Everyday life
Regulation (EU) 2023/988
GPSR
General Product Safety Regulation
Anything sold to consumers in the EU — including via a marketplace and including from outside the Union — must be safe, traceable, and recallable, with a responsible economic operator in the EU.
Does this hit me?
You should be able to find who is responsible and get a recall that is more than a PDF. Report injuries; do not assume a marketplace listing is a safety certificate.
Check in the wizardPick a country in the header to see who enforces this at home. Union text is not the last word for directives.
Next switch-on: already in force · 13 Dec 2024 — GPSR — general product safety applies
How it rolls in
May 2023
Entered into force.
13 Dec 2024
Applies, replacing the 2001 Directive.
Why it exists
The 2001 directive predates shops that never touch the goods. Marketplaces, drop-shipping and unsafe gadgets from far away needed a regulation with teeth, not a circular.
What actually changes
- A responsible person established in the EU for products from outside, with a name and address on the product or packaging.
- Marketplaces must act on dangerous products: notices, takedowns, and cooperation with authorities.
- Accident reporting, recalls that actually reach the buyer, and Safety Gate as the alert system.
- Internal risk analysis for new technologies, including products with AI, if they can hurt someone.
How it hits you
You should be able to find who is responsible and get a recall that is more than a PDF. Report injuries; do not assume a marketplace listing is a safety certificate.
For citizens
What this does to everyday life
Rights, bills, and what you can ignore. You are usually not the one who files — companies and states are.
Someone in the EU should be on the hook
A gadget sold from a far-away warehouse still needs a named responsible operator in the Union. If you cannot find who that is, treat the listing as a risk.
Recalls should find you
A PDF on a website is not a recall. Keep order emails; report injuries to the seller and to your national safety authority.
Rights you actually get
- Safe consumer products, including those bought online.
- Information on the responsible economic operator.
- A recall that is actually communicated.
Costs and trade-offs
- Some cheap uncertified gadgets get harder to buy. That is the point.
What you can do
- Report a dangerous product via Safety Gate / your national authority.
- Keep proof of purchase for recalls.
What you can ignore
- You are not fined if a toaster you bought turns out unsafe — the operator is.
If something goes wrong
National market-surveillance / consumer product-safety authority. Safety Gate is the Union alert list.
More citizen notes across files: For people
Heard this? Not quite.
Claim: CE marking already covers this.
CE is for harmonised sector law. GPSR is the safety net for consumer products that fall through — and extra duties for online sales.
Latest official statements
All EU NewsNo tagged Commission, Parliament or Council statement in the current feeds.
Board one-pager
Board one-pager
Who this is for: EU consumer brands and households. Regulation (EU) 2023/988. already in force · 13 Dec 2024.
Scope
- You make, import, brand, fulfil or intermediate consumer products on the Union market, including distance sales.
First 90 days
- Week 1: Map economic-operator role per SKU (manufacturer / importer / authorised rep / fulfilment).
- Week 2: EU responsible person named and visible for extra-EU goods.
- Month 1: Recall and accident-reporting playbook, including marketplace SKUs.
Penalties: Withdrawal, recalls, fines under national market-surveillance law; marketplace orders.
For companies
How to stay on the right side of this file
Practical order of work, not a substitute for counsel. Manufacturers, importers, authorised representatives, fulfilment service providers and consumer marketplaces.
You are probably
In if a consumer product bears your name or you first place it on the Union market.
Effort
Labelling and operator identity: days if the chain is known. A recall plan: a workshop.
Budget
Cheap if you already have a responsible person. Expensive if every SKU is a different third-country seller.
Roles in this file
The same company can wear more than one hat. Classify before you buy a tool.
EU operator
Manufacturer in the EU, or importer, or authorised rep.
Name and address on the product, technical file, incident reporting, recall plan.
Provider of an online marketplace
You host third-party listings of consumer products.
Traceability tools, cooperation on orders, no hiding the operator.
Are you in scope?
Act now- You make, import, brand, fulfil or intermediate consumer products on the Union market, including distance sales.
Usually not, if
- Pure B2B capital equipment covered only by sector law — still check if consumers can buy it.
- Food, feed, live plants, animal by-products with their own regimes — GPSR is a net, not a double dinner.
First moves
- Week 1Map economic-operator role per SKU (manufacturer / importer / authorised rep / fulfilment).Legal
- Week 2EU responsible person named and visible for extra-EU goods.Ops
- Month 1Recall and accident-reporting playbook, including marketplace SKUs.Quality
- A drop-shipping brand is an importer in disguise. Budget for a responsible person, not a disclaimer.
