The aim behind proposed amendments to the product safety regulations is tightening the current legislation, as well as adapting it to online selling reality in order to ensure the safety of consumer products, and therefore the safety of consumers.
The proposal amending Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Directive 87/357/EEC and Directive 2001/95/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council introduces, among others:
- the general safety requirement,
- assessment of product safety in view of the possible risks related to products based on new technologies,
- an obligation to establish a responsible economic operator in the EU by entities selling third-country products on the EU market, and
- definition of a distance sale.
Further to the proposal, companies selling goods in the single market from outside the EU will have to set up arrangements to ensure that the products sold in the EU have a responsible economic operator.
The EU proposal defines ‘economic operator’ as the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the
importer, the distributor, the fulfilment service provider or any other natural or legal person who is subject to obligations in relation to the manufacture of products, making them available on the market in accordance with the new regulation.
The economic operators will be obliged to provide to national authorities all necessary information concerning the goods, in particular (a) a full description of the risk presented by the product, and (b) a description of any corrective measure undertaken to address the risk.
The manufacturers may appoint an authorised representative provided that it is an EU based natural or legal person. The representative’s duties shall include at least the following tasks:
- provision of a market surveillance authority with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the safety of the product in a local language;
- informing the manufacturer that a product sold in the EU presents a safety risk,
- cooperation with the national authorities on any action taken to eliminate the risks posed by products covered by their mandate.
Additionally, the authorised representative may be also obliged to periodically carry out sample testing of randomly chosen products made available on the EU market.
In case of an online sale, it will be presumed to be made available on the EU market if the offer is targeted at consumers in the EU. To determine whether an offer is targeted at EU consumers, the following non-exhaustive criteria shall be taken into account:
- the use of an official language or currency of the Member States,
- a domain name registered in one of the Member States,
- the geographical areas to which the products can be dispatched.
In addition, business entities that participate in the supply chain of products covered by these regulations are required to introduce internal processes regarding product safety.
The regulation project is at the final stage of the legislative process and it can be expected that it will enter into force at the turn of 2023 and 2024. Due to the fact that this regulation, this regulation will not require additional implementation to the national legal order. It will directly affect the national legal orders of EU countries.
We will continue to monitor the legislation and provide you with the updates.
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