In this blog, I outline what is GPSR and what does it mean for small businesses, plus answer all of the questions I am seeing come up most often to help you.
On Friday 13th December 2024 the General Product Safety Regulations, or GPSR as they are more widely known, have come into effect across the EU. I know they feel overwhelming for many small businesses, and have come at the worst time of year, right?! I want to reassure you that I will continue to sell and ship to the EU with both of my businesses. So, here I explain what is GPSR and what does it mean for small businesses, answer the questions you have sent in, plus share a load of useful tips and resources for you.
Please note: although I've widely researched this topic for my own businesses, I am not a legal expert. This post is for information purposes only and is not legal advice. For the full details of the regulations see the list of links provided.
What is GPSR?
GPSR stands for General Product Safety Regulation. They are a set of new guidelines issued by the EU to ensure that goods sold or shipped to the EU are safe and traceable.
The EU officially passed the GPSR guidelines on 10th May 2023, but they've come into force on Friday, 13th December, and replaced older safety regulations such as the GPSD (General Product Safety Directive).
If you are in the UK like me, they apply to anything you send to the EU from this date, including to Northern Ireland.
What products are included in GPSR?
It is actually easier to say what isn't included! Pretty much every product meant for consumers, unless it has its own separate safety requirements, is included in GPSR.
Products that are not included, for example, are medicinal products, food and feed products, living plants and animals, pesticides, antiques and aircraft. GPSR also doesn't include services.
If you make or sell into the EU a product under your own name, you are classed as a 'manufacturer' according to the GPSR guidelines. There are also rules for importers, distributors and marketplaces.
GPSR also covers any secondhand products or products that are repaired, reconditioned, or recycled, so if you sell these under your own name you need to comply.
Are digital products included in GPSR?
Yes, digital products are included in GPSR, which was confirmed last week in a set of FAQs issued by the EU.
'Digital products' includes; PDF downloads, ebooks and courses, as well as software. You might be wondering how on earth a digital product could be unsafe, but GPSR covers 'risks to both physical health and mental health'.
Help! I send to the EU, what do I need to do?
I'll cover each of these in turn, but in order to comply with GPSR for your small business and continue sending products or digital products to the EU, this is what you need to do:
- Appoint a responsible person or representative based in the EU
- Ensure your products are safe
- Have technical documentation recorded for your products
- Clearly label your product listings
- Clearly label the packages you send
Let me explain these in detail...
1. Appoint a Responsible Person or representative based in the EU
If you are based outside of the EU (e.g. here in the UK), you have to appoint someone in the EU to be your 'Responsible Person' or EU representative.
If you are in Northern Ireland, you can be your own representative because, for the purposes of GPSR, you are within the EU.
Appointing an EU Responsible Person does not need to be expensive! The one I have appointed costs $250 a year (approx £200).
Please see below for more FAQs about EU representatives.
2. Ensure your products are safe
This will depend on what you sell, so I recommend reading up on this for your product area, but a lot of this is simply following existing legislation on safety and traceability.
For example, you need to ensure you follow any relevant applicable EU safety standards, e.g. any CE marketing or toy safety standards.
What's new within GPSR is that you need to have documented a risk analysis before introducing the product, which we'll get onto in a moment.
This might all sound a lot, but once you have an EU representative, they should be able to guide you through this for your product range.
3. Have technical documentation recorded for your products
Your 'technical file', is a self-assessment of your product range and any key characteristics relevant for safety assessment. The sort of thing you would include in a technical file would be:
- Your name and contact details
- Your EU Responsible Person and their contact details
- A description of your product and its identifying number (e.g. SKU or batch number)
- An overview of the supply chain involved in making the product
- A 'statement of comfomity' that you have followed the guidelines
- Any certificates of safety you have
- Any safety information and instructions
- A list of product parts
If you are struggling with how to do this, don't panic! Your EU Responsible Person will likely have a template you can use once you sign up and will guide you on completing it.
Your EU Responsible Person then needs to keep a record of this technical file for 10 years in case any EU authorities need it.
4. Clearly label your product listings
Next, your product listings need to be clearly labelled to show that you are following GPSR for your small business.
Your product listings need to have on:
- The name, address and email of your EU Responsible Person.
- The manufacturer's name, address and email (i.e. your contact details)
- Your product identifer
- Any warnings and safety information in all the languages of the country you are selling to.
5. Clearly label the packages you send
All parcels sent to the EU need to now be clearly labelled. This includes:
- The name, address and email of your EU Responsible Person.
- Your name, address and email as the manufacturer
- If you use an importer, their details also need to be on there
- Your products need to be labelled with the product identifier (SKU, batch or serial number)
- Your products need to be labelled with any safety warnings and information in all the languages of the country you are selling to.
