in three tiers: Schedule 2 lists the articles of the EU Regulation whose breach is an offence. Labelling and marking (Article 13), the CE marking and the EU declaration of conformity are in the most serious tier, triable on indictment only.
  • UK(NI) indication: where the CE marking rests on a certificate or approval decision from a UK notified body, the battery must also carry the UK(NI) indication, the UKNI marking.
  • 2008 Regulations: revoked for Northern Ireland, with two provisions saved until the matching EU articles apply. They remain the battery rules for Great Britain.
  • Existing stock: the enforcement part does not apply to batteries placed on the market, put into service or made available before 17 October 2026, unless they are later modified, repurposed or remanufactured.

Why a UK instrument was needed

Section titled “Why a UK instrument was needed”

The Windsor Framework lists in its Annex 2 the EU law that applies in Northern Ireland, including Directive 2006/66/EC on batteries. The Explanatory Memorandum explains that where listed law is replaced, the replacing act applies in its place: the EU Battery Regulation therefore applies directly in Northern Ireland, through section 7A of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, from 18 February 2024. A directly applicable regulation still needs national provisions for enforcement, offences and penalties. Until now, the placing on the market requirements enforced in Northern Ireland were those of the 2008 Regulations, which transposed the old Directive across the United Kingdom.

S.I. 2026/1053 deals with the placing on the market requirements only (Explanatory Memorandum, paragraph 5.2). The waste battery side, transposed by the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, is outside this instrument.

Which breaches are offences

Section titled “Which breaches are offences”

Regulation 10 makes it an offence to breach a provision listed in Schedule 2, or the UK(NI) indication duties of regulation 3. Regulation 11 sets the penalties for each table.

Tier Penalty (regulation 11) Provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (examples from Schedule 2)
Summary only (Table 1) Fine up to level 5 on the standard scale Article 48(3), 49(2) and 52, battery due diligence
Either way (Table 2) Fine up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction; fine on indictment Article 11(1), (5), (7) and (8), removability and replaceability; Article 38(1)(a) for Articles 7 to 10; Article 38(2), technical documentation and conformity assessment; Article 46, identification of economic operators; due diligence under Article 48(2) (except its final sentence), 49(1) and 50(2) and (3)
Indictable only (Table 3) Up to 12 months' imprisonment, a fine, or both Article 38(1)(a) for Article 6(1) (restrictions on substances) and Articles 12, 13 and 14; Article 38(1)(b), marking and labelling; Article 38(3), EU declaration of conformity and CE marking; Article 45, batteries prepared for re-use, repurposing or remanufacturing

Schedule 2 lists the corresponding obligations of importers (Article 41), distributors (Article 42) and fulfilment service providers (Article 43) in the same tiers. A breach of the UK(NI) indication rules is summary only.

Three procedural points matter for a manufacturer:

  1. Due diligence defence. Under regulation 15, a person charged with breaching Article 38(1)(a), 41(1), 42(1) or 45(2) can show that they took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence. Relying on information from another person is only a defence if it was reasonable to do so.
  2. Liability of others. Under regulation 16, a person whose act or default in the course of a business caused the offence is also guilty, and an officer of a company is guilty with it where the offence involved their consent, connivance or negligence.
  3. Time limits. Summary proceedings must start within 12 months of the prosecutor having sufficient evidence, and never more than three years after the offence (regulation 14).

UKNI next to the CE marking

Section titled “UKNI next to the CE marking”

Regulation 3 applies to a battery whose CE marking is affixed on the basis of a certificate of conformity or approval decision issued by a UK notified body, meaning a body notified by the Secretary of State under Chapter 5 of the EU Regulation. In that case:

  • the CE marking must be accompanied by the UK(NI) indication, the marking set out in Schedule 1 to S.I. 2020/1460;
  • the indication may be less than 5 mm high, provided it is the same height as the CE marking;
  • the manufacturer affixes it before placing on the market, or the authorised representative if its written mandate includes that task;
  • no one may make the battery available on the market without it.

A battery assessed by an EU notified body, or under Module A internal production control without a notified body, is not concerned by this rule. Regulations 4 to 8 make the Secretary of State the notifying authority under Article 22 and open an appeal to the Secretary of State against a refusal, restriction, suspension or withdrawal of a certificate. The notice of appeal must be given within two months of the decision (Schedule 1, paragraph 2).

What happens to the 2008 Regulations

Section titled “What happens to the 2008 Regulations”

Regulation 19 revokes the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 in relation to Northern Ireland, with two savings:

Provision of the 2008 Regulations Stays in force in Northern Ireland until
Regulation 5A, capacity labelling Article 13(1) of the EU Regulation applies: 18 August 2026 or 18 months after the entry into force of the labelling implementing act, whichever is later
Regulation 7, appliances into which batteries are incorporated Article 11 of the EU Regulation applies: 18 February 2027

Regulation 20 rewrites the 2008 Regulations for Great Britain: "placing on the market" now means supplying or making available to a third party within Great Britain. From the day Article 11 applies, a new regulation 3A lets a battery that meets Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and the UK(NI) indication rule, and that is a qualifying Northern Ireland good, be placed on the market in Great Britain as if it met the 2008 Regulations.

What to do

Section titled “What to do”
  1. Check your Northern Ireland labelling first. Article 13 labelling and marking, the CE marking and the EU declaration of conformity are in the indictable-only tier.
  2. Review which conformity assessment route you use. If a UK notified body issued the certificate, add the UK(NI) indication next to the CE marking, at the same height.
  3. Keep proof of supplier checks. The regulation 15 defence depends on records showing the steps taken to verify information received from others.
  4. Plan for 18 February 2027. Article 11 removability applies in Northern Ireland as in the EU, and a breach of it is an either-way offence. See end-user removability on 18 February 2027.
  5. Keep Great Britain separate. For batteries sold in England, Scotland and Wales, the 2008 Regulations still apply.

Going further

Section titled “Going further”

Sources & references

  1. The Batteries (Placing on the Market) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/1053), text and Explanatory Note, legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives) www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/1053/made
  2. Explanatory Memorandum to S.I. 2026/1053, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs / legislation.gov.uk www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/1053/pdfs/uksiem_20261053_en_001.pdf
  3. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 concerning batteries and waste batteries, Publications Office of the European Union / EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1542/oj
  4. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, consolidated text 02023R1542 of 13.08.2026, Publications Office of the European Union / EUR-Lex eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02023R1542-20260813