Unlawful excavator business flourishing in Finland
Buyer beware; EU legislation soft on vendors of illegal machinery
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Criminal deception has become increasingly common in the Finnish excavator and earthmover business.
Documents as well as CE-marks are frequently forged for machines which have originally been manufactured for the Asian markets.
Unlawful machines are launched on the market by importers or by Finnish machine dealers.
Currently, hundreds of illegal machines are believed to be in circulation in Finland.
Typically, the one suffering is the entrepreneur who is not allowed to use the illegal machine. The punishments imposed on forgers for breaking the law are seldom more than admonitions.
A 27-year-old earthmoving contractor in Central Finland bought his first new excavator at the turn of June and July.
After the excavator had been used for a month, it turned out that the CE-mark on the machine was a forgery.
The local occupational safety district checked with the manufacturer that the excavator in question had originally been made for the Asian markets, which is why it did not meet the European Union requirements.
”It did not occur to me to question the legitimacy of the machine. I bought it from a qualified machinery retailer. Previously, I have bought second-hand excavators from the same dealer, and they have all been legal”, the entrepreneur complains.
According to Harri Patrikainen from the Uusimaa labour protection district, authorities get wind of possible unlawful machines at earthmoving sites or during inspections conducted at machine distributors.
”Typically, the buyer does not recognise a false CE stamp and cannot know the origin of the machine in question. Illegal machines often come from British or Irish auctions, but in some cases Finnish dealers are also known to have forged the marking and the documents of a machine”, Patrikainen reports.
”The number of illegal machines in circulation is in the hundreds, maybe even thousands”, Patrikainen adds.
Mikko Hurmalainen from the occupational safety and health administration at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health says that in recent years, the illegal machinery trade has turned into a more organised criminal activity than previously.
”The most alarming thing is the organised nature of illegal activities. Many dealers and importers take an intentional risk when they sell unlawful machines. These people are not newcomers in the branch, which is why they should know the legislation”, Hurmalainen wonders.
The young entrepreneur in Central Finland should have stopped excavating immediately when he learned that his excavator was illegal. In practice, it would have meant the end of his livelihood.
”This really annoys me. The price of the new machine was nearly EUR 200,000, and if I do not get the money back, I do not know what will happen next. I have continued to work, even though in principle I should not. As the contract is incomplete, I cannot stop working. My insurance will not cover any mishap with the machine if something happens, but I cannot think about that”, the entrepreneur reports.
Even if the buyer has no idea that the deal is illegal, he or she is the one who will have to take the responsibility.
When authorities find an illegal machine, the dealer is asked to produce a Declaration of Conformity, which should guarantee that the product conforms with requirements.
If such declaration cannot be found, and the manufacturer verifies that the machine in question is in conflict with the documents, it is time to establish who is responsible - the dealer or the importer.
”At best the deal can be called off. In the worst and most likely case the buyer will lose his money. The use of the machine will be forbidden, but this will punish only the buyer. Sanctions for dealers are minimal, which is why they continue to operate this way”, Harri Patrikainen explains.
”The dealers and importers of illegal machines should be punished properly, but nothing can be done in Finland alone, as the issue is covered by EU legislation”, Mikko Hurmalainen regrets.
The CE marking certifies that a product has met EU health, safety, and environmental requirements, which ensure consumer safety.
The CE label on the machine enables the free movement of the item within the European Economic Area, which takes in the EU itself plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Documents as well as CE-marks are frequently forged for machines which have originally been manufactured for the Asian markets.
Unlawful machines are launched on the market by importers or by Finnish machine dealers.
Currently, hundreds of illegal machines are believed to be in circulation in Finland.
Typically, the one suffering is the entrepreneur who is not allowed to use the illegal machine. The punishments imposed on forgers for breaking the law are seldom more than admonitions.
A 27-year-old earthmoving contractor in Central Finland bought his first new excavator at the turn of June and July.
After the excavator had been used for a month, it turned out that the CE-mark on the machine was a forgery.
The local occupational safety district checked with the manufacturer that the excavator in question had originally been made for the Asian markets, which is why it did not meet the European Union requirements.
”It did not occur to me to question the legitimacy of the machine. I bought it from a qualified machinery retailer. Previously, I have bought second-hand excavators from the same dealer, and they have all been legal”, the entrepreneur complains.
According to Harri Patrikainen from the Uusimaa labour protection district, authorities get wind of possible unlawful machines at earthmoving sites or during inspections conducted at machine distributors.
”Typically, the buyer does not recognise a false CE stamp and cannot know the origin of the machine in question. Illegal machines often come from British or Irish auctions, but in some cases Finnish dealers are also known to have forged the marking and the documents of a machine”, Patrikainen reports.
”The number of illegal machines in circulation is in the hundreds, maybe even thousands”, Patrikainen adds.
Mikko Hurmalainen from the occupational safety and health administration at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health says that in recent years, the illegal machinery trade has turned into a more organised criminal activity than previously.
”The most alarming thing is the organised nature of illegal activities. Many dealers and importers take an intentional risk when they sell unlawful machines. These people are not newcomers in the branch, which is why they should know the legislation”, Hurmalainen wonders.
The young entrepreneur in Central Finland should have stopped excavating immediately when he learned that his excavator was illegal. In practice, it would have meant the end of his livelihood.
”This really annoys me. The price of the new machine was nearly EUR 200,000, and if I do not get the money back, I do not know what will happen next. I have continued to work, even though in principle I should not. As the contract is incomplete, I cannot stop working. My insurance will not cover any mishap with the machine if something happens, but I cannot think about that”, the entrepreneur reports.
Even if the buyer has no idea that the deal is illegal, he or she is the one who will have to take the responsibility.
When authorities find an illegal machine, the dealer is asked to produce a Declaration of Conformity, which should guarantee that the product conforms with requirements.
If such declaration cannot be found, and the manufacturer verifies that the machine in question is in conflict with the documents, it is time to establish who is responsible - the dealer or the importer.
”At best the deal can be called off. In the worst and most likely case the buyer will lose his money. The use of the machine will be forbidden, but this will punish only the buyer. Sanctions for dealers are minimal, which is why they continue to operate this way”, Harri Patrikainen explains.
”The dealers and importers of illegal machines should be punished properly, but nothing can be done in Finland alone, as the issue is covered by EU legislation”, Mikko Hurmalainen regrets.
The CE marking certifies that a product has met EU health, safety, and environmental requirements, which ensure consumer safety.
The CE label on the machine enables the free movement of the item within the European Economic Area, which takes in the EU itself plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Helsingin Sanomat