Countdown to compliance: General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)
Released On 12th Dec 2024
The GPSR aims to bolster consumer protection by ensuring all market products are safe for use. It will apply to all economic operators involved in placing products on the EU market, whether established in the EU or not. It applies to second hand, repaired, or reconditioned products.
Key Changes
The new requirements are designed to fill the gaps not covered by existing EU product safety legislation, such as cybersecurity, digital products and online marketplaces.
A key change is the requirement to appoint an Authorised Representative, who will serve as a contact point for market surveillance authorities in case of product issues. They will receive instructions from a manufacturer and act on the manufacturer’s behalf.
For non-EU manufacturers, the name, registered name and/or trademark, and contact details of your Authorised Representative must be displayed on all your products and/or accompanying documentation.
It extends product recall practices, information requirements and unifies the risk assessment approach to product safety.
There are obligations to work with your supply chain, distributors and representatives, comply with the reporting obligations within the Safety Gate Portal and co-operate with market surveillance authorities.
There is no detail on likely penalties yet and this will be set by individual member states.
If you have trading partners in the EU such as importers or distributors and have not discussed this yet, it is worth reaching out to them now to understand what you need to do to comply and continue trading within the EU. You will need a clear mandate with an Authorised Representative setting out their responsibilities to continue trading directly to consumers.
Manufacturers
In the design and production stage, manufacturers must ensure products are safe by design, conduct internal risk assessments, implement safety features, prepare and maintain technical documentation demonstrating compliance, as well as ensure traceability of products throughout the supply chain...
