You import AI robots from China: the AI Act and cybersecurity

The case, in five lines

What is brought

A conformity review before the robots are placed on the market (AI Act, Cyber Resilience Act, Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53 and machinery rules) and a contract with the Chinese manufacturer that allocates the burden. If they have already been sold: a reply to the authority's request with a corrective action plan, an appeal against the withdrawal order and a claim against the manufacturer for lack of conformity (arts. 35 and 39 of the Vienna Convention) and for the costs.

Before which court

Market surveillance: the industry departments of the autonomous community for machinery; the Secretaría de Estado de Telecomunicaciones e Infraestructuras Digitales (Spain's Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure) for radio equipment; AESIA (Spain's Artificial Intelligence Supervisory Agency) for AI. Cyber Resilience Act notifications go to the coordinating CSIRT and to ENISA (the EU Agency for Cybersecurity) through the single reporting platform. Against the withdrawal order, the appeal indicated at the foot of the order and then the contentious-administrative courts. Against the Chinese manufacturer, the forum in the contract: the agreed arbitral tribunal or the sección civil del Tribunal de Instancia (civil section of the court of first instance).

Deadline

Already in force: cybersecurity for radio equipment since 1 August 2025; transparency for AI that converses since 2 August 2026; manufacturer reporting since 11 September 2026 (early warning within 24 hours, notification within 72 and a final report). Coming: the Machinery Regulation on 20 January 2027, the Cyber Resilience Act in full on 11 December 2027 and high-risk AI in machinery by 2 August 2028 at the latest. Against the withdrawal order, one month for the administrative appeal and then two months for the court action from the express decision (against a deemed dismissal the six-month limit does not apply, STC 52/2014). Against the manufacturer, notice within a reasonable time and at most two years from delivery (art. 39 of the Vienna Convention).

Who can bring it

The importer is whoever, being established in the Union, places the robot on the market under the name or trade mark of the Chinese manufacturer (art. 3(6) of the AI Act). If the robots are made for you and you sell them under your brand, for the Cyber Resilience Act the manufacturer is you (art. 3(13)), and from 2027 also for the Machinery Regulation (art. 3(18)(a); and, if you are an importer or distributor, art. 17). The claim against the manufacturer is brought by the company that signed the order, against the seller named in it.

Financial risk

Withdrawal or recall of what has been sold and, if it is not corrected, destruction without compensation (art. 10(3) of Ley 21/1992, de Industria, the Industry Act), with fines of up to EUR 6,000,000 for a serious infringement (art. 34). Once the Cyber Resilience Act applies in full, up to EUR 10,000,000 or 2% of worldwide turnover for the importer (art. 64). And a compliance guarantee signed for your customer without the manufacturer's backing leaves you alone against both claims: nobody can promise you that the Chinese manufacturer will pay.

If your robot is a machine, the AI Act arrives in 2028

The AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, can no longer be read as it was published. The digital omnibus on AI, Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 of 8 July 2026, in force since 27 July 2026, moved the Machinery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230) out of section A of Annex I and into section B. The consequence is direct: to the high-risk AI of a robot that is a machine, only art. 6(1), art. 60a and arts. 102 to 112 of the AI Act apply (art. 2(2)). The obligations in Chapter III, those of the provider (art. 16), those of the importer (art. 23) and conformity assessment (art. 43), do not reach it directly.

Its AI requirements will come in by another door: the Commission will add them to Annex III of the Machinery Regulation by delegated acts, which will apply by 2 August 2028 at the latest. For other high-risk AI, Chapter III applies from 2 December 2027 to Annex III systems and from 2 August 2028 to those under art. 6(1) and Annex I. What nobody tells you is that much of what has been published still gives 2 August 2027 and places machinery in section A: a contract or a guarantee drafted on that premise binds you to things the law no longer requires and says nothing about what it does require.

What does already apply: if the robot converses with people, such as a reception humanoid, the AI system that converses must be designed so that the person knows they are talking to an AI, unless that is obvious (art. 50(1)), from 2 August 2026. That obligation falls on the provider, and a provider is also whoever places the system on the market under its own name or trade mark (art. 3(3)). And if the robot is not a machine but a toy or radio equipment in section A, and its AI is high-risk, from 2 August 2028 art. 23 (what the importer checks), art. 22 (the Chinese manufacturer's authorised representative) and art. 25 (when you become the provider) apply to it, with fines of up to EUR 15,000,000 or 3% of worldwide turnover, the lower amount for an SME (art. 99).