If you skip this
- Listings pulled.
- No one to receive a Safety Gate notice.
- Insurance arguments over who was the manufacturer.
Done looks like
- EU operator on pack and listing.
- A batch/serial story.
- A recall contact that is not a generic inbox.
Keep this evidence
- Responsible-person mandate
- Technical files / risk analysis
- Safety Gate history
- Recall scripts
Ask vendors
- Who is the EU responsible person, and is the address on the unit?
- How do you notify end-users in a recall?
Where programmes usually break
- Address on the website only, not on the product.
- Marketplace assuming the trader did GPSR.
Call counsel when
- You are a marketplace arguing you are ‘only a host’.
- A mixed B2B/B2C line.
- A product that is also a medical device or a toy with a lex specialis.
Enforcement
Withdrawal, recalls, fines under national market-surveillance law; marketplace orders.
National market surveillance; Safety Gate (RAPEX successor logic); customs.
Need a stack, not one file? Open the company desk
Professional briefing
Legal architecture and duties
For counsel, compliance, and policy teams. Not advice. The Official Journal still wins.
- Instrument
- Regulation
- Legal basis
- Art 114 TFEU · Regulation (EU) 2023/988
- Application
- Applies 13 December 2024, replacing Directive 2001/95/EC.
Horizontal consumer-product safety net with online-market duties and an EU economic operator for extra-EU goods. Sector CE law still comes first; GPSR catches the rest and the distance-sales hole.
How the file is built
Safety requirement (Art 5–8)
Products must be safe; risk analysis for new technologies including AI-enabled goods.
Economic operators and marketplaces (Arts 9–22)
Responsible person, traceability, marketplace duties, fulfilment.
Operators
| Role | Who | Core duties |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer / importer / authorised representative | Classic chain. | Safety, technical file, responsible person, incidents. |
| Provider of an online marketplace | Intermediates consumer sales. | Trader traceability, notices, Safety Gate cooperation. |
Scope
Products placed or made available on the Union market, including from outside via distance sales.
In
- Consumer products not covered, or not fully covered, by sector harmonisation that achieves the same safety outcome
Out, or narrower than assumed
- Medicinal products, food, feed, live plants, animal by-products as listed
- Aircraft etc. as listed
Operative provisions
| Anchor | Rule | What it does in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Art 16 | EU responsible person for products from outside. | Name and contact on the product/packaging. |
| Arts 20–22 | Marketplace obligations. | Design the notice-and-action path; keep trader IDs. |
| Arts 35–36 | Recalls and Safety Gate. | A recall must reach the consumer, not only the retailer. |
Secondary law and guidance
- Commission guidance on marketplaces
- Safety Gate procedures
National layer. Market surveillance authorities designated nationally. Penalties are national.
How it sits with other files
A GPSR defect is exhibit A in a 2026+ liability claim.
Marketplace GPSR duties sit beside DSA illegal-goods duties — map both.
AI-enabled products: safety net plus high-risk overlay if listed.
Enforcement and private rights
Who
MSA and customs.
Tools
Withdrawal, recall, fines, marketplace orders.
Private rights
National product-liability and consumer law.
Risk register
| Risk | Signal | Control |
|---|---|---|
| No EU person | Amazon listing with only a CN address | Appoint and print the responsible person. |
| Recall theatre | PDF on a website nobody sees | Customer-data path to notify. |
Open issues
- How aggressively MSAs treat drop-shipping brands.
- AI product risk-analysis depth.
Primary sources
Consumer products in the Union need a named EU operator, traceability, and a recall that can actually reach people — including from a marketplace.
You feel it now
Applies since 13 December 2024.
Next
Safety Gate and marketplace enforcement are the 2026 story.
Where it lands
| Channel | People | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| The thing you bought | Look for an EU name and address. A recall should find you, not a forum post. | Manufacturer, authorised representative, importer, distributor, and the marketplace in defined cases. |
Who gains
Consumers who can be reached; diligent importers.
Who pays
Drop-shippers with no EU operator on the listing.
Files this pulls with it
- Digital Services Act — Marketplace trader duties and GPSR operator duties overlap.
- Product Liability Directive — A defective product is easier to argue when the operator is missing.
Who pays
Manufacturers, importers, authorised representatives, fulfilment and marketplaces.
Who benefits
Households, if recalls work.
Read the official text