EPREL and the Electronic Seal: how to obtain and apply it
Qualified Electronic Seal: since March 2022, it has been mandatory to “verify” your company with Qe-Seal on the EPREL portal.
Manufacturers and distributors of electronic equipment will be required to apply the qualified electronic seal on the EPREL portal. Let’s explore what the Qe-Seal is and how it works.
In questo articolo scoprirai:
Energy saving has (fortunately) long been on the agenda of European regulations, which not only govern CO₂ emissions across EU countries but also work to encourage appliance manufacturers to develop highly energy-efficient products.
To support this goal, the European Product Registry for Energy Labelling (EPREL) was established in 2018.
What Is the Qualified Electronic Seal (Qe-Seal) and how to obtain it
The qualified electronic seal can be considered similar to a Qualified Electronic Signature, but it is issued to a company or organization rather than an individual. Unlike a personal signature, the seal is not tied to a specific individual. Once issued, the company can continue to use it even if the person who initially requested or authorized it leaves the organization or ceases to hold an administrative/legal representative role.
The electronic seal is used to digitally sign documents, workflows, or corporate content (such as software, images, etc.), certifying their origin, authenticity, and integrity. A document or any other content sealed with an electronic seal strongly and legally attests to its source and content.
To obtain a Qualified Electronic Seal companies must contact an eIDAS-accredited Certification Authority authorized to issue such seals, such as Intesa.
What’s EPREL
EPREL stands for European Product Registry for Energy Labelling, the database where, since January 1, 2019, all manufacturers and distributors of electronic appliances must register their products to obtain the energy label. This is the same label we have all seen on appliances displayed in stores. The label must be placed on the product’s packaging to inform consumers about its energy consumption characteristics.
Electronic Seal: what’s required from March 1, 2022
To ensure that only organizations legally authorized to trade within the EU can display energy labels, starting from March 1, 2022, manufacturers and distributors of appliances must not only register their products in EPREL but also “verify” their identity on the EPREL portal.
To do so, EPREL has introduced a verification procedure within the portal, which must be completed even by companies already registered. This involves applying a Qualified Electronic Seal (Qe-Seal) to a PDF document.
The application of the Qe-Seal will serve to verify:
- The actual existence of the manufacturing or distributing company, referred to in EPREL as an “Organization”
- That the organization has its registered office in the EU, within the EEA (European Economic Area), or in Northern Ireland
- The authorization of the “Supplier Admin” to register appliances in EPREL on behalf of the organization
The Supplier Admin is the individual who first creates the organization’s profile on the EPREL portal. Later, additional Supplier Admins can be added to the organization’s profile, along with Supplier Users or Supplier Readers.
How to complete the verification procedure and apply the Electronic Seal in EPREL
If you are a manufacturer or distributor of appliances within the EU, you must complete the identification and verification process by following these steps and applying the Qualified Electronic Seal:
1. Log in to EPREL with Your EU Credentials
EU Login can be obtained through a simple registration process, which must be completed under an individual’s name.
2. If you haven’t already, create your organization’s profile
If you are accessing EPREL for the first time without an invitation from another admin, you will be automatically prompted to create your organization’s profile by entering your company’s details.
3. Download the verification file
From the organization profile, under the Verification section, click on Start verification process, enter the name and email of the person who will apply the electronic seal, and download the Verification file, a PDF already sealed with the EU’s eSeal.
4. Apply the Organization’s Qe-Seal
At this point, simply apply the Qualified Electronic Seal to the PDF and re-upload it to the EPREL portal. The method for applying the seal to the PDF depends on the Certification Authority issuing the seal.
The platform will confirm the verification outcome within a few minutes.
