Selling products into the EU? New safety rules - take action!

It doesn’t apply to products sold in England, Wales and Scotland, but if you’re selling goods into the EU or Northern Ireland, products need to comply with the new regime. The GPSR is intended to tighten safety standards across the EU for products sold both online and offline.  

The new regulations only apply to products placed on the market after 13 December. No action needs to be taken for products that have already been placed on the market in the EU or NI up until the 13 (assuming those products are compliant with the 2005 UK GPSR).  This includes existing stock of product lines that are already on the market. 

What do I need to do?

These are the key changes manufacturers will need to be compliant with (and distributors will need to be confident of):

• Ensuring your products are safe for use as intended by conducting a risk assessment.
• Including certain information:
  • name and address of manufacturer (postal and web).
  • product identification (e.g. batch or serial number).
  • instructions for use and safety information.
  • compliance marking (e.g. CE/UKCA marking).
    • If the size and/or nature of the product doesn’t allow for all this info (pens would be a good example), the information should be provided on the packaging or in accompanying documentation.
    • If a manufacture fails on the above, the distributor may bring the product into compliance (e.g. by adding the necessary labelling or documentation) without returning the product to the manufacturer or importer.
• Including contact details of the EU Authorised Representative (unless you’re based in NI). A number of companies offer this service, for an annual fee.
• Keeping appropriate technical documentation for your products for 10 years after being placed on the market.
• Cooperating with market surveillance authorities, if needed.

More information

• Full guidance on selling into the EU and NI (the introduction says NI, but the info is relevant to both) and includes examples.

• The Trader Support Service set up by the Government may also be able to help. A new Government body, Intertrade UK, is currently being established to support trade with NI – we’ll let you know when it’s up and running.

• Contact OPSS.enquiries@businessandtrade.gov.uk if you have specific queries about what to do.

What happens if I don’t comply?

Individual EU member states will have the power to set penalties for any infringements of the GPSR, with no maximum penalty, meaning high fines could be possible (it will depend on the member state the product is sold into).