When the robot's AI is high-risk and what changes in 2027

Under the Annex I route, an AI system is high-risk if it is a safety component of a product regulated by one of those acts, or is itself the product, and that product must undergo third-party conformity assessment (art. 6(1)). The omnibus clarifies two points that decide many cases. AI used only for user assistance, performance optimisation, efficiency, automation, convenience or quality control is not a safety component (art. 6(1a)), unless its failure may endanger health and safety (art. 6(1b)). And a robot is not high-risk merely because its radio module goes through a notified body for spectrum or interference reasons (art. 6(1c)).

The question that matters for a cobot is a different one: whether the machine vision that detects a person and stops the arm is a safety function that learns. From 20 January 2027, the Machinery Regulation includes in Annex I, Part A, safety components with fully or partially self-evolving behaviour using machine learning and the machines that integrate them, and requires a notified body for them (art. 25(2)). Until 19 January 2027 Real Decreto (Royal Decree) 1644/2008 applies, and products placed on the market in accordance with Directive 2006/42 before 20 January may continue to be made available on the market (art. 52(1)). Neither instrument defines "robot": it is a machine or partly completed machinery under the general criteria, and an arm without an end effector or a drive system is usually partly completed machinery, with a declaration of incorporation rather than of conformity.

From 2027 the importer of machinery checks the conformity assessment, the technical documentation, the CE marking and the documents (art. 13(2)), adds its own details (art. 13(3)), keeps the declaration for ten years and provides the authority with the documentation, even the source code or programming logic when a reasoned request is made (art. 13(8)). What nobody tells you is that this request reaches you, not the Chinese factory: if the contract does not oblige the manufacturer to hand it over in time, you cannot comply. And if you sell the machine under your name or trade mark, or modify it, you become the manufacturer (arts. 17 and 18), with the conformity assessment and the notified body falling to you.

Cybersecurity for a wifi robot has been required since August 2025

A robot with wifi, Bluetooth or 5G is radio equipment under Directive 2014/53, transposed in Spain by Real Decreto (Royal Decree) 188/2016. Since 1 August 2025, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/30 has triggered three cybersecurity requirements for its CE marking: not harming the network, for all equipment that can communicate over the internet; protecting personal data and privacy, if the connected equipment can process such data; and protecting against fraud, if it allows money to be transferred (art. 3(3)(d), (e) and (f) of the Directive). The original date, 1 August 2024, was changed by Delegated Regulation 2023/2444, and these requirements are repealed on 11 December 2027 by Delegated Regulation 2026/339, when the Cyber Resilience Act applies in full.

The importer places only conforming radio equipment on the market: beforehand it checks the conformity assessment, that the equipment can operate without breaching the rules on use of the spectrum, the technical documentation, the CE marking and the instructions and safety information in an understandable language, and it adds its name and postal address (art. 12 of the Directive; art. 11 of Royal Decree 188/2016). If it believes the equipment does not conform, it does not place it on the market, and if there is a risk it informs the manufacturer and the authority. That is why a CE declaration citing only the Machinery Directive for a wifi robot, as in the example, is a warning sign: either the radio module was not assessed, or it was not assessed against the cybersecurity requirements.

The competent state body is today the Secretaría de Estado de Telecomunicaciones e Infraestructuras Digitales (Spain's Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure), although the consolidated Royal Decree 188/2016 still carries the old name. At customs the robot does not go through the safety control of SOIVRE (Spain's official foreign trade inspection service), which does not cover machinery or industrial robots, but if it is electrical equipment it does go through, before clearance, the hazardous substances control and the check that the importer is entered in the Registro Integrado Industrial (Integrated Industrial Register), subject to the exclusions in that legislation; this is covered in "SOIVRE non-conformity: your product is blocked at Spanish customs". Our partners with offices in China and our expert engineers in Spain and in China check before shipment that the radio module and the firmware version are those in the test reports, because a change of wifi chip without a new assessment may leave the declaration unsupported.

