Explosives Ordinance: Federal Council relaxes identification requirement
The Federal Council is amending the Explosives Ordinance. Among other things, the obligation to provide identification for specialists who professionally use ready-to-use products will no longer apply in the future.
Pyrotechnic articles are used in various sectors, for example on construction sites or in industry. The legal basis for this is provided by the Explosives Ordinance. This provides for three different categories of pyrotechnic articles. Category P1 comprises pyrotechnic articles that pose a low hazard. Category P3 comprises exclusively industrial cartridges or casings.
Pyrotechnic objects of category P2 are stronger and more dangerous than the other two categories. Therefore, the use of this category requires an identification card and a purchase certificate, which must be obtained by professionals. The market now also offers ready-to-use products that do not need to be assembled by professionals. The Federal Council has decided that these ready-to-use products can be used in the future without an identification card. These regulations apply to pyrotechnic articles for professional use for persons with specialist knowledge. Fireworks that are available in the retail trade do not belong to this category.
Transitional provisions for older products extended
The manufacture and import of pyrotechnic articles requires a permit from fedpol. Products also need a declaration of conformity from a designated body since 2010. These bodies are private companies in the European area that issue such a declaration if a product is safe enough for use.
Older products do not have a declaration of conformity, but are still available. For these products, Switzerland created a transitional provision in the Explosives Ordinance. This will now expire on July 3, 2017. Declarations of Conformity could not yet be made for certain products. Therefore, the provision in the Explosives Ordinance will be extended until January 31, 2021, so that stocks can still be used up.
What was approved at the time of manufacture and import should be able to continue to be used. The extension creates planning and legal certainty for the industries concerned.
Text: Confederation
