Numerous online retailers who offer goods on the Amazon marketplace are currently being notified by Amazon that a new Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is expected to come into force in the EU in the third quarter of 2024. This would likely introduce responsible person requirements for all products sold in the EU. In addition, according to Amazon, special measures should be taken to document product safety. In the following article we will shed light on the background of this message.
Message from Amazon
Numerous online retailers who offer goods on the Amazon marketplace are currently being notified by Amazon as follows:
Why did I receive this message?
As a seller, you are responsible for ensuring that the products you supply and your online listings comply with all applicable laws. If you list a product online, you must provide and display the required product safety labeling, warnings and markings information on the product detail page.
In addition, on July 16, 2021, an EU regulation on product safety came into force, known as the “Regulation on Market Surveillance and Product Conformity”. This regulation requires a person to be present in the European Union to act as the contact person for product compliance (a “Responsible Person”) for CE marked products. The EU is expected to introduce a new regulation called the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) in 2024. This is likely to introduce Responsible Person requirements for all products sold in the EU.
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What action do I need to take?
It is now possible to upload images showing product safety labels, warnings, and flags under the Product Safety and Compliance image variant in Seller Central. The information should be provided in the form of six images showing all sides of the packaging along with product safety labels, warnings and markings.
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In addition to existing product safety requirements, Amazon also refers to future requirements under the “General Product Safety Regulation” (GPSR).
This regulation is expected to come into force in Q3 2024 and will update the current regulations from the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) of 2001. The latter was implemented in Germany by the Product Safety Act (ProdSG) of 2011.
Current regulations according to the ProdSG
The ProdSG already makes some regulations on product safety that affected market participants must observe when making consumer products available on the market.
This includes in particular the following regulations on product safety:
§ 3 Abs. 2 ProdSG:
Unless it is subject to paragraph 1, a product may only be made available on the market if it does not endanger the safety and health of persons when used as intended or in a foreseeable manner. When assessing whether a product meets the requirement according to sentence 1, the following must be taken into account in particular:
1. the characteristics of the product, including its composition, its packaging, the instructions for its assembly, installation, maintenance and service life,
2. the effects of the product on other products, insofar as it is to be expected that it will be used together with other products,
3. the presentation of the product, its labelling, the warnings, the instructions for use and operation, the information on its disposal and all other product-related data or information,
4. The groups of users who are more at risk than others when using the product.
§ 6 Abs. 1 ProdSG:
The manufacturer, his authorized representative and the importer each have, in the course of their business in making a consumer product available on the market
1. to provide the consumer with the information he or she needs to assess the risks associated with the consumer product during the usual or reasonably foreseeable period of use and which are not immediately recognizable without appropriate information, and themselves to be able to protect against
2. to affix the name and contact address of the manufacturer or, if this is not established in the European Economic Area, the name and contact address of the authorized representative or the importer,
3. to affix clear markings to identify the consumer product.
The information according to sentence 1 numbers 2 and 3 must be attached to the consumer product or, if this is not possible, to its packaging. Exceptions to the obligations under sentence 1 numbers 2 and 3 are permissible if it is justifiable to omit this information, in particular because the consumer is already familiar with it, or because it would involve disproportionate effort to provide it.§ 7 Abs. 2 ProdSG:
It is forbidden to make a product available on the market,
1. if the product, its packaging or the documents accompanying it bear the CE marking without the ordinances pursuant to Article 8 paragraph 1 or other legal provisions providing for this or without the requirements of paragraphs 3 to 5 being met, or
2. that does not have the CE marking, although a statutory order pursuant to Section 8 Paragraph 1 or another legal regulation prescribes its affixing.
Future regulations according to the Product Safety Ordinance (GPSR)
After the commission in June 2021 a Suggestion for the GPSR, the EU Parliament and Council met on December 21, 2022 agreed on the final text of the law.
Above all, the GPSR should take current digital and technological developments and new requirements of online trading into account.
In particular, regulations are planned for the following complexes:
- Obligations of economic operators
- Digitization of product information
- Online sales from third countries
- Obligations for online marketplaces
- Consumer Safety Network
- International cooperation
- sanctions for violations
Operators of online marketplaces already have special obligations under the Digital Services Act. These will be tightened by the planned regulations of the GPSR. For example, illegal products should no longer only be checked at random, but controls over the EU-System “Safety Gate for dangerous non-food products” be performed. The EU member states as well as Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the EU Commission use this platform to exchange information about dangerous products that pose a risk to the health and safety of consumers (exception: food, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and animal feed).
If illegal products are found as a result of this check, they must be removed from the marketplace within two days. If consumers express doubts about the legality of a product, the marketplace operator must respond within 3 days.
Further regulations on consumer protection are also planned. For example, in the event of a product recall, the seller must inform affected customers about the recall if they know the contact details of the customer.
Another course
The legislative proposal still has to be approved by the EU Parliament and the Council before it can be published in the EU Official Journal and come into force. This is to be expected shortly. The GPSR should then apply in all EU member states 18 months after it came into force, i.e. from around the third quarter of 2024.
We will monitor further developments in this regard and report back in due course.
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