Per end user
Each shipment is licensed against a named end user with a non-transfer undertaking. Workable for project sales and for service companies operating the machines themselves.
Compliance
Two separate rules. Most suppliers only know one of them.
Export control decides whether the machine may leave China. Market access decides whether it may be sold where it lands. They are checked by different authorities, for different reasons, and neither one substitutes for the other.
Rule 01 · Export control
The controlling factor is the working mode, not the wattage.
A 3,000 W continuous wave unit and a 200 W pulsed unit are not on the same side of this line. That surprises buyers who assume the higher power is the harder one.
For neodymium-doped lasers in the 1,000–1,100 nm range, the dual-use entry applies where several conditions hold together: pulsed excitation with Q-switching, pulse duration at or above 1 ns, and output above the single-mode or multimode threshold. Continuous wave units do not meet that combination. Pulsed units frequently do.
The consequence is procedural, not technical. A controlled unit needs a licence before shipment; the licence is issued per end user and per shipment, and the end user must undertake not to transfer the equipment to a third party.
That last condition is what decides the commercial structure, and it is why we ask whether a distributor intends to operate the machine or resell it.
| Stage | Typical duration |
|---|---|
| Provincial initial review | About 5 working days |
| Central review | Up to 45 working days; verification time not counted |
| Licence issue | About 3 working days |
| Total, realistic | Eight to twelve weeks |
Durations are indicative and set by the reviewing authority, not by us. Contracts that exclude the licensing period from the delivery date are the difference between a delay and a breach.
Structures that work
Three ways to sell a controlled unit. One that does not.
The licence structure, not the price, decides whether a distributor can hold stock. This is worth settling before the first order is negotiated.
A
B
Distributor holds and operates
The distributor is the end user: it buys to use, not to resell. This is usually the cleanest route for a rental fleet or a service business, and it needs to be stated that way from the start.
C
General licence
Where the exporter qualifies, a general licence can cover multiple shipments over a period of one to two years. It restores something close to stock availability — and takes time and a track record to obtain.
The structure that does not work
Buying controlled units into stock for open resale. The licence is tied to an end user who undertakes not to transfer the equipment onward; a warehouse does not satisfy that condition, and shipping on the assumption that it will is how containers get held.
Test evidence
What is already tested, and by whom.
The machines we supply are CE-tested as a product family by an accredited third-party laboratory in Shenzhen. Reports were issued in May 2026 against the harmonised standards below. Where you take private label, the Declaration of Conformity is issued under your brand with this evidence behind it.
| Scope | Directive | Standards applied |
|---|---|---|
| Electromagnetic compatibility — emissions & immunity, industrial environments | 2014/30/EU (EMC) | EN IEC 61000-6-2:2019 · EN IEC 61000-6-4:2019 · EN IEC 61000-3-2:2019+A1:2021+A2:2024 · EN 61000-3-3:2013+A1:2019+A2:2021 |
| Machinery safety — risk assessment, electrical equipment, laser processing machines, laser product classification | Machinery Directive | EN ISO 12100:2010 · EN 60204-1:2018+A1:2025 · EN ISO 11553-1:2020+A11:2020 · EN 60825-1:2014+A11:2021 |
Family coverage spans the continuous wave series from 1 to 6 kW and the pulsed series from 100 to 3,000 W, including every configuration listed on our Products page. Report copies and the Declaration of Conformity draft are sent with a quotation — they are not published on this site.
Independent verification on top of the tests
A conformity verification (VoC, No. ICR/VC/HFH260516) was issued by ICR on 22 May 2026, valid to 21 May 2031, covering the same product family against the standards above. It is a voluntary third-party verification of the test file — where a customer or tender requires notified-body involvement, we say so plainly and scope it before the order, not after.
Rule 02 · Market access
CE, and what changes on 20 January 2027.
For the United Kingdom, CE marking continues to be recognised, and UKCA remains voluntary for most machinery — a parallel UKCA certification is not required to sell there. Northern Ireland is the exception, where CE or UKNI applies.
For the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces the Machinery Directive from 20 January 2027. It adds obligations that matter for laser equipment: cybersecurity, software treated as a safety component, digital instructions, and rules on substantial modification. A UK instrument takes effect the same day.
Machines placed on the market before that date may continue, but a technical file written to the old directive will not support a machine sold after it. If your programme runs past January 2027, the file has to be written for the new regulation now.
- Technical file — drawings, component list, risk assessment, test records, declaration of conformity
- Entity on the market — whoever's name is on the machine carries the manufacturer's obligations
- Instructions — language of the destination market; digital format permitted under the new regulation, with conditions
- Customs declaration — laser parameters are declared at export; inconsistent parameters are a common cause of held shipments
Duty is quoted separately
Tariff treatment depends on the destination and the HS subheading, and rates change. We quote duty and VAT separately, with the date the rate was checked, rather than folding an assumption into the equipment price.
Before quotation
Four questions we answer in writing.
Not "we will handle it". A written position, per configuration, before a price is agreed.
| Question | What we provide |
|---|---|
| Is this configuration controlled? | Working mode, pulse characteristics and beam parameters stated against the control criteria |
| If controlled, which structure? | End-user, self-use or general licence — with the commercial consequences of each |
| What documentation ships with it? | Technical file, declaration, manual language, customs declaration parameters |
| What is the realistic timeline? | Licensing period and shipping lead time stated separately, not merged into one date |
Ask for the compliance position before you ask for the price.
Send the configuration and the destination. The answer comes back in writing, with the criteria it was assessed against.
Request a compliance note