by users, of pressure equipment or assemblies referred to in Article 1 of which conformity with the essential requirements has been assessed by a user inspectorate designated in accordance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 8.Directive 97/23/EC
1. By way of derogation from the provisions relating to the tasks carried out by the notified bodies, Member States may authorize in their territory the placing on the market, and the putting into service by users, of pressure equipment or assemblies referred to in Article 1 of which conformity with the essential requirements has been assessed by a user inspectorate designated in accordance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 8.
2. When a Member State has designated a user inspectorate in accordance with the criteria set out in this Article, it may not, on grounds of the hazards due to pressure, prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market or putting into service under the conditions provided for in this Article of pressure equipment or assemblies the conformity of which has been assessed by a user inspectorate designated by another Member State in accordance with the criteria set out in this Article.
3. Pressure equipment and assemblies the conformity of which has been assessed by a user inspectorate shall not bear the CE marking .
4. The pressure equipment and assemblies referred to may be used only in establishments operated by the group of which the inspectorate is part. The group shall apply a common safety policy as regards the technical specifications for the design, manufacture, inspection, maintenance and use of pressure equipment and assemblies.
5. The user inspectorates shall act exclusively for the group of which they are part.
6. The conformity assessment procedures applicable by user inspectorates shall be modules A1, C1, F and G, as described in Annex III.
7. Member States shall inform the other Member States and the Commission which user inspectorates they have authorized, the tasks for which they have been designated and, for each inspectorate, a list of the establishments satisfying the provisions of paragraph 4.
8. In designating the user inspectorates, the .Member States shall apply the criteria listed in Annex V and ensure that the group of which the inspectorate is part applies the criteria referred to in the second sentence of paragraph 4.
9. A Member State that has authorized a user inspectorate shall withdraw that authorization if it finds that the user inspectorate no longer meets the criteria referred to in paragraph8. It shall inform the other Member States and the Commission thereof.
10. The effects of this Article shall be monitored by the Commission and evaluated three years after the date specified in Article 20 (3). To this end, Member States shall forward to the Commission any useful information on the implementation of this Article. If necessary the evaluation shall be accompanied by a proposal for amendment of the Directive.