Chapter III, Article 12 · Regulation (EU) 2024/573

Contents

Article 12Labelling and product and equipment information#

1.Products and equipment that contain fluorinated greenhouse gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases shall be placed on the market, subsequently supplied or made available to any other person, only if they are labelled. This applies to:

(a)refrigeration equipment;

(b)air-conditioning equipment;

(c)heat pumps;

(d)fire protection equipment;

(e)electrical switchgear;

(f)aerosol dispenser that contain fluorinated greenhouse gases, including metered dose inhalers;

(g)all fluorinated greenhouse gas containers;

(h)fluorinated greenhouse gas-based solvents; or

(i)organic Rankine cycles.

10.Containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and placed on the market, made available or supplied for use in military equipment shall be labelled with an indication that the contents of the container are to be used for that purpose only.

11.Containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annexes I and II and placed on the market, made available or supplied for etching of semiconductor material or cleaning of chemicals vapour deposition chambers within the semiconductor manufacturing sector shall be labelled with an indication that the contents of the container are to be used for that purpose only.

12.Containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and placed on the market, made available or supplied for feedstock use shall be labelled with an indication that the contents of the container are to be used as feedstock only.

13.Containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex I and placed on the market, made available or supplied for producing metered dose inhalers for the delivery of pharmaceutical ingredients shall be labelled with an indication that the contents of the container are to be used for that purpose only.

14.In the case of containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex I, the label referred to in paragraphs 8 to 12 shall include the indication ‘exempted from quota under Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council’.In the absence of the labelling requirements referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph and in paragraphs 8 to 12, the hydrofluorocarbons shall be subject to the quota requirements pursuant to Article 16(1).

15.In the cases referred to in points 2(b), 4, 5(c), 7(b), (c) and (d), 8(b) to (e), 9(b) to (f), 11(c), 16, 17(a), (b) and (c), and 19(a) and (b) of Annex IV, the product or equipment shall be labelled with an indication that it shall be used only where required by the safety requirements or national safety standards, as applicable. Those requirements or standards shall be specified on the label. In the cases referred to in points 19 and 21 of Annex IV, the product or equipment shall be labelled with an indication that the product or equipment is to be used only where required by the medical application specified on the label.

16.The information referred to in paragraphs 3 and 5 shall be included in instruction manuals for the products and equipment concerned.In the case of products and equipment that contain fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annexes I and II with a global warming potential of 150 or more, that information shall also be included in descriptions used for advertising.

17.The Commission may, by means of implementing acts, determine the format of the labels referred to in paragraph 1 and paragraphs 4 to 15 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 34(2).

18.The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 32 to amend the labelling requirements set out in paragraphs 4 to 15 of this Article where appropriate in view of commercial or technological development.

2.Products or equipment that are subject to an exemption as referred to in Article 11(5) as well as products or equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Section 1 of Annex I that are subject to an exemption as referred to in Article 16(4) shall be labelled accordingly, specifying the end date of the exemption, and shall include a reference that those products or equipment may only be used for the purpose for which an exemption under that Article was granted.

4.The label required pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be clearly legible and indelible and shall be placed either:

(a)adjacent to the service ports for charging or recovering the fluorinated greenhouse gas; or

(b)on that part of the product or equipment that contains the fluorinated greenhouse gas.

The label shall be written in the official languages of the Member State in which the good is to be placed on the market, made available or supplied.

5.Foams and pre-blended polyols that contain fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annexes I and II shall not be placed on the market, made available or supplied unless the fluorinated greenhouse gases are identified with a label using the accepted industry designation or, if no such designation is available, the chemical name. The label shall clearly indicate that the foam or pre-blended polyol contains fluorinated greenhouse gases. In the case of foam panels and laminated boards, that information shall be clearly and indelibly stated on the panels or boards.

6.Where relevant, refilled containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases shall be relabelled with updated information as referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3.

7.Containers containing reclaimed or recycled fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annexes I and II shall be labelled with an indication that the substance has been reclaimed or recycled. In the case of reclamation, information on the batch number and the name and address of the reclamation facility in the Union shall be included.

