§3.1.3 I am an importer: what are my obligations under the GPSR?

Who is an importer? The GPSR defines an importer as any natural or legal person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market. The importer is always established in the EU. What to do before placing a product on the market? Your overall obligation is to ensure that the product complies with the general safety requirement and that the manufacturer has complied with the requirements on: — Internal risk analysis and technical documentation (see point 3.1.1) — Information to be indicated on the product (see point 3.1.1) What information do I have to indicate on/with the product in addition to the information provided by the manufacturer? — Your name, registered trade name or registered trademark, — Your postal and electronic address and, where different, the postal or electronic address of the single contact point at which you can be contacted. How should the information listed above be displayed? You have to ensure that consumers can easily see and read this information. This information must be placed on the product or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in a document accompanying the product. The decision where to display this information is up to your assessment within the framework provided. You should therefore also be able to justify your choice in the case of a dispute. Only the size of the product (and therefore not, for example, aesthetic or similar reasons) could justify moving some required information from the product to its packaging or other accompanying documents. (23) You must ensure that any additional label to be affixed to the product or packaging by you does not obscure any information required by EU law provided by the manufacturer. What does “electronic address” mean? An electronic address can be an e-mail address or dedicated section of your website that enables consumers to contact you directly. A website is not in itself sufficient if it does not allow direct communication with you. Which instructions and safety information must be provided with the product? You must ensure that the product you import is accompanied by clear instructions and safety information. In which language(s) do I have to provide this information? You must make sure that these instructions and safety information are in a language easily understood by consumers. This is determined by the Member State on the market of which you place the product. Is this information mandatory in all cases? No, if the product can be used safely and as you intended without such instructions and safety information, then they are not mandatory. This is the case for instance for products that pose risks that are well known to consumers (e.g., knives). What are my obligations if I offer a product via distance sales? If you decide to make products available on the market online or through other means of distance sales, the offer of those products (e.g., a product offer on your e-shop) must clearly and visibly indicate at least the following information: (a) The name, registered trade name or registered trademark of the manufacturer, as well as the postal and electronic address at which they can be contacted; (b) If the manufacturer is not established in the EU, the name, postal and electronic address of the responsible person within the meaning of Article 16(1) of this Regulation or Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; (c) Information allowing the identification of the product, including a picture of it, its type and any other product identifier; and (d) Any warning or safety information to be affixed to the product or to the packaging or included in an accompanying document in accordance with this Regulation or the applicable EU harmonisation legislation in a language which consumers can easily understand, as determined by the Member State in which the product is made available on the market. What are my obligations if I have a customer loyalty programme in place? The GPSR sets out new obligations if you have (or plan to have) a customer loyalty programme that makes it possible to identify products bought by consumers (e.g., customers have a loyalty card that is scanned when they purchase products, and the history of their purchases is available to the business that has set up the loyalty programme). This excludes customer loyalty programmes that do not enable the identification of products bought by consumers (for example, loyalty cards through which customers can receive some benefits for a certain amount purchased, but for which no data on which products have been bought by the customer are registered) This is an efficient way to identify customers affected by a product safety recall or a safety warning. However, customers might choose not to use such systems because they are not interested in the other benefits offered by the customer loyalty programme, and might in particular not want to be contacted for marketing purposes. Under the GPSR, if you have a customer loyalty programme in place, you must give the possibility for consumers to choose to take part in the customer loyalty programme for safety-related purposes only. This means that customers should have the option of providing their contact details only in order to receive safety information (e.g., product safety recalls or safety warnings). In this case, their data should only be used to contact them in the event of a recall or safety warning and should not be processed for any other purpose (such as marketing). What are my obligations regarding the storage and transport of products? While a product is under your responsibility, you have to ensure that storage or transport conditions: — do not make it dangerous (e.g., if the product must be kept at a certain temperature to remain safe); and — do not affect the markings required on the product (see point 3.1.1). What are my obligations regarding the technical documentation? You must keep a copy of the technical documentation drawn up by the manufacturer (referred to in point 3.1.1), including all related documents, where relevant, for 10 years after you have placed the product on the market. You must be able to provide this documentation to the national market surveillance authorities upon request. Additional obligations of the importer It is also important to underline the point that you can also be the responsible person of the product, if the manufacturer is not established in the EU. In this case, you will be subject to additional obligations as explained in point 3.2. Internal processes: you should have internal processes for product safety in place, that allow you to comply with your obligations under the GPSR (e.g., quality controls, complaint handling, knowledge of EU legislation via training of staff on product safety and the introduction of product safety learning paths). You should fully cooperate with market surveillance authorities on product safety aspects as explained in point 3.4.5. What should I do if an issue arises with a product before it is placed on the market? You should not place a product on the market before it has been brought to conformity if you consider or have reason to believe that one or more of the following might be true: — a product is dangerous (for instance because of an accident reported by a consumer or an actor in the supply chain); — a product does not comply with the obligations on internal risk analysis and technical documentation (see point 3.1.1); — a product does not comply with the obligations regarding the information to be indicated on the product (see point 3.1.1). Bringing the product into conformity might mean, for instance, adding the information that was missing on the product. If the product is dangerous, you must immediately: — inform the manufacturer thereof; — ensure that the market surveillance authorities are informed of this dangerous product through the Safety Business Gateway (see point 3.4.3). What should I do if a safety issue arises with a product after it has been placed on the market? If you consider or have reason to believe that a product you placed on the market is