This information can be attached to the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.
For my product business, we are labelling our packages on the outside with our EU Responsible Person and our contact details to stop them being stopped at customs or sent back. Then, inside we have any extra information required.
And that is it in a nutshell. I will be continuing to ship to the EU and have been putting this in place for my businesses. I know it feels terribly complicated, but I guess my main message is hopefully some reassurance that it doesn't need to be!
Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments! But in the meantime, here are the questions I've had so far, and do scroll down for a list of useful resources at the bottom of this post.
Frequently Asked Questions on GPSR
Ok. let's get into some of the questions you have sent me...
Do I need an EU Responsible Person for each country in the EU I sell to?
No, it is just one EU Responsible Person for the whole of the EU.
Do I need to pay more for an EU Responsible Person for GPSR if I have lots of different products?
This depends on your EU Responsible Person and how flexible they are, as well as your business. For my product business, we have grouped all our products together into just one category. I think this would be the case for most small businesses that sell in a particular niche. However, if you sell a range of very different products, you might need to pay more.
Does an EU Responsible Person need to be an official person, or can I appoint someone I know in the EU?
Your EU Responsible Person can be anyone, it doesn't need to be someone legal. However, bear in mind that they are called a 'Responsible Person' because they have responsibilities! You will need to set up a formal agreement in writing with them. They are responsible for liaising with market surveillance authorities and storing your technical files for 10 years, and their contact details need to be on your listings and packages.
Does GPSR apply to free digital products like downloads?
Yes. This was confirmed in the EU FAQ document. They stated that 'an item provided free of charge falls within the scope of the GPSR'.
If I listed or made something before 13th December, is it exempt from GPSR?
The official guidance states that the regulation only applies to 'products placed on the market from 13th December 2024'. However, there is confusion about what 'on the market' means. Some people are advising that if something has been made before 13th December, it is exempt, but others are advising that 'on the market' means the product has to be physically inside the EU.
The reality is that from 13th December, you need to have an EU Responsible Person to ship products to the EU, and even if you think your products are exempt, it is advised to have your shipments and listings GPSR compliant and clearly labelled. This has been confirmed by my EU Responsible Person and the UK Export Academy at the UK Department for Business and Trade.
Practically speaking, checks are going to start occurring, and you need to make it easy for market surveillance authorities to see that you comply and not fall foul of the new regulations!
Do I really need to make information available in other languages?
It is just any safety information or warnings that need to be available in the countries you are selling or shipping to. The UK Export Academy have suggested using AI, e.g. Deepl to translate it into the other languages of the EU.
Do I need to worry about GSPR if I only ship to the UK?
Within the GPSR guidelines, Northern Ireland counts as part of the EU. You will therefore need to exclude NI or make sure you comply with GPSR.
What if I sell on a marketplace?
Marketplaces have their own requirements to follow, so if you sell on one (e.g. Amazon, eBay etc), they should be in contact with you to tell you what to do. However, do make sure your listings are compliant as outlined above, as most marketplaces rely on you adding the information to your listings yourself.
Can you tell me about GPSR on Amazon?
Amazon seem to be pretty hot on this.
They have provided information on Amazon Seller Central here.
You comply on Amazon through the compliance dashboard in their Seller Central website (only available to Amazon sellers).
Can you tell me about GPSR on eBay?
You can find out more about how to comply with GPSR on eBay in their Seller Centre here.
Can you tell me about GPSR on Etsy?
Yes, I know Etsy is currently a pain as they have not provided the option to exclude Northern Ireland from UK shipping, but they are working on this. This is the infomation they have provided so far:
How to comply with GPSR on Etsy
Can you tell me about GPSR on Folsky?
You can read more on the Folksy blog here.
What could happen if I don't comply with GPSR?
Your shipment could be sent back or destroyed, or you could receive a fine.
Should I stop selling to the EU because of GPSR?
No! I know this feels like a pain to set up, but I promise it's not that bad. Do look at it for your own business, but I would encourage you not to stop trading with the EU.
Hopefully, you have found this a valuable source of information on what is GPSR and what does it mean for small businesses! Do pop me any questions in the comments below, and here are some links that I've found helpful to finish off.
Useful links for further information about GPSR
Here are the actual GPSR guidelines
You can download the FAQs about GPSR provided by the EU last week here.
This is the official guidance on GPSR from the UK government.
I'd also recommend the UK Export Academy which is running free weekly webinars on GPSR. You can ask any questions there about your specific business.
An, finally, scroll on down to add your thoughts and questions in the comments!
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