Got questions about the EU's General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)? You’re not alone.
Our Director, Dave Hoogakker, recently took part in a free GPSR webinar with SimplyVAT’s Business Development Manager, Liam Payne.
Dave and Liam cut through the complexity to explain what GPSR really means for businesses selling in the EU.
You can watch the webinar on-demand now. Plus, we've compiled Dave’s answers to the most pressing questions about GPSR compliance for e-commerce sellers.
What types of products sold online fall under the GPSR regulation?
GPSR covers virtually every product sold to consumers in the European Union. It functions as a "fallback regulation" – if a product isn't regulated elsewhere, it probably falls under GPSR.
Notably, digital products like apps are also included, which is somewhat novel, as regulations traditionally focused on physical goods and physical risks rather than cyber or electronic risks.
Key exceptions to GPSR include:
- Food and feed
- Medicines
- Plant protection products
- Animal byproducts (like gelatine, chondroitin and collagen)
- Antiques
- Low-risk aircraft
- GMO products
- Certain transport equipment
These exceptions make sense as they're already heavily regulated through international distribution channels with their own regulatory requirements.
What information must be displayed on product listings for EU customers?
Product listings must include:
- Product identification (Amazon ASIN, SKU number or serial number)
- Manufacturer details including name, trademark, postal address and electronic address
- If the manufacturer is not inside the EU, you must use the address of your appointed responsible person
This information is crucial for product recalls. It allows you to minimise recalls to specific batches, rather than all products.
The new GPSR system also requires a technical dossier to be kept on file for 10 years, which must be made available to authorities. This standardised format helps market surveillance authorities process potential non-compliance issues quicker, potentially allowing businesses to resume trading within weeks rather than months.
How do online marketplaces need to handle product safety under GPSR?
Everyone in the supply chain has different obligations to ensure product safety. While sellers are principally responsible for ensuring products are compliant, online marketplaces also play a role.
Sellers need to provide:
- Contact details of your responsible person or manufacturer to the marketplace
- Information about safety warnings
The marketplace's role includes:
- Removing non-compliant products from the market
- Informing consumers when products are deemed unsafe
- Ensuring listings for unsafe products are taken down
- Notifying people who might have purchased affected products
What should an ecommerce business do if a product is found unsafe?
If a product is found unsafe, you must:
- Notify authorities without delay (your responsible person can help with this)
- Notify consumers who have bought the specific affected batch/product
- Warn online marketplaces and market surveillance authorities of any recalls or safety warnings
- Reach out directly to consumers if you have their contact details
- Either repair the product or compensate people who bought it, depending on the level of damage
This is why product traceability is so important. You want to target communications to those who bought the specific affected batch, not everyone who has purchased your product.
What are the traceability requirements for e-commerce sellers?
Traceability requirements include:
- Ensuring products have serial numbers, batch numbers or SKU numbers
- Making identification as specific as possible (don't assign the same code to every batch)
- Implementing a consistent coding system so you know exactly when products left the manufacturer
- Recording information on invoices and packaging
- Maintaining manufacturer details, especially if you source the same product from multiple manufacturers
If companies are selling to multiple EU countries or holding stock in multiple EU countries, do GPSR requirements differ?
An important difference between the previous General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) and the new GPSR is that the former was a directive, while the latter is a regulation.
Directives set minimum standards, allowing nations to add additional rules as long as they meet those minimums. Regulations, however, must be applied exactly the same way in all member states, making GPSR a stronger legislative and enforcement tool with greater uniformity across the market.
While the core requirements are consistent, there may be some differences in nuances around labelling and translation requirements. Some markets are more lenient about using English, while others are stricter about requiring information in their local languages.
What role does the EU responsible person play in ecommerce?
The EU responsible person provides local representation (a hard requirement if the manufacturer is not based in the EU). They must have intimate knowledge of European regulations and standards, and advise brands on which standards they should apply.
Your responsible person can verify requirements and determine if you already have relevant information to meet EU standards (potentially avoiding unnecessary testing). They will also liaise with national authorities and help report accidents and manage recall procedures.
Are product reviews regulated under GPSR?
Product reviews themselves aren't specifically regulated under GPSR. However, they're a valuable source of insight into how people use products in ways you might not have anticipated.
This information can help you identify potential issues, improve product design, or make products more user-friendly. While reviews might not highlight issues serious enough for people to formally report, they provide valuable market monitoring data.
For more support with GPSR and EU VAT requirements, set up a discovery call with Hooley Brown. We’re always happy to offer expert guidance.
