The economic operator referred to in Article 4 in different supply chains

Step 1: If the manufacturer (whether or not established in the EU) has mandated in writing an authorised representative to carry out the specific tasks under Article 4, that representative is the economic operator referred to in Article 4. In other cases, it depends on the supply chain. Step 2: Products from manufacturers established in the EU, whether sold online or in ‘bricks and mortar’ shops, are in general placed on the market by the EU manufacturer (15). For such products, the EU manufacturer is the economic operator referred to in Article 4 (unless it has appointed an authorised representative for the tasks under Article 4). Step 3: Products from manufacturers established outside the EU that are sold in ‘bricks and mortar’ shops in the EU are in principle placed on the EU market by an importer (16). For such products, the importer is the economic operator referred to in Article 4 (unless the manufacturer has appointed an authorised representative for the tasks under Article 4). Section 4.2 explains what happens if there are multiple importers for the same type of product. Step 4: For products from manufacturers established outside the EU offered for sale online (or through other distance sales), there may also be an importer, e.g. offering the product for sale online itself or selling it to a distributor who does so. Step 5: If there is no importer but a fulfilment service provider established in the EU is handling the product, the fulfilment service provider is the economic operator referred to in Article 4 (unless the manufacturer has appointed an authorised representative for the tasks under Article 4). Unlike importers and authorised representatives, fulfilment service providers do not automatically have a formal connection with the manufacturer enabling them to fulfil the tasks of the economic operator referred to in Article 4. Therefore, they will need to make arrangements with economic operators to whom they are providing fulfilment services (‘clients’) to ensure that they first receive from the client, or directly from the manufacturer, the means to fulfil their obligations as the economic operator referred to in Article 4 (see Section 4.4); Step 6: Where the product is being shipped from outside the EU directly to an end-user in the EU, if an authorised representative has been mandated in writing for the specific tasks under Article 4, it is the economic operator referred to in Article 4. If the manufacturer has not appointed an authorised representative, the product may not be offered for sale to EU end-users. The economic operator planning to offer the product for sale (17) to EU end-users will need to ensure that the manufacturer appoints an authorised representative for that product (see Box 2).

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07