Article 8 - Penalties
" Member States shall determine penalties applicable to breaches of the national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive. The penalties thus provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive."

Simplified
This brief article doesn’t give a great deal away. What is considered ‘proportionate’ is obviously a matter of interpretation. So what might the penalty for non-compliance be? In the recent Phase II consultation document, the UK government suggested:

"Failure to comply with the requirements of the UK’s RoHS Regulations will result in the removal of manufacturers’ products from the market place. In addition, those held responsible face, on summary conviction, a term of imprisonment not exceeding three months and/or a fine of up to £5,000. Where any offence is tried on indictment, the maximum penalties are a term of imprisonment of up to two years and an unlimited fine. Where an offence by a corporate body is shown to have been committed with the consent, connivance or through neglect of any director, manager or similar officer of the corporate body, they shall be regarded as having committed the offence as well as the corporate body.”

In the UK, the National Weights and Measures Laboratory has been awarded the contract to set up the national enforcement body. However, we strongly believe that there will be a high degree of self-certification with regard to policing the Directive; with manufacturers reporting competitors they believe are producing non-compliant equipment. As a producer, you will be expected to exercise ‘due diligence’ to ensure none of the restricted substances are present in each homogeneous (component) element of the equipment you manufacture. Unique Impact Assessments gather the evidence needed to prove compliance, or to justify an accurate application of legislative exemptions.