Cyber Resilience Act: the 24-hour reporting clock is already running

The Cyber Resilience Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, covers every product with digital elements whose intended use includes a data connection to a device or a network (art. 2(1)): a robot with wifi, Bluetooth, 5G, a data port or the cloud, and machinery is not excluded. It applies in full on 11 December 2027 and only to products placed on the market from then on, unless they are later substantially modified (arts. 69(2) and 71(2)). But its art. 14 has applied since 11 September 2026 and also reaches products sold earlier (art. 69(3)): the cobots already installed at your customers are covered.

That article obliges the manufacturer to report every actively exploited vulnerability with an early warning within 24 hours, a notification within 72 hours and a final report no later than 14 days after a corrective measure is available; and every severe incident affecting the security of the product, with an early warning within 24 hours, a notification within 72 hours and a final report within one month. The reports reach the coordinating CSIRT and ENISA (the EU Agency for Cybersecurity) at the same time through the single reporting platform. If the manufacturer is Chinese, the report goes to the CSIRT of the Member State of the authorised representative with most of its products or, failing one, of the importer that places most products on the market (art. 14(7)): if that importer is you, the report goes to Spain's CSIRT.

What nobody tells you: for this law the manufacturer is whoever has the product designed or manufactured and markets it under its name or trade mark (art. 3(13)). If the cobots are made for you and carry your brand, the 24-hour reporting obligation is already yours, even if the code belongs to the Chinese manufacturer; and from 2027 an importer or distributor that puts its brand on the product or substantially modifies it takes on all the manufacturer's obligations (art. 21). Without your own brand you do not report to ENISA, but once the Act applies in full you must check before placing on the market (art. 19(2)), not place non-conforming products on the market (art. 19(3)), inform the manufacturer of every vulnerability you become aware of, and correct, withdraw or recall (art. 19(5)). Fines reach EUR 15,000,000 or 2.5% for Annex I and arts. 13 and 14, and EUR 10,000,000 or 2% for the importer's obligations (art. 64).

If the authority asks for documents or orders the robots off the market

To place a machine on the Union market there must be an operator established here that answers to the authority (art. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020): the authorised representative designated in writing by the Chinese manufacturer for those tasks or, failing one, the importer. The authority may demand documents and access to the software, inspect without notice, buy samples without identifying itself and, if the operator does not take corrective action, prohibit sale and order withdrawal or recall (art. 14(4)) within the period it sets (art. 16). At the border, release for free circulation may be suspended, and the suspension lapses if the market surveillance authority does not ask for it to be maintained within four working days (arts. 26 and 27); clearance does not prove conformity.

In Spain machinery is supervised by the industry departments of the autonomous communities, and Ley 21/1992, de Industria (the Industry Act) allows withdrawal and, if the matter is not corrected, destruction without compensation (art. 10(3)). Importing or selling without complying where there is a serious danger is a serious infringement (art. 31(2)(a)), with fines of up to EUR 60,000, 6,000,000 and 100,000,000 for minor, serious and very serious infringements (art. 34), and manufacturers, sellers and importers are liable (art. 33(1)(c)). AI is supervised by AESIA (Spain's Artificial Intelligence Supervisory Agency, Royal Decree 729/2023). There is no Spanish law setting the penalty regime for the AI Act: the draft organic law lapsed on 6 October 2026.

Against a withdrawal or detention order that does not exhaust the administrative channel, an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) lies within one month; with no answer in three months it is deemed dismissed. The appeal does not suspend the order by itself, but suspension may be requested and, if it is not decided within one month, it is deemed granted (arts. 117 and 121 to 123 of Law 39/2015). Then there are two months for the contentious-administrative court action from notification of the express decision, and, if the appeal was dismissed by silence, without the six-month limit still found in article 46(1), because the Tribunal Constitucional (Constitutional Court) does not allow it to be raised against a deemed dismissal (STC 52/2014, of 10 April), with interim measures and, in urgent cases, interim measures granted without hearing the other party (medidas cautelarísimas) (arts. 46, 130 and 135 of Law 29/1998). The defence is won earlier, with a credible corrective action plan and the manufacturer's documentation already in hand; the full course of a withdrawal is covered in "You are ordered to withdraw robots or machines imported from China".

