The new EU GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation) introduces a regulatory figure which the previous Directive did not have: the Responsible Person. The Regulation states that all products sold in the EU must have a Responsible Person in the Union. This applies to all products, whether from the European Union or not, sold through traditional sales channels or online.
Who can act as Responsible Person
The Responsible Person is an EU economic operator, namely the manufacturer (brand-owner) when EU based, the importer, the authorised representative (EAR), or the fulfilment service provider. Manufacturers can appoint an EAR to act as responsible person in the Union market. When a manufacturer does not have neither an importer nor an EAR, the fulfilment service provider acts as Responsible Person. The GPSR defines the “fulfilment service provider” as any natural or legal person offering, in the course of commercial activity, at least two of the following services: warehousing, packaging, addressing and dispatching, without having ownership of the products involved. This excludes postal services, parcel delivery services, and any other postal services or freight transport services (GPSR Article 3.12).
Responsible Person tasks under GPSR and Market Surveillance Regulation
The Responsible Person is subject to the tasks set out in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (Market Surveillance Regulation) and Article 16 of the General Product Safety Regulation. For market surveillance purposes, the Responsible Person has the following duties:
- Verifying that the manufacturer has a technical documentation, which is at disposal of market surveillance authorities.
- Providing authority with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the product.
- When having reason to believe that a product in question presents a risk, informing the market surveillance authorities thereof.
- Cooperating with the market surveillance authorities, by taking corrective actions or mitigating the risks in case of non-compliance.
The Responsible Person must check also that:
- The product complies with the technical documentation requirements.
- The product complies with the following requirements (Articles 9.5, 9.6, and 9.7 of the GPSR):
- Products bear a type, batch or serial number or other element enabling the product’s identification. This information has to be easily visible and readable for consumers or, where the product’s size or nature does not allow it, the packaging or a document accompanying the product has to include these details.
- The manufacturer’s name, their registered trade name or registered trademark, their postal and electronic address and, where different, the postal or electronic address of the single contact point where they can be contacted. That information should be on the product or, where this is not possible, on its packaging, or in a document accompanying the product.
- Product is accompanied by clear instructions and safety information in a language easily understood by consumers, as determined by the Member State where the product is sold. This requirement does not apply if the product can be used safely and as intended without such instructions and safety information.
How to display Responsible Person’s details on products
The GPSR introduces a higher level of traceability and therefore, general products’ labels must include certain information to allow consumers and competent authority to track down the economic operators involved in the supply chain. Importantly, the Regulation includes explicit provisions for online sales. Products offered on e-commerce platforms have to include the Responsible Person’s details as well.
In lights of the responsibilities that this regulatory actor has, the Responsible Person’s details must be easy to identify. The name, registered trade name or registered trademark, and contact details, including the postal and electronic address, of the economic operator that acts as Responsible Person has to be indicated on the product or on its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.
From 13 December 2024, all general products must comply with the GPSR. Do you have questions on GPSR compliance? Write your questions here and we will get back to you!
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