It came to our attention that some economic operators advertise their products (e.g. household washing machines) as “Class A-X%”. The Commission services want to make clear that this type of distinction between appliances already complying with the threshold for the best performing class (Class A for household washing machines) is not foreseen under the applicable Commission Delegated Regulations Thus there is no legal basis for this to be reflected in the labels generated by EPREL. This means also that the elements provided for in the Regulation (energy label format, product information sheet, arrows shown as in Annexes VII and VIII) should not be modified in any way.
On the other hand, it is not necessarily illegal to advertise products performing substantially beyond that the threshold of the best performing class of this type of appliance (A or other, depending on the Regulation ) to the extent it allows consumers to further differentiate products, In any case the advertised performance, which correspond to “declared values”, is to be duly documented so it can be verified by MSAs. Suppliers are then to enter as part of the technical documentation sufficient information enabling market surveillance authorities to assess the accuracy of the declared values, including test reports or similar technical evidence.
Disclaimer: Please note that the European Commission cannot provide a legally binding interpretation of the EU legislation, as this is the sole competence of the European Court of Justice. Any remarks from the European Commission services are without prejudice to the position the Commission might take should related cases arise in a procedure before the Court of Justice.