Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (“GPSR”), which was adopted on May 10, 2023 and entered into force on June 12, 2023, has become directly applicable in Romanian law from December 13, 2024.
The GPSR repealed the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC (“GPSD”) which was transposed into Romanian law by Law 245/2004 on general product safety, a law which is currently being applied together with the GPSR.
Purpose of GPSR
The GPSR aims to ensure a high level of consumer protection by laying down essential rules on the safety of products placed or made available on the market by economic operators.
The GPSR applies to products placed on the market, as long as there is no regulation with the same objective as the GPSR to regulate their safety (e.g., electronic devices that operate at low voltage, child care articles, furniture, cycles, paragliding equipment, stationary training equipment, etc.).
Please find below a brief description of the main obligations introduced by the GPSR that differ from the GSPD.
I. Overview of the main elements introduced by the GPSR
- Economic operators must place or make available on the market only safe products.
- The possibility of achieving higher levels of safety, or the availability of other products that present a lesser degree of risk, should not be a reason to consider a product to be dangerous.
- Products following harmonised standards are presumed to be safe. The lack of harmonised product standards under the GPSR does not exempt the responsible person from safety requirements, instead non-harmonised European standards or other countries standards shall be followed.
- If economic operators, based on their information, believe that a product placed on the EU market is dangerous, they have the obligation to immediately take a corrective step in order to ensure the effective product conformity and inform the consumers and the market surveillance authorities about the product.
- Where a product has been withdrawn from the market for safety reasons, economic operators must offer consumers a choice between at least two of the following remedies: repair, replacement, or appropriate reimbursement. However, in situations where other remedies would be impossible or would impose disproportionate costs, the operator may offer only one remedy.
- The GPSR introduces a requirement to designate a single point of contact for consumers and authorities in order to facilitate direct communication on product safety issues.
- Economic operators conducting online sales should clearly and visibly display the following information on their website: a) The manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or trademark, and postal and electronic address; b) The responsible person’s name and contact details, if the manufacturer does not have an EU address; c) Product identifier (e.g., photograph, type, batch, description, serial number) and d) Warning or safety information.
- A product covered by the GPSR shall not be placed on the market unless there is an economic operator established in the EU which is responsible for that product.
II. Responsibility of manufacturers
- Before placing their products on the market, manufacturers shall carry out an internal risk analysis and draw up the technical documentation;
- Manufacturers shall ensure that procedures are in place for products produced in series to remain in conformity with the general safety requirement;
- Manufacturers shall ensure that other economic operators, responsible persons, and providers of online marketplaces in the supply chain concerned are kept informed in a timely manner of any safety issue that they have identified;
- Manufacturers must make available to the public a telephone number, an e-mail address or a dedicated section of their website. The purpose of this provision is to allow consumers to submit complaints and inform the manufacturer of product safety issues.
- Manufacturers shall investigate the submitted complaints and information received on accidents, that concern the safety of products they made available on the market and which have been alleged to be dangerous by the complainant; moreover, manufacturers shall keep an internal register of those complaints as well as of product recalls and any corrective measures taken to bring the product into conformity.
III. Responsibility of importers
- Before placing a product on the market, importers shall ensure that the product complies with the general safety requirements;
- Importers shall ensure that the product they imported is accompanied by clear instructions and safety information in a language which can be easily understood by consumers;
- Importers shall ensure that, while a product is under their responsibility, storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise its conformity with the general safety requirements;
- Importers shall keep the copy of the technical documentation of the manufacturers at the disposal of the market surveillance authorities for a period of 10 years after they have placed the product on the market and shall ensure that the documents can be made available to those authorities, upon request;
- Importers shall verify whether the communication channels of the manufacturers are publicly available to consumers and, if not available, importers shall ensure such communication channels, taking into account accessibility needs for persons with disabilities;
- Importers shall investigate the submitted complaints and information received on accidents, that concern the safety of products they made available on the market, which the complainant has alleged to be dangerous, and file those complaints, as well as product recalls and any corrective measures taken to bring the product into conformity, in the register of the manufacturers or in their own internal register.
IV. Responsibility of distributors
- Before making a product available on the market, distributors shall verify that the manufacturer, and where applicable, the importer, has complied with the requirements set out by the GPSR;
- Distributors shall ensure that, while a product is under their responsibility, storage or transport conditions do not jeopardise its conformity with the general safety requirements;
- Where a distributor considers or has reason to believe, on the basis of the information in that distributor’s possession, that a product is not in conformity with the GPSR provisions, as applicable, the distributor shall not make the product available on the market unless the product has been brought into conformity.
V. Labelling
- Labels applied to products must contain the following data: a) Product type, batch, or serial number; b) Manufacturer’s name, registered trade name, or registered trade mark; c) Manufacturer’s postal and electronic address; d) Warnings (if applicable); and e) Age suitability for children (if applicable). When the size or nature of the product does not permit the placement of such information, manufacturers should instead put it on the packaging or in an accompanying document.
- If the product is imported, the importer also has several obligations concerning the labelling. Thus, the importer will have to add onto the label its identification and contact details.
VI. Safety documentation of the product
- The GPSR also refers to the documentation that must accompany each product (i.e., technical documentation, instructions, and test reports). The documentation must be written in a clear form and in understandable language determined by the Member State where the product is sold.
VII. Sanctions
- If the product does not comply with the product safety provisions of the GPSR, the distributors and importers will not place such product on the market or will withdraw it from the market, if the non-compliance occurs after it has been placed on the market.
- In addition to the sanctions of non-placement on the market and withdrawal from the market that may occur, other sanctions will be adopted by each Member State.
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