The new General Product Safety Regulation
The new General Product Safety Regulation will be valid from 13.12.2024 and will in the future replace the Product Safety Directive. The new regulations are intended to meet the challenges of digitisation and the relevance of online retail.
Scope
The regulation addresses traditional economic actors in the field of product regulation: Manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors, online marketplaces and fulfilment service providers. The design of the obligations depends on the proximity of the economic operator to the product. For each covered product, there must be a responsible economic operator established in the EU before it is placed on the market.
The General Product Safety Regulation regulates consumer products that are intended for the consumer or are foreseeably used by the consumer. As a framework, the Regulation applies to products that are not subject to specific product safety regulations. Where specific rules exist, the Regulation applies to non-addressed aspects and risks.
Extended manufacturer obligations
Before placing a product on the market, the manufacturer must carry out an internal risk analysis and prepare technical documentation containing at least a description of the product and the essential characteristics for the safety assessment. The scope of the technical documentation to be provided depends on the complexity and identified risks of the product and must be retained for 10 years after it has been placed on the market. Due to the ongoing digitalisation and networking of products, manufacturers must include the cybersecurity of their products and their resilience to external influences in addition to physical security in the conformity assessment. Another new feature is that in the event of a significant change to the product, the person who makes the change (with the exception of the consumer) is considered the new product manufacturer with corresponding obligations. In the event of accidents, there will be extended notification obligations in the future. In the event of a recall, the responsible economic operator must offer the consumer two out of three free and timely remedies, which include either product repair, replacement or appropriate reimbursement. Furthermore, the public must be informed via the Safety Gate Portal.
Online trading
In the case of distance contracts, a provision on the market already exists when an offer for sale is made to a consumer in the EU. This is presumed if the business activity is aimed at one or more EU member states, e.g., because the offer is available in EU languages or payment is possible in euros. Economic operators who offer their products online will already have to comply with EU law.
