A new law coming into effect on 13 December 2024 will affect UK small businesses that sell non-food products to the EU and Northern Ireland. The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is bringing major changes to product safety standards across the EU – but how will it affect your business?
Keep reading to learn what’s changing and what it means for your business.
What is GPSR?
The GPSR aims to ensure all products are safe for consumers. According to the European Commission, accidents related to unsafe products cost up to €11.5bn a year. To help tackle this, the GPSR will introduce:
- more protection for consumers by improving product recall, addressing specific safety issues with stronger safety standards, and requiring a ‘responsible person’ as a point of contact
- better support for businesses including clearer rules, plus ‘hands-on guidelines’ for smaller businesses
- stronger enforcement for national authorities through market surveillance
- increased accountability for businesses to create safe products
These rules will affect both sales to the EU and Northern Ireland.
With more pressure placed on larger marketplaces to monitor their third party sellers, you’ll need to ensure you’re following the rules. If you’re selling on an online marketplace (such as Amazon or Etsy) and don’t comply, your product listings or store may be suspended – or you may be hit with a large fine.
GPSR regulations: your next steps
You can read the full GPSR regulations on the European Commission website, but below is a run down of the next steps small businesses in the UK need to follow.
1. Assign a responsible person
From 13 December 2024, all UK businesses selling to the EU and Northern Ireland will need to designate a responsible person located in the EU who will:
- be a point of contact for customers
- liaise with regulatory bodies
You’ll need to include the address of your responsible person on your product label or in the accompanying documentation.
If you’re a small business looking for a responsible person to continue trading in the EU, there are a number of services online where you can pay a professional to act as your responsible person.
2. Make your production and supply chain traceable
With more market surveillance from national authorities, you may be required to present your product’s journey through the supply chain. You’ll need to provide precise information about your product’s origin in case there are any concerns about what you’re selling.
Keeping accurate records about your products – including manufacturing and supplier information – can help you avoid delays down the road.
3. Make sure your labels are compliant
More thorough risk assessments mean you’ll need to provide detailed information for each product you sell. This will differ by product type, but you’ll generally need to provide:
- a type, batch, or serial number: while there’s no GPSR-specific format to follow, your labelling should make clear the product model, manufacturing date, and location
- your registered company name
- your postal and electronic addresses (and if you’re outside the EU, the address of your responsible person)
- age suitability, safety warnings, and disposal information
- the above information in ‘a language which can be easily understood’ where the product is for sale – meaning you may need to have labels available in multiple languages
Not complying with GPSR
If you don’t comply with the new GPSR regulations, you may be hit with large fines or even have your shop removed from your online marketplace. Many small businesses in the UK have already made the decision to stop selling to customers in the EU and Northern Ireland, citing a lack of funds to meet the new requirements.
Be sure to check with the ecommerce platform you sell on to see what information they have about GPSR.
Tell us how GPSR is affecting your small business in the comments below.
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