
- Does your business manufacture consumer products (other than food, feed, medicines, and living plants and animals) which are sold into the EU?
- Does your business import or distribute consumer products into or within the EU?
- Are you an online marketplace offering consumer products for sale in the EU?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you need to know about the EU General Product Safety Regulation 2023/988 (GPSR).
What do you need to know about the GPSR?
The GPSR is new legislation that applies now in the EU. The key purpose of the legislation is to make sure that only safe products are placed on the market. The GPSR seeks to modernise the product safety regime in the EU to reflect developments in digital technology and to create a more harmonised approach to product safety across the EU. It introduces a number of changes to product safety compliance, imposing new obligations on economic operators to ensure consumer protection.
The GPSR has a broad scope of application. It applies to new, used, repaired and reconditioned consumer products. It applies to all businesses which place products on the EU market, even where the business is not established in the EU. It uses the terminology of "economic operator" which includes the manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, distributor, fulfilment service provider, and any other business involved in the manufacture of the products or getting them to the EU. It applies to online marketplaces too, where the products are targeted at consumers in the EU.
The GPSR came into force on 13 December 2024, so affected businesses need to be complying with it now to maintain access to the EU and NI markets.
The GPSR replaces the EU General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC. It also repeals Council Directive 87/357/EEC and amends two other pieces of EU legislation. The GPSR is an EU regulation which means that it does not need to be transposed into member states' national laws, it is a binding legislative act which applies 'as is' across the EU. This removes the possibility for member states in the EU to implement the legislation in divergent ways.
What changes does the GPSR make?
- Internal safety processes: Economic operators must have internal processes in place in order to be compliant with the GPSR.
- Responsible persons: Economic operators must appoint a responsible person in the EU with responsibility for consumer products placed on the EU market. The responsible person carries out various compliance tasks under the GPSR, including ensuring product safety information is available to consumers.
- Reporting obligations: Economic operators are required to report any accidents to the relevant competent authority in the member state where the accident occurred. The GPSR also imposes stricter obligations around the investigation and recording of complaints from consumers.
- Cooperation with Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs): Economic operators are required to co-operate with MSAs to help reduce or mitigate any risks presented by their products. MSAs are a known concept in existing EU legislation, they are the national authorities in each member state responsible for product safety.
- Obligations imposed on Manufacturers: Manufacturers need to make sure that products are safe before they are placed on the market. They are required to carry out a broad internal risk analysis and maintain technical documentation relating to the risk analysis. They are required to ensure that products can be identified, using batch or serial numbers. They need to provide their contact details with the product as well as safety information about the product in an appropriate language. They are required to take corrective action where unsafe products are placed on the market, which includes alerting consumers. They need to have a means for consumers to raise complaints and safety issues.
- Obligations imposed on Importers: Importers need to ensure that the product is safe and that the manufacturer has complied with certain obligations under the GPSR. They need to provide their contact details with the product as well as safety information about the product in an appropriate language. They need to make sure the safety of the products is not compromised whilst under their control, for example during storage and delivery. Importers should not place an unsafe product on the market and have reporting obligations in the event they consider a product to be unsafe. In some circumstances they may need to withdraw or recall a product and notify consumers about the health and safety risk.
- Obligations imposed on Distributors: Distributors need to verify that the manufacturer and importer have complied with certain obligations under the GPSR. They need to make sure the safety of the products is not compromised whilst under their control, for example during storage and delivery. Distributors should not place an unsafe product on the market and have reporting obligations in the event they consider a product to be unsafe. In some circumstances they may need to withdraw or recall a product.
- Obligations imposed on Online Marketplaces: The GPSR applies to websites and mobile apps selling products to consumers. Online marketplaces have a number of responsibilities to tackle the sale of dangerous products. They are required to nominate a single point of contact responsible for product safety. They need to cooperate with MSAs if they become aware of a dangerous product on their platform. MSAs have the power to order online marketplaces to remove dangerous products from their platform. They can also be required to publish information about a product recall on their platform.
What are the consequences of non-compliance?
MSAs have broad powers to carry out activities to promote product safety. This includes carrying out proactive surveillance into products which present a higher safety risk.
The Safety Gate system is used to enable member states to exchange information on unsafe consumer products and to notify consumers of unsafe products.
The European Commission has powers under the GPSR to stop, limit or suspend products from being placed on the market where a product poses a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.
Where products are recalled, consumers must be able to choose between two of the following remedies: repair, replacement or refund. These remedies must be available on a free of charge basis.
What do businesses that supply consumer products to the EU need to do next?
Businesses must become familiar with the requirements of the GPSR and factor them into their compliance plans as well as their processes and legal terms.
Businesses need to think about what the GPSR means for their existing and future contracts and business relationships within the EU.
Manufacturers will want to consider who their responsible person is within the EU and whether they need to revisit the scope of their appointment. Manufacturers may wish to impose additional contractual terms on their distributors and importers to ensure those entities will comply with the requirements of the GPSR during the product handling stage and provide support with regard to traceability, product recalls and customer complaints.
A distributor or importer selling UK manufactured consumer products into the EU will want to know that the products are compliant with the GPSR. They will want to know how the manufacturer will support with any product recall or query from consumers about product safety. They are likely to ask manufacturers to provide contractual commitments relating to the GPSR.
What is happening in the UK with regard to reform of product safety legislation?
In the UK, our equivalent assimilated EU legislation are the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/1803). The UK Government is currently consulting on its own version of the GPSR. The new product safety regime in the UK will be covered under the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which is going through UK Parliament at present and is expected to become law in 2025. See our article for more details here.
Where can you read more about the GPSR?
If you want to read the full text of the GPSR then you can access it from the EUR-Lex website.
The UK Government (the Office for Product Safety & Standards) has published detailed guidance on the GPSR and how it applies to UK businesses.
Do you want to know more about how the GPSR might impact on your business and your trading relationships in Europe?
Simply reach out to Ashley Borthwick or Sarah Daun.
This article is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice.