In addition to a two-chambered Parliament (the directly elected Bundestag and the Bundesrat comprised of state representatives) the Federal Republic of Germany comprises 16 federal states (Laender) which include the three city states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and has a population of 80 million. Each state ('Land' - the single of Laender) has its own government or diet (Landtag) and is responsible for administering Federal legislation, which forms the majority of German law. Certain areas are administered nationally by federal departments although the Laender are responsible for administering the bulk of legislation.

Judicial authority is exercised by the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Courts provided for in the Basic Law and the Courts of the Laender. Enforcement functions generally fall to be performed by the Laender governments, regional, county and municipal authorities.

Organisational Structure and Background

The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is the highest technical metrology authority in Germany, accountable to the Federal Ministry of Economics. As a governmental institute of physics and metrology the PTB establishes the basis for scientific, industrial and legal metrology The Eichgesetz (Verification Act) provides traceability of the reference standards used by the federal states verification authorities to PTB national standards. PTB has additional responsibility for type testing and pattern approval.

Under the Verification Act, the 16 federal states, are responsible for verification of instruments used for trade and official dealings, in traffic surveillance, in radiation and environmental protection. Each Land has a verification authority, which supervises the local verification offices and accredited test certification bodies for gas, water, electricity and heat meters. These accredited bodies are set up by the public utility companies, by the instrument manufacturers or by repairers. There are 79 verification offices spread throughout the 16 Laender with over 1600 staff. They verify about 3 million measuring instruments each year. The 370 accredited test laboratories additionally verify about 16 million instruments a year. Most instruments are subject to regular reverification. In some cases, mainly relating to simple instruments used in the field of general laboratory practice, conformity testing and maintenance responsibilities have recently been assigned to manufacturers and maintenance services accredited and supervised by the state verification authorities.

The history of German metrology reflects the fact that Germany in its modern European sense did not exist until the Prussians succeeded in unifying most of the individual German states and principalities in the 19th century. 1868 Prussia passed a Weights and Measures Act. The metric system was adopted in all germany towards the end of the century. In 1908 a weights and measures Ordinance introduced reverification arrangements to controlled instruments subject to mandatory initial verification and extended the scope of mandatory verification. The 1908 Ordinance established the modern type approval and verification structure. The Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt (PTR) was founded in 1887 as central metrological authority with the status of supreme verification office of the first German Republic since 1923. Its successor, the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), established in 1950, lost the function of supreme verification office due to the federal structure of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Equipment Subject to National Controls

• Special length measures in trade use
• Area measuring instruments for leather
• Liquid volume measures for wine, alcohol, etc
• Dipsticks for containers
• Weights in trade use
• Liquid volume metering instruments
  • Petroleum
  • Liquefied petroleum gas
  • Bulk milk
  • Lubricating oil
  • Heating oil
• Cold water meters
• Gas volume meters
• Electricity meters
• Non-automatic weighing instruments
• Automatic weighing instruments
  • Discontinuous totalising
  • Continuous totalising (beltweighers)
  • Gravimetric filling
  • Rail weighbridges
  • Catch weighers
    • Checkweighers
    • Weight graders
  • Weigh/price labeller and weigh labeller (no type approval)
• Road traffic instruments
• Motor car odometers for retail cars
  • Taximeters
  • Tyre pressure gauges
  • Exhaust emission meters
• Law enforcement instruments
  • chronotachographs
  • speed detectors
  • breath analysers
  • Depth gauges for liquids for tax purposes
• Measuring instruments for grading cereals
• Laboratory instruments
  • Liquid volume measures (initial verification)
• Warm water meters
• Heat meters for thermic energy
• Measuring instruments analysing milk (no type approval)
• Thermometers measuring volume for commercial transactions eg gas volume, petrol volume (no type approval)

Instruments are generally subject to type approval, initial verification and mandatory reverification unless otherwise stated. Germany probably has the most extensive range of instruments subject to legal metrology controls in the European Economic Area.

Type Approval

Type approval responsibility rests with the PTB for all instruments. It has comprehensive test facilities but may use other test laboratories, normally the state verification offices and the accredited test laboratories, to perform routine type examination measurements. PTB publishes a detailed list of type approval facilities for potential submitters. Fees are calculated on the basis of manhours and material costs for any individual type approval. The framework for fees calculation is provided by legal ordinance. The most numerous instruments for which type approvals are issued are non-automatic weighing instruments, followed by liquid volume meters other than water, water meters, and electricity meters. Type approvals are published in German although official translations may be provided on request.

Initial Verification

The 79 local verification offices perform the general initial verification role. Gas, electricity, water and heat meters are verified by the accredited test laboratories who have to fulfil the requirements of the verification ordinance. These are similar to those of EN45011. Their accreditation is performed by the verification offices with technical support from PTB.