dangerous (for instance, because of an accident reported by a consumer or an actor in the supply chain), you must immediately take the following steps: A) Inform the manufacturer of the safety issue. This transmission of information is key to addressing the safety issue quickly; B) Ensure that the manufacturer has taken corrective measures necessary in order to effectively bring the product into conformity. If such measures are not already been taken by the manufacturer, you must immediately take them. Examples of corrective measures you can take: — Recall of the product from end-users (see provisions related to information on recalls, recall notices and remedies in the case of a recall in point 3.4.1); — Withdrawal of the product from the market; — Destruction of the product; — Stop of sales; — Marking the product with appropriate warnings on the risks; or — Warning consumers of the risks. You should monitor the effectiveness of the measures you take and adapt them if necessary. You may have to take several measures simultaneously. C) Ensure that consumers are informed about the dangerous product(s). If the manufacturer has not yet informed consumers, you must do so yourself. How should I inform consumers? You can use the Safety Business Gateway to alert authorities and consumers at the same time (but the information provided can be different in terms of details and technicality). Information submitted via the Safety Business Gateway and intended for the public will be made available to consumers on the Safety Gate Portal. Informing consumers about product safety recalls and safety warnings : If the manufacturer has not already done so, you must yourself inform consumers about product safety recalls or safety warnings, to ensure the safe use of a product (see specific provisions in point 3.4.1) D) Inform the market surveillance authorities of the Member States in which the product has been made available on the market. How should I inform market surveillance authorities? You must use the Safety Business Gateway to alert market surveillance authorities. This tool enables you to select all the Member States in which the dangerous product has been made available and to inform authorities immediately. What type of information do I have to communicate to consumers and to authorities? You must give details of: 1) the risk to the health and safety of consumers: describe in a clear and understandable way what can happen with the product; 2) any corrective measure already taken; and 3) if available, the quantity, by Member State, of products still circulating on the market. What are my obligations regarding complaints and accidents? A) Ensure the existence of a channel for consumer complaints You must verify that the manufacturer has provided consumers with a communication channel (e.g., a telephone number, electronic address or a dedicated section of a website) that enables consumers to submit complaints and to inform the manufacturer of any accident or safety issue they have experienced with a product. In the absence of such channels, you must provide one for consumers. These channels should take into account the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities. For instance, you should not provide all relevant information in an image that cannot be read by a text-to-audio machine. (24) B) Investigate complaints and keep other actors in the supply chain informed If you receive a complaint from a consumer or information about an accident concerning the safety of a product, you must investigate it. If it appears justified, you should adopt a corrective measure. You must inform the manufacturer, distributors and, where relevant, fulfilment service providers and providers of online marketplaces in a timely manner, of the investigation you performed and of the results of the investigation. For each product, you must keep an internal register of: a) consumer complaints; b) product recalls; and c) any corrective measures taken to bring the product into conformity. In this internal register of complaints, you should only store the personal data you need in order to investigate a complaint. Such data should only be kept as long as is necessary for the purposes of the investigation. In any case, you should delete personal data (e.g., the consumer’s name and address) from the register 5 years after the data have been entered into it. C) Keep the manufacturer informed of any accident caused by a product and ensure that competent authorities are notified If you have knowledge of an accident caused by a product that you made available on the market, you should inform the manufacturer of this without undue delay. The manufacturer may instruct you to notify the competent authorities. If you have knowledge of an accident and the manufacturer of the product is not established in the EU, you should inform the responsible person of the product in the EU. This responsible person must ensure that the accident is notified to the competent authorities of the Member State where the accident has occurred. What constitutes an accident related to the safety of products? Accidents that must be notified refer to occurrences associated with the use of a product that resulted in an individual’s death or in serious adverse effects on that individual’s health and safety. These effects can be permanent or temporary, and can include injuries, other damage to the body, illnesses and chronic health effects. Which tool do I have to use to notify the accident? You must use the Safety Business Gateway (see point 3.4.3). What type of information do I have to include in the notification? You must specify: — the type and identification number of the product; and — the circumstances of the accident, if known. Check list for the importer Before placing the product on the market: ✓ Ensure the product is safe. ✓ Ensure the manufacturer did the risk assessment and drew up the technical documentation. Keep this technical documentation for 10 years and provide it to authorities upon request. ✓ Ensure that the product identification details, the manufacturer’s identification and contact details, are correctly affixed to the product or its packaging, and that the product is accompanied by instructions and safety information if needed. ✓ Add your identification and contact details on/with the product. Ensure that this information does not obscure any other mandatory information. ✓ Ensure that there is a responsible person for the product in the EU and that its contact details and other required information are indicated on the product or on its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document. It can be you! ✓ Set up internal processes for product safety. ✓ Ensure that storage or transport do not affect product safety or its labelling. ✓ Don’t place a non-conform or dangerous product on the market! In case of any non-conformity inform the manufacturer and the market surveillance authorities. After placing of the product on the market: ✓ If product safety issue arises: — Inform the manufacturer — Ensure that the manufacturer has taken corrective measures (for recalls it used the template recall notice and provided remedies). If not, you must immediately take them. — Ensure that the manufacturer informed consumers about dangerous products. If not, you must do so. — Inform national authorities via the Safety Business Gateway. ✓ Ensure that the manufacturer has a direct channel for consumer complaints about product safety. If not, you must provide it. Think about accessible formats. ✓ Investigate any complaints and keep other actors in the supply chain informed. ✓ Keep internal register of consumer complaints, product recalls and corrective measures taken. ✓ Report product-related accidents you become aware of, to the manufacturer and to the responsible person for the product in the EU. The manufacturer can instruct you to notify it to authorities via the Safety Business Gateway. ✓ Cooperate with market surveillance authorities when requested. For more details, refer to the section 3.1.3. on importer’s obligations.

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