The contract with the Chinese manufacturer: where it is won or lost

The 1980 Vienna Convention (CISG) governs your dealings with the Chinese supplier, unless the contract excludes it. The robot must be fit for the particular purpose made known to the seller when contracting (art. 35(2)(b)): if it is on record that you were buying it to sell in the European Union, a robot without radio or cybersecurity conformity may be a lack of conformity. The problem is time: the lack of conformity must be notified within a reasonable time, specifying its nature, and at the latest within two years from actual delivery (art. 39), and a vulnerability often surfaces later. That is why it is advisable to agree a regulatory warranty that lasts as long as the support period.

The clauses that decide the matter: conformity with each law cited by name (Directive 2014/53 with Delegated Regulation 2022/30, the Cyber Resilience Act, the Machinery Regulation and, where relevant, the AI Act); delivery to the authority, at short notice, of the technical documentation and of the source code or programming logic; security patches and support for at least five years, with an end date, which the Cyber Resilience Act will require for products placed on the market from 11 December 2027 (arts. 13(8) and 13(19)); notice to you within hours of every vulnerability or incident and a copy of whatever it reports; access to logs; no remote update without notice; an authorised representative; and withdrawal costs borne by the manufacturer if the cause lies with it. If the robot falls under section A, from 2 August 2028 the omnibus will oblige the initial provider to give you documentation, inform you of known limitations and failure modes and give you technical access for testing when you become the provider (art. 25(2)), unless it clearly stated that its system must not be turned into a high-risk one: put it in the contract anyway.

The evidence is obtained in China and before the balance is paid. Our partners with offices there and our expert engineers check at the factory that the marking, the manufacturer's details, the firmware and the radio modules match what was assessed, check again on arrival and, if a claim has to be made, that material is the basis of the expert report, which in court proceedings in Spain is signed by an expert holding an official qualification (art. 340 of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil, the Civil Procedure Act). If your customer is a Spanish company that bought from you to resell, the sale is commercial and the Código de Comercio (Commercial Code) gives thirty days from delivery to claim for hidden defects (art. 342). Where to sue the manufacturer is covered in "You want to sue your Chinese supplier: arbitration or the courts?", and damage to people or property in "Your robot or battery from China caused damage: why you are liable".

How we run the case, step by step

1. 1

   Classify the robot and fix its timetable

   With the technical data sheet and the intended use we decide whether it is a machine, partly completed machinery, a toy or radio equipment; whether its AI is a safety component or merely assists or optimises; whether it connects to the internet or the cloud; and, from that, which laws reach it and from what date.

2. 2

   Review the documentation before placing it on the market

   An EU declaration of conformity covering every applicable law, technical documentation, radio module test reports including the cybersecurity requirements, instructions and safety information in Spanish, the manufacturer's and importer's details, and who acts as the responsible operator in the Union. If anything does not comply, the robot is not placed on the market until it does.

3. 3

   Inspection at origin and on arrival

   Our partners with offices in China and our expert engineers in Spain and in China check before shipment that the robot is the one in the data sheet, with its marking, firmware and radio modules, and repeat the check on arrival. It is the evidence you will need if a claim has to be made, and it is best obtained before the balance is paid.

4. 4

   Contract or addendum with the Chinese manufacturer

   A regulatory warranty lasting as long as support, delivery of documentation and code to the authority, patches, notice of vulnerabilities and incidents within hours, access to logs, an authorised representative, withdrawal costs and the decision, in writing, on whether the robots carry your brand. We draft it in Spanish and English, and our partners in China take it to the factory.

5. 5

   Protocol for vulnerabilities and incidents

   Who receives the customer's warning, how it is passed to the manufacturer without delay, who reports within 24 hours if the brand is yours and when the authority must be informed of a risk (art. 12(7) of Directive 2014/53; art. 19(5) of the Cyber Resilience Act, once it applies in full).