8.Containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and placed on the market, made available or supplied for destruction shall be labelled with an indication that the contents of the container are for destruction only.

9.Containers containing fluorinated greenhouse gases listed in Annex I and intended for direct export shall be labelled with an indication that the contents of the container are for direct export only.

Defined terms · 45

Show every defined term

air-conditioning
means the process of treating air to meet the requirements of a conditioned space by controlling its temperature, humidity, cleanliness or distribution;
chiller
means a single system whose primary function is to cool a heat transfer fluid (such as water, glycol, brine or CO2) for refrigeration, process, preservation or comfort purposes;
commercial use
means use for the storage, display or dispensing of products, for sale to end users, in retail and food services;
container
means a receptacle which is designed primarily for transporting or storing fluorinated greenhouse gases;
decommissioning
means the permanent removal from operation or usage of a product or of equipment that contains fluorinated greenhouse gases, including the final shutdown of a facility;
destruction
means the process of transforming or decomposing, permanently and as completely as possible, a fluorinated greenhouse gas into one or more stable substances that are not fluorinated greenhouse gases;
electrical switchgear
means switching devices and the combination of such devices with associated control, measuring, protective and regulating equipment, and assemblies of such devices and equipment with associated interconnections, accessories, enclosures and supporting structures, intended for usage in connection with the generation, transmission, distribution and conversion of electric energy;
establishment within the Union
means, in relation to a natural person, for that person to have his or her habitual residence in the Union and, in relation to a legal person, for that person to have a permanent business establishment as referred to in Article 5, point (32), of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 in the Union;
export
means the exit of substances, products and equipment from the customs territory of the Union, in so far as the territory is covered by a ratification of the Protocol;
feedstock
means any fluorinated greenhouse gas listed in Annex I or II, that undergoes chemical transformation in a process in which it is entirely converted from its original composition and whose emissions are insignificant;
fire protection equipment
means the equipment and systems utilised in fire prevention or suppression applications and includes fire extinguishers;
foam panel
means a structure made of layers containing a foam and a rigid material, such as wood or metal, bound to one or both sides;
GWP
means the climatic warming potential of a greenhouse gas relative to that of carbon dioxide (CO2), calculated in terms of the 100-year global warming potential, unless otherwise specified, of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas relative to one kilogram of CO2, as set out in Annexes I, II, III and VI or in the case of mixtures, calculated in accordance with Annex VI;
heat pump
means a piece of equipment capable of using ambient heat or waste heat from air, water or ground sources to provide heat or cooling and is based on the interconnection of one or more components forming a closed cooling circuit in which a refrigerant circulates to extract and release heat;
hermetically sealed equipment
means equipment of which all parts containing fluorinated greenhouse gas are made tight during the manufacturing process at the premises of the manufacturer by welding, brazing or a similar permanent connection, which may include capped valves or capped service ports that allow proper repair or disposal, and of which the joints in the sealed system have a tested leakage rate of less than 3 grams per year under a pressure of at least a quarter of the maximum allowable pressure;
import
means the entry of substances, products and equipment into the customs territory of the Union, in so far as the territory is covered by a ratification of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the ‘Protocol’), and includes temporary storage and the customs procedures referred to in Articles 201 and 210 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;
installation
means the process of joining two or more pieces of equipment or circuits containing or designed to contain fluorinated greenhouse gases, with a view to assembling a system in the location where it will be operated, that entails joining together gas-carrying conductors of a system to complete a circuit irrespective of the need to charge the system after assembly;
laminated board
means a foam board that is covered by a thin layer of a non-rigid material, such as plastic.
leakage detection system
means a calibrated mechanical, electrical or electronic device for detecting leakage of fluorinated greenhouse gases which, on detection, alerts the operator;
maintenance or servicing
