Construction products in the non-harmonised area

What rules have been applied in the Republic of Croatia since 1 July 2013 in the non-harmonised area of construction products?

The non-harmonised area of construction products in the Republic of Croatia is regulated by the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20), which entered into force on 1 July 2013.

On the website of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets all regulations governing construction products in Croatia are available.

When is a manufacturer of a non-harmonised construction product allowed to draw up a declaration of performance and to affix the “C” marking?

If the procedure of placing on the market of a construction product in the non-harmonised area is conducted under the regulations of the Republic of Croatia, then actions of assessment and verification of constancy of performance shall be carried out, and based on these actions, which shall be carried out by the manufacturer and the (Croatian) approved body, the (Croatian) approved body issues the certificate or report, and the manufacturer according to the provisions of Article 26(1), Article 28, Article 29(2), and Article 30(2) and (8) of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20) draws up the (Croatian) declaration of performance and technical instruction in Croatian language and in Latin script, and marks the product with the (Croatian)‘C’ marking.

The list of non-harmonised standards to which the technical regulation refers can be found on the website of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets.

Drawing up the declaration of performance and affixing the “C” marking on a construction product is considered to be a manufacturer’s statement on taking responsibility for the conformity of the construction product with the declared performance.

Under what conditions is a non-harmonised construction product which has been placed on the market of another Member State allowed to be on the market of the Republic of Croatia?

If for such construction products the procedure prescribed for placing on the market in the territory of the Republic of Croatia has not been carried out, Article 54 of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20) can be applied.

Article 54 of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20) ensures the free movement of goods in the non-harmonised area, in compliance with European legislation, that is, Regulation (EU) 2019/515 (Regulation on mutual recognition).

For construction products in the non-harmonised area that are sold in another Member State in compliance with its regulations governing construction products, the manufacturer may choose the manner of making the products available on the market of the Republic of Croatia:

1. By making the construction product directly available on the market, without additional testing or assessment and verification of constancy of performance, or
2. By proving with regard to these construction products that they meet the requirements of the Croatian technical specification in compliance with the Construction Products Act and the regulations for the implementation of this Act (that is, a procedure in accordance with the provisions of Articles 26, 28, 29 of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20)).

In the first case, for these construction products no (Croatian) declaration of performance shall be drawn up, nor shall they be “C” marked as prescribed in the Republic of Croatia for the non-harmonised area.

The economic operator making the construction product described in item 1 available on the market within the borders of the Republic of Croatia shall ensure that in the accompanying documentation the intended use or uses and characteristics of the product are indicated, and that the documentation contains safety information and instructions on handling, storage, installation and permanent disposal of the construction product, written in Croatian language, in Latin script.

To the installation of such a construction product the provisions of Article 5(3) of the Technical regulation on construction products (Official Gazette 35/18, 104/19) apply, pursuant to which in the main design the performance of the essential characteristics of the construction product shall be specified, and the content of the quality control and quality assurance programme is laid down in Article 13 of that Technical regulation.

What if there is no standard for a construction product?

If a construction product is not covered or not fully covered by a harmonised standard and for which the performance in relation to its essential characteristics cannot be entirely assessed according to an existing harmonised standard, one of the possibilities for placing the construction product on the market is prescribed by Article 19 of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011, according to which following a request for a European Technical Assessment by a manufacturer, a European Assessment Document shall be drawn up and adopted by the organisation of TABs (EOTA).

The principles for the development and adoption of the European Assessment Document, the obligations of the TAB receiving the request for a European Technical Assessment, the publication of the European Assessment Document and the European Technical Assessment are laid down in Articles 20 to 26 of Regulation (EU) No 305/2011.

The second possibility is provided by the provision of Article 37 of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20) prescribing that for every construction product which is not covered or is not fully covered by a harmonised technical specification, technical regulation or Croatian standard, or for which in accordance with an existing harmonised technical specification, technical regulation or Croatian standard the performance in relation to its essential characteristics cannot be fully assessed, at the manufacturer’s request a Croatian Technical Assessment Body (HTTO) shall, with prior approval of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Assets, draw up the Croatian Assessment Document and shall issue the Croatian Technical Assessment.

The principles for the development of a Croatian Assessment Document, its content, the obligations of the HTTO when issuing a Croatian Technical Assessment, the publication of the Croatian Assessment Document and the Croatian Technical Assessment are prescribed by Articles 38 to 42 of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20).

We are manufacturers of industrially produced roofing products that we would like to use on the Croatian market. We have a German approval Z.14.1-182. Is it possible for such a product to be installed in the Republic of Croatia and what documents are required for its certification?

Since this case refers to a construction product in the non-harmonised area, on which national specificities for structural design in the Republic of Croatia have an impact, in the Republic of Croatia this construction product is regulated by Title III of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20).

In order to place the construction product referred to in the inquiry on the market of the Republic of Croatia and to incorporate it in a construction work built in the territory of the Republic of Croatia, it is prescribed by the provision of Article 37 of the Construction Products Act (Official Gazette 76/13, 30/14, 130/17, 39/19, 118/20) that for every construction product which is not covered or is not fully covered by a harmonised technical specification, technical regulation or Croatian standard, or for which in accordance with an existing harmonised technical specification, technical regulation or Croatian standard the performance in relation to its essential characteristics cannot be fully assessed, at the manufacturer’s request a Croatian Body for Technical Assessment (HTTO) with prior approval of the Ministry shall draw up the Croatian Assessment Document and shall issue the Croatian Technical Assessment.

Since the national specificities for structural design in the Republic of Croatia have an impact on the construction product from the inquiry, technical regulations prescribe national rules related to designing, execution of works, maintenance and the performance of the construction product in relation to its essential characteristics and other requirements for construction products intended for incorporation into structures, as well as on the application of national annexes to Eurocodes, which can be viewed in the Standards Library of the Croatian Standards Institute.

An economic operator that also carries out the installation of a construction product becomes, pursuant to Article 53 of the Construction Act (Official Gazette 153/13, 20/17, 39/19, 125/19) a party involved in building, that is, a contractor, and consequently Articles 69 and 70 of the Act on Physical Planning and Building Tasks and Activities (Official Gazette 78/15, 118/18, 110/19) apply, prescribing the conditions under which foreign contractors that are established in another EEA contracting state may perform activities of construction of a construction work in the Republic of Croatia.