RoHS Directive in the EU -- What About Customs Inspections for Electronic Devices?

[qualitygoddess]

This came up in one of our RoHS planning meetings that I hadn't thought about. We program microcontroller chips. These babies have an MSL 3 rating, and are not supposed to be exposed to high humidity, so we have to use a special packaging. Now we know that customs in some countries open the packages to inspect them. If they do this, they will ruin the integrity of the parts, and then our customers will have to do a special baking cycle to get the moisture out of the components. We were thinking about including a letter to customs with each package (since one of those air freight carriers suggested it). Will this do any good?

As always, your comments are appreciated.

--QG

[Manix]

I have not heard of customs inspecting packages. I am not sure where you would stand on this.

I would imagine that you would get a pardon on inspections from the customs authority of that country. Most RoHS activity that I have been involved in is declaring legal compliance.

I would like to think that the declarations backed up by accredited testing certificates would negate the need to carry out customs inspections. You would have to contact the individual member states on what there course of action will be. There maybe a requirement to include a relevant certificate so customs know that the product complies and thus no need to open p the box.

Hope this helps a little!