means all activities, excluding recovery in accordance with Article 8 and leak checks in accordance with Article 4 and Article 10(1), first subparagraph, point (b), that entail opening the circuits or other subparts containing or designed to contain fluorinated greenhouse gases, supplying the system with fluorinated greenhouse gases, removing one or more pieces of circuit or equipment, reassembling two or more pieces of circuit or equipment, as well as repairing leaks, or adding fluorinated greenhouse gas;
military equipment
means arms, munitions and material intended specifically for military purposes which are necessary for the protection of the essential interests of the security of Member States;
mixture
means a substance composed of two or more substances, at least one of which is a substance listed in Annex I, II or III;
mobile
means normally in transit during operation;
multipack centralised refrigeration systems
means systems with two or more compressors operated in parallel, which are connected to one or more common condensers and to a number of cooling devices such as display cases, cabinets and freezers, or to chilled store rooms;
one-component foam
means a foam composition contained in a single aerosol dispenser in unreacted or partly reacted liquid state and that expands and hardens when it leaves the dispenser;
operator
means the undertaking exercising actual power over the technical functioning of products, equipment or facilities covered by this Regulation, or the owner designated by a Member State as being responsible for the operator’s obligations in specific cases;
organic Rankine cycle
means a cycle containing condensable substances converting heat from a heat source into power for the generation of electric or mechanical energy;
placing on the market
means the customs release for free circulation in the Union or the supplying or making available to another person within the Union, for the first time, for payment or free of charge, or the use of substances produced, or of products or equipment manufactured, for own use;
primary refrigerant circuit of cascade systems
means the primary circuit in indirect medium temperature systems where a combination of two or more separate refrigeration circuits are connected in series such that the primary circuit absorbs the condenser heat from a secondary circuit for the medium temperature;
reclamation
means the reprocessing of a recovered fluorinated greenhouse gas to the equivalent performance of a virgin substance, taking into account its intended use, in authorised reclamation facilities that have the appropriate equipment and procedures in place to enable the reclamation of such gases and that can assess and attest to the level of the required quality;
recovery
means the collection and storage of fluorinated greenhouse gases from containers, products and equipment during maintenance or servicing or prior to the disposal of the containers, products or equipment;
recycling
means the reuse of a recovered fluorinated greenhouse gas following a basic cleaning process, including filtering and drying;
refrigerated light-duty vehicle
means a motor vehicle with a mass of 3,5 tonnes or less that is designed and constructed primarily to carry goods and that is equipped with a refrigeration unit;
refrigerated trailer
means a vehicle that is designed and constructed to be towed by a road vehicle or a tractor, primarily to carry goods and that is equipped with a refrigeration unit;
refrigerated truck
means a motor vehicle with a mass of more than 3,5 tonnes that is designed and constructed primarily to carry goods and that is equipped with a refrigeration unit;
refrigeration
means the process of maintaining or lowering the temperature of a product, substance, system or other item;
repair
means the restoration of damaged or leaking products or equipment that contain fluorinated greenhouse gases or whose functioning relies upon those gases, involving a part containing or designed to contain such gases;
safety requirements
means requirements on the safety of using fluorinated greenhouse gases and natural refrigerants or products and equipment containing or relying on them, prohibiting the use of certain fluorinated greenhouse gases or their alternatives, including when contained in a product or in equipment at a specific place of intended utilisation due to site and application specificities that are set out in:
self-contained
means a complete factory-made system which is in a suitable frame or casing, is fabricated and transported complete or in two or more sections, can contain isolation valves and in which no gas-containing parts are connected on site;
split system
means a system consisting of a number of refrigerant piped units that form a separate but interconnected unit, requiring the installation and connection of refrigerant circuit components at the point of use;
stationary
means not normally in transit during operation and covers room air conditioning equipment which is moveable between rooms;
tonne of CO2 equivalent
means a quantity of greenhouse gases expressed as the product of the weight of the greenhouse gases in metric tonnes and of their global warming potential;
undertaking
means any natural or legal person which carries out an activity referred to in this Regulation;
use
means, in relation to fluorinated greenhouse gases, their utilisation in the production, maintenance or servicing, including refilling, of products and equipment, or in other activities and processes referred to in this Regulation;
virgin substance
means a substance which has not previously been used;