What exactly is GPSR? Part 2 – More about economic operators
The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) has been in force in the EU/EEA since 13 December 2024. Despite this, there are many questions about how companies should comply with the regulation. WSA LAW has previously published a post with some important points to keep track of regarding GPSR, see What is GPSR – WSA. This post will be part 2 of this exciting topic where we focus a little more on how to identify what obligations you have as a trader under the GPSR and how to know who is the responsible economic operator.
Which products are covered by the GPSR?
As stated in previous posts, the GPSD applies to all types of products placed or made available on the market in the EU/EEA that are not subject to other specific product safety requirements in other EU legislation. Certain chapters of the GPSR may be exempted from application for certain products within the harmonised EU legislation. A few listed products fall completely outside the scope of the GPSD (pharmaceuticals, food, feed, live plants and animals, animal by-products and derived products, plant protection products, means of public transport for consumers, aircraft and antiques).
The GPSR is intended to act as a ‘safety net’ in the field of product safety at EU/EEA level. The aim is, of course, very much to provide increased protection for consumers who should be able to rely on the fact that only safe products can be placed on the market regardless of the type of product and that there are clear measures to be taken if a product proves to be dangerous and/or causes an accident.
Identify economic operator
The GPSD imposes requirements on economic operators which include the manufacturer, the manufacturer’s authorised representative (who is mandated by the manufacturer by written authorisation), the importer, the distributor and the distribution service provider. The different economic operators have different obligations proportionate to their respective role in the supply chain. For each product covered by the GPSR, there must also be a responsible economic operator in the EEA. To know what your obligations are under the GPSR, you must therefore:
- Identify which economic operator you are in the individual case, and
- Who in the supply chain should be considered as the responsible economic operator.
Manufacturer vs. Importer?
Many companies are confused about the definitions of manufacturer and importer in the GPSR. The definitions of these two actors in the GPSR are as follows:
‘manufacturer’ means a natural or legal person who manufactures a product or has a product designed or manufactured and markets that product under his own name or trade mark
‘importer’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market
It is not unusual for an EU/EEA company to order and import on behalf of a customer a type of product from e.g. Asia that has the customer’s logo applied to it and for the customer, after delivery from the company, to sell the product under its own brand. In this case, it is the customer who is to be considered as the producer in the sense of the GPSR, even though the actual production of the product took place in Asia. It is then also the manufacturer, i.e. the customer, who is the responsible economic operator in the EU/EEA even though the first import into the EU/EEA was made by another company on behalf of the customer.
There is a difference if the company instead imports other branded products from Asia and then resells the products to a customer who becomes a reseller of the products. The customer then does not market the products under its own name or trade mark but becomes a distributor within the meaning of the GPSR. The company that has imported the products becomes the importer within the meaning of the GPSR and also becomes the responsible economic operator within the EU/EEA – more on this below.
Identify the economic operator responsible
The EU/EEA responsible economic operator must ensure, inter alia, that the products are accompanied by the relevant technical documentation for the assessment of product safety, that the products comply with the GPSR labelling requirements and that the products are accompanied by the relevant warning and safety information and instructions for use. In addition, the responsible economic operator must ensure that it is able to provide evidence of fulfilment of its obligations to control products to market surveillance authorities.
To determine who is the responsible economic operator, you can follow the steps below:
- As a general rule, the manufacturer is the responsible economic operator if he is established in the EU/EEA. This also includes operators who sell a product with their own trade mark under their own name, even though the actual manufacturing of the product took place outside the EU/EEA.
- If the manufacturer is not established in the EU/EEA, the importer becomes the responsible economic operator.
- If neither the manufacturer nor the importer is established in the EU, the manufacturer’s authorised representative may instead become the responsible economic operator. This requires that the manufacturer has issued a written authorisation to the representative which must include a certain number of minimum obligations (such as being able to provide documentation to authorities).
- As a last resort, if neither the manufacturer, the importer nor the authorised representative of the manufacturer is located in the EU/EEA, a distribution service provider can become a responsible economic operator. This is an operator who offers at least two of the services of warehousing, packaging, addressing and dispatching, without having ownership of the goods concerned (except for postal services). No written authorisation is required for this operator to become liable; it is automatic.
Want to know more about GPSR and its application?
Please contact us using the contact details below!
Klara Fougstedt
Assistant Legal Adviser
klara.fougstedt@wadv.se
+46 (0)70-140 89 73
Mr Carl Nyrén
Assistant Legal Adviser
carl.nyren@wadv.se
+46 (0)76-677 67 78