GPRS: product safety, recall and the Responsible Person

Entrepreneurs outside the EU/EEA who sell products (non-food) directly to European consumers, must appoint a Responsible Person, located in Europe, to warrant product safety, compliance with all laws and regulations, and to act in case of a safety related issue, for example by carrying out a product recall. This is part of the General Product Safety Regulation that came into effect in 2024. 

A new opportunity for service providers of course, but what does this mean in Practice? What are risks for the new players offering these services, and for the foreign businesses offering these products? 

This article aims to focus on some specific aspects that may require your attention.

With the explosive growth of online direct sales of consumer products (non-food) from manufacturers or traders outside the EU to European companies, and the fact that not all such products were compliant with EU safety regulations, it was only a matter of time for the EU to implement regulation to improve consumer protection.

Much of this, including definition of the terms "producer" and "product" has been given form and shape in the new Eurpean General Product Safety Regulation (GPRS). One specific aspect is that a "Responsible Person" inside the EU/EEA territory must be appointed before a product from outside the EU can be into the European consumer market. This party is basically responsible for all matters regarding product safety, compliance of the product with all European laws and regulations, but also for carrying out corrective actions such as a product recall. Consumers and product safety authorities must know who this Responsible Person is, and how to contact. Hence, the Responsible Person must be identified on the product and/or the packaging. 

If the supply chain by itself does not naturally contain such a party, such as an importer, wholesaler or distributor, then someone else must be appointed for this role. A golden opportunity for service providers who have the ability and resources to take on this role. That is: at first sight.

Because, what if a Responsible Person service provider is confronted with the obligation to carry out a full-blown product recall in several European countries? Will it have to pre-finance the costs of such a recall, which can run into the tens of millions Euro? Can it be sure that its principal (the non-European manufacturer, exporter or trader) will timely reimburse it for such outlays? And how can this risk for the service provider be mitigated?

On the flipside: how can the foreign party, for example the manufacturer and brand owner, be sure that the Responsible Person service provider is capable - financially, in resources, in knowledge and experience - to initiate and carry out such a recall effectively and protect the reputation of the foreign principal and its brand?

When checking the internet, quite a few well-established service providers, especially those already active in monitoring compliance for production outsourced to countries outside Europe, do offer such services or are planning to do so. However, as it seems there are also some relatively unknown new players. Do they all realize the risk, and are they able to deliver? 

The message to foreign companies that seek to employ such a "Responsible Person" would be, to carefully check if and how they will be able to take on this responsibility and whether they are able to act if it is necessary. It will be necessary to equip such service providers with a thorough knowledge of the product, to enable flawless communication, to have and practice a mutually agreed emergency plan and to ensure them of the financial ability to act when it is necessary. 

Time will tell if this feature of the GPSR will bring the effect that has been intended, or whether Practice will doublecross Theory in some instances. Anyway, many good reasons for all parties involved to carefully select the partners that they plan to work with.