The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) is a fundamental revision of the European Union's product safety legislation that will take effect on December 13, 2024. This law supersedes the old General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) and the Food Imitating Products Directive, representing a complete overhaul to the EU's approach to consumer product safety.
This regulation was adopted in May 2023 and has been enforced on 13 December 2024, replacing the General Product Safety Directive. The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) will seek to address new challenges to consumer product safety in an evolving society. For instance, this regulation fills the gap of ensuring that safe products are available to EU consumers in online marketplaces, e-commerce, and other digital platforms. Moreover, a thorough risk assessment of products will be undertaken in accordance with this regulation, wherein the foreseeable use, misuse, and hazards associated with the various products are mapped. This regulation will involve the appointment of a “responsible person” within the EU who will oversee whether the products being exported to the EU are in compliance with the necessary safety standards. Various market surveillance mechanisms are undertaken, and penalties for noncompliance, such as product bans and fines, are introduced as a part of this regulation.
This regulation lays down procedures for product safety recalls, product safety assessment, accident reporting to authorities by businesses, and reinforces product traceability requirements and market surveillance rules. The regulation also specifies certain product safety obligations for economic operators in the marketplace, as well as precautionary principles to ensure product safety. GPSR stipulates obligations for manufacturers, such as conducting internal risk analyses, ensuring products are safe by design, informing consumers and national authorities regarding the danger associated with a product, sharing information on accidents, and providing essential product safety information and contact details to receive complaints. Some of the obligations of importers under this regulation are providing contact details on products, taking responsibility for the items in their care, informing manufacturers and national market surveillance authorities regarding the dangers associated with a product, and ensuring that the products comply with the regulation’s general safety requirement.
According to GPSR, the obligations of distributors are informing manufacturers, importers, and national