6. 6

   Defence before the authority and claim against the manufacturer

   A reply to the authority's request with a corrective action plan, an appeal against the withdrawal order and, against the manufacturer, timely notice of the lack of conformity and a claim for the costs. Suing it in Spain requires a prior attempt at negotiation under Organic Law 1/2025; arbitration does not.

The law that applies

• Arts. 2, 3, 6, 23, 25, 50 y 99 del Reglamento (UE) 2024/1689, de inteligencia artificial, en la redacción del Reglamento (UE) 2026/1744. Only art. 6(1), art. 60a and arts. 102 to 112 apply to high-risk AI in products under section B of Annex I, where machinery now sits. AI is high-risk where it is a safety component of a product that must undergo third-party assessment, except AI that merely assists or optimises with no safety risk. The importer checks the assessment, documentation, marking and authorised representative; with its own brand it becomes the provider. AI that converses with people must disclose that it is AI. Fines of up to EUR 35, 15 and 7.5 million or 7%, 3% and 1%. 32024R1689
• Arts. 2, 3, 14, 19, 21, 64, 69 y 71 del Reglamento (UE) 2024/2847, de ciberresiliencia. It applies to products with digital elements that connect to a device or a network. The manufacturer, including whoever markets under its brand a product made for it, has had to report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents within 24 and 72 hours since 11 September 2026, also for products sold earlier. The importer checks before placing on the market, does not place non-conforming products, informs and corrects, withdraws or recalls. Full application on 11 December 2027. Fines of up to EUR 15, 10 and 5 million or 2.5%, 2% and 1%. 32024R2847
• Arts. 3, 10 y 12 de la Directiva 2014/53/UE, de equipos radioeléctricos. It sets the essential requirements, including the cybersecurity requirements in art. 3(3)(d), (e) and (f), which are triggered by delegated act. The manufacturer assesses, documents and affixes the CE marking; the importer places only conforming equipment on the market, checks the assessment, documentation and marking, adds its details, keeps the declaration for ten years and corrects, withdraws or recalls what does not comply, informing the authority if there is a risk. 32014L0053
• Arts. 1 y 3 del Reglamento Delegado (UE) 2022/30. It applies the requirement not to harm the network to all radio equipment that can communicate over the internet; the personal data and privacy requirement to connected equipment able to process personal data and to childcare equipment, toys and wearables; and the fraud requirement to equipment allowing money to be transferred. It has applied since 1 August 2025, a date set by Delegated Regulation 2023/2444, and is repealed on 11 December 2027. 32022R0030
• Arts. 13, 17, 18, 25 y 52 del Reglamento (UE) 2023/1230, de máquinas. It applies from 20 January 2027; products placed on the market earlier in accordance with Directive 2006/42 may continue to be sold. The importer checks the assessment, technical documentation and CE marking, adds its details, keeps the declaration for ten years and provides the documentation, including the source code or programming logic on a reasoned request. With its own brand or a modification it becomes the manufacturer. Self-evolving safety components using machine learning, and the machines that integrate them, require a notified body. 32023R1230
• Arts. 4, 14, 16, 26 y 27 del Reglamento (UE) 2019/1020, de vigilancia del mercado. It requires an operator established in the Union to be responsible for the product; it gives the authority powers to demand documents and access to software, inspect, buy samples and order withdrawal or recall within the period it sets; and it allows release at the border to be suspended, a suspension that lapses if the market surveillance authority does not ask for it to be maintained within four working days. 02019R1020-20260812
• Arts. 10, 31, 33 y 34 de la Ley 21/1992, de Industria. It allows non-compliant products to be withdrawn and, if the matter is not corrected, destroyed without compensation; it classes importing or selling without complying where there is a serious danger as a serious infringement; it makes manufacturers, sellers and importers liable; and it sets fines of up to EUR 60,000, 6,000,000 and 100,000,000. BOE-A-1992-17363
• Arts. 35 y 39 de la Convención de Viena de 1980. The goods must be fit for the particular purpose made known to the seller when contracting. Lack of conformity must be notified within a reasonable time, specifying its nature, and at the latest within two years of actual delivery, unless a longer contractual warranty applies. BOE-A-1991-2552

Each article checked against the consolidated text published in the BOE (the Spanish official gazette).

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