CE marking for imported valves in Turkey: the Pressure Equipment Regulation
Turkish procurement teams often receive valves from manufacturers outside the EU and ask the same question: does this valve need CE marking here? Turkey applies the EU Pressure Equipment Directive through its national regulation, so the answer follows the PED logic. This guide explains that logic for buyers importing from Uzbekistan and other non-EU countries.
TAZ Engineering & Export Team · · 9 min
Why the PED applies in Turkey
Through the customs union with the EU, Turkey aligned its technical legislation for industrial products with EU law. The Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU was transposed into the Turkish Pressure Equipment Regulation (Basınçlı Ekipmanlar Yönetmeliği). Turkish notified bodies and EU notified bodies can carry out conformity assessment, and the CE mark shows that the manufacturer has followed the applicable route.
The legal duties sit with the manufacturer, and with the importer when the manufacturer is outside the EU and Turkey. An importer has to check that the right conformity assessment has been carried out, that the technical documentation exists and that the valve is marked and accompanied by instructions in Turkish.
Is the valve inside the scope and above SEP?
Valves are pressure accessories under the directive. Their category is determined from the fluid group (dangerous fluids are group 1, other fluids group 2), the state of the fluid (gas or liquid), the maximum allowable pressure PS and the nominal size DN, using the conformity assessment tables in Annex II.
Below the lowest threshold a valve falls under sound engineering practice. It must be designed and made to good engineering practice and must not carry the CE mark. Above it, the valve falls into category I, II, III or IV, and each category allows a set of conformity assessment modules. Category I can be self-certified by the manufacturer; higher categories need a notified body.
- water at moderate pressure in small sizes is often SEP
- gas service and dangerous fluids reach higher categories at smaller sizes
- large-DN water and steam valves can reach category II or III
What the non-EU manufacturer must provide
For a CE-marked valve the manufacturer must hold the technical file, apply the selected module, issue the EU declaration of conformity and mark the valve with the CE mark and, where a notified body is involved, its identification number. Material certificates must support the essential safety requirements, and the operating instructions must be in the language of the destination market.
A GOST or national Uzbek certificate of conformity is not a substitute. It may still be useful as evidence of type testing, but the PED route has to be completed separately for valves placed on the Turkish or EU market.
Valves for export projects run by Turkish contractors
Many Turkish contractors buy valves for plants in Central Asia, the Caucasus or the Middle East. When the valve is installed outside Turkey and the EU, the PED does not apply because the product is not placed on that market. The destination rules apply instead, for example the EAEU technical regulation TR CU 032/2013 in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, or national rules in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
Shipping these valves directly from Tashkent to the project site also avoids an unnecessary import into Turkey. The purchase order should state the final destination so the manufacturer prepares the correct document set.
How TAZ handles enquiries that need CE marking
When a Turkish or EU buyer needs CE-marked valves, TAZ identifies the category for each tag from the fluid, PS and DN, and agrees in the technical offer which executions can be supplied with which conformity documentation and through which route. If an execution cannot be supplied with the required route, the offer says so rather than leaving it to inspection. Ask for this matrix with the quotation.
Checklist
- fluid group and state per tag
- PS and DN per tag
- PED category or SEP
- conformity module and notified body
- declaration of conformity
- CE and nameplate marking
- instructions in Turkish
- importer responsibilities
- final installation country
- destination regulation if outside Turkey and the EU