Verification fees are set by ordinance and details are available from:

Bundesanzeiger Verlagsgesellschaft mbH Postfach 1320 53003 Bonn
Tel: + 49 228 38 2080 Fax:+ 49 228 38 208-36

Manufacturers declaration of conformity is already a well established part of the German legal metrology system for specified instruments. In these cases there is no legal reference to EN29000 so far as the laboratories of the manufacturers are accredited and supervised by the verification authorities. For 90/384/EEC purposes however conformity with EN29001 or 29002, with additional requirements, will be needed.

Inspection and Reverification

A mandatory reverification system operates, a fee being charged on each reverification occasion. Reverification frequencies are specified in the verification ordinance:

trade weights	4 years
weighing instruments in trade use	2 years
petrol pumps	2 years
cold water meters	6 years
gas meters	8 years
electricity meters	16 years
law enforcement instruments	0,5 - 2 years

In 2000 2.8 million measuring instruments were reverified with an average failure rate of 2.2 %. Of 200,000 petrol pumps inspected in the same period, 4.1 % failed.

Generally mpe x 2 is permitted in error in the interval between initial and reverification.

Repairers are not permitted to reverify instruments although there is a procedure whereby authorised repairers may repair petrol pumps and weighing instruments and, following repair, the instruments may be used for a limited time, until reverification. Authorisation is given by the local verification offices and a 'repair mark' is identified for use by the repairer. Immediate notice must be given to the verification office for the derogation period to operate.

Legal Metrology Practitioners and Scope

The PTB employs more than 50 scientists and engineers for type approval work. All have a degree background. Ongoing training is provided.

In the state and local verification offices there are 580 engineers and technicians and 650 masters (master craftsmen). The engineers will have a degree qualification and the masters all possess a Master Craftsman Certificate. The staff of the State Verification Authority (Eichaufsichtsbehoerden) and the local verification offices (Eichaemter) all sit an examination set by the Deutsche Akademie für Metrologie, a state institution. Engineers undergo 18 months supervisory training and masters 1 year. This system of two types of metrological official is maintained throughout the state and local offices.

Additionally the state accredited test laboratories in the private sector, performing verification work, employ 220 scientists, 120 engineers, and 180 technicians. These will be supervised and examined for competence by the State Verification Authority.
About 30 engineers of the Verification Offices are trained in quality assurance systems management. These will have attended a training seminar and several instruction sessions. Assessors experience is maintained in supervision and audit of accredited laboratories.

State and local verification officials are not generally engaged in providing any consumer protection service other than that relating to legal metrology. They will advise businesses on legal requirements and EN ISO 9000 matters and will investigate consumer complaints about inaccurate equipment. Additionally officials are responsible for performing reference tests in relation to average quantity prepackaged goods. These tests are conducted in accordance with frequency periods set by law and generally each line is expected to be tested at least once a year. Officials will visit packers unannounced. A fee is charged for the task, the amount depending upon the number of packages and lines tested, and the time spent on site. Generally the fee will amount to between 75 € and 400 €.

Sanctions

Sanctions are based upon a system of administrative penalties. A preventative enforcement policy is applied resulting in penalties normally only being applied in cases where fraud is evident. The verification officials will issue warnings for minor infringements and this may be added to by a financial penalty imposed by him, amounts being set by law:

Use of a non-verified instrument up to 300kg (twice the amount if the offence is repeated)	250 €
Use of a non-verified taximeter	125 €
Use of an instrument which has been ECU altered without approval (instrument may be seized)	5000 €
Deficient prepackages. The penalty may be estimated based on excess profit resulting from the deficient product value.

The verification official would issue a penalty document to the trader confirming the amount of fine. In the event of dispute, the matter would be referred to a court of law but such occasions are very rare. Administrative penalty details are not published for public consumption. Upper limit of penalties in more serious cases, is up to 10,000 €.

Latest figures show that some 5000 administrative fines are imposed annually. 100 cases result in court adjudication. Total administrative fines amounted to approximately 500,000 €. Court penalties totalled 50,000 €.

Directive 90/384/EEC

The Directive was implemented in Germany by Eichordnung vom 24 September 1992. All Article 1(2)(a) instruments were subject to existing national controls. Each existing type approval and verification body has been notified to the Commission.

So far as gravity values are concerned Germany is divided into 4 zones for Class II non-automatic weighing instruments. Inscriptions on the weighing instrument refer either to the location of installation or to the zone depending on the number of scale intervals. Details of gravity zones are published and available.

German law makes it an offence to use an instrument outside of its marked weighing range.

Instrument classes are designated for particularly applications:

Commercial transactions	Class Ill
Pharmaceutical and precious stones and pearls	Class II
Ballast, sand, gravel, axle weighers, baby weighers	Class IIII

For the purposes of the Directive and manufacturers seeking to self-declare conformity, the state verification authorities as certification bodies normally will be used, conforming to EN ISO/IEC 17025 criteria by self-declaration. In addition private certification bodies exist under the German national quality assurance accreditation system, conforming to EN ISO/IEC 17025 criteria and notified for the purpose. Local verification officials, trained in QA, will be required to be part of the audit team. The German Accreditation Council in Berlin supervises the national system.

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