International Standards

All the products which are exported or imported in Greece have to correspond to the international  trade standards, established by the EU.  The Greece legislation and standards created under the New Approach are harmonized across the member states and European Economic Area countries to allow for the free flow of goods.  A feature of the New Approach is CE marking.  

The Greece common commercial policy covers all the main measures affecting trade in goods and services and almost all trade-related issues. Trade-related areas partially covered by the common trade policy include: company law, indirect taxation, standards and other technical regulations, and enforcement of intellectual property rights.

One of the most important aspects of the Greece trade policy is that the EU is a customs union. The same import duties are charged on imports from third countries regardless of the country of entry into the EU. The main principles of customs law are regulated at EU level, although the customs authorities of the EU Member States are in charge of their application.

The Greece also applies trade defence measures against imports from third countries under various Union trade defence instruments, the main ones being anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard instruments.

Labelling and Marking Requirements 

The wide ranging of the Greece directives are based on the EU laws on labeling and marking requirements in order to enhance consumer protection, with major sectors being the labeling and presentation and advertising of foodstuffs, labeling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources of household appliance.

The CE marking is mandatory and must be affixed before any product subject to it is placed on the market and put into service. Generally there is no any Greece trade law requiring common consumer goods (non-edible) to bear marks indicating their origin. If such origin marks are applied to the goods, they must be accurate. 

Manufacturers should know that, in addition to the EU’s mandatory and voluntary systems, national voluntary labeling schemes might still apply.  These systems may be highly appreciated by consumers, and thus become unavoidable for marketing purposes.

Manufacturers are advised to take note that all labels require metric units although dual labeling is also acceptable.  The use of language on labels has been the subject of a Commission Communication, which encourages multilingual information, while preserving the right of member states to require the use of the language of the country of consumption.

The labels on the imported product has to contain the following information: 

1)  All the information about the product has to be printed on a label securely affixed to the package or printed on the package itself;

2) All lables on the package have to be printed only in the Greek language;

3) All the products with only one standard label are not allowed to be placed on the market;

4) All products with false, misleading or deceprive representation are not allowed to be placed on the market;

5) The content on the label has to be clear, prominent, indelible, and readily legible by the consumer.

Packaging 

It must conform to European legislation on the prevention of health risks to consumers and the protection of the environment, especially as regards waste treatment. Packaging in wood or vegetable matter must be subjected to a phytosanitary inspection.

Tariff Classification and Import Duties 

Greece legislation adopts the Harmonised Commodity System to determine the commodity codes and relevant import duties. The customs authorities impose import duties on the CIF value of the imported goods. However, the general rule is that the customs value will be the transaction value, i.e. the price actually paid which may include expense items like commission and brokerage, cost of container, cost of packing, royalties and licence fees, cost of transportation and insurance of the imported goods, loading and handling charges associated with the transport of the imported goods.

Greece has a generalised system of preferences (GSP) in force whereby certain products of some beneficiary countries, can benefit from lower or zero import duties. According to this generalized system, the new scheme, tariff preferences are removed for imports into the EU from countries where per-capita income has exceeded US$4,000 for four years in a row. As a result, the number of countries that enjoy preferential access to EU markets was reduced from 176 to less than 80. 

Product Safety 

Greece has a wide range of legislations governing the safety of consumer products in order to protect the local market. The importers as well as exporters should be aware of the general safety requirements, and to inform consumers of the risks that the product might pose and of the precautions they should take, and to notify the relevant authorities if they discover that a product is dangerous so that action can be taken to avoid the risks for consumers. Market surveillance and enforcement are carried out by competent authorities appointed at the EU level. The Greek trade commission pays a special attention on such provisions as toys, chemicals, electric equipment, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and recreational craft.

CONTACTS

SBS – Small Business Standards

4, Rue Jacques de Lalaing

B-1040 Brussels

Tel: +32 22850727

Fax : +32 22307861

Website:  http://sbs-sme.eu/ 

ANEC - European Association for the Co-ordination of Consumer Representation in Standardization

Avenue de Tervuren 32, Box 27

B – 1040 Brussels, Belgium

Tel: +32 27432470

Fax: +32 27065430

Website:  http://www.anec.org