Article 31 Operational obligations of approved bodiesF7

F1Approved bodies shall carry out conformity assessments in accordance with the conformity assessment procedures provided for in Annex III.

Subject to the terms of its appointment, an approved body must carry out the conformity assessment activities and procedures in respect of which —

Conformity assessments shall be carried out in a proportionate manner, avoiding unnecessary burdens for economic operators.

Conformity assessment bodies shall perform their activities taking due account of the size of an undertaking, the sector in which it operates, its structure, the degree of complexity of the appliance or fitting technology in question and the mass or serial nature of the production process.

In so doing they shall nevertheless respect the degree of rigour and the level of protection required for the compliance of the appliance or the fitting with this Regulation.

Where F3an approved body finds that the essential requirements set out in Annex I or corresponding F4designated standards or other technical specifications have not been met by a manufacturer, it shall require that manufacturer to take appropriate corrective measures and shall not issue a certificate or approval decision.

Where, in the course of the monitoring of conformity following the issue of a certificate or approval decision, F5an approved body finds that an appliance or a fitting no longer complies, it shall require the manufacturer to take appropriate corrective measures and shall suspend or withdraw the certificate or the approval decision, if necessary.

Where corrective measures are not taken or do not have the required effect, the F6approved body shall restrict, suspend or withdraw any certificates or approval decisions, as appropriate.