The purpose of market surveillance is to ensure that the vehicles and vehicle parts being sold and imported are safe for health, property and the environment, and that they will not pose a hazard when installed and used correctly. As of 1 March 2021, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom may impose a penalty fee of up to 30,000 euros to companies who neglect to comply with their duties.
As the supervisory authority, Traficom monitors the vehicle market to ensure that vehicle, trailer and vehicle and trailer part manufacturers, manufacturer representatives, importers and resellers, such as online shops, service stations, retail shops, car dealerships and spare parts dealers, only sell products that meet the requirements.
Starting from 1 March 2021, Traficom may impose a penalty fee of up to 30,000 euros to a company for neglecting their duties.
“These penalty fees may be imposed in situations where the operators provide false information concerning their products, bring products that do not comply with regulations onto the market or neglect the duty to provide access to information about the repair or maintenance of their products, whether purposefully or through carelessness," says Traficom Senior Inspector Mika Loponen.
Examples of situations where the penalty fee may be imposed
- provides false information in connection with the recall of the vehicle or its part purposefully or out of neglect
- changes the vehicle or its part so that it no longer meets the requirements in accordance with its intended use
- neglects the duty to report information about non-compliance or serious risk to the market surveillance authority.
In addition to penalty fees, Traficom continues to have the previous sanctions at its disposal, such as conditional fines, which can be applied to stress an order or prohibition issued by Traficom.
Further information
markkinavalvonta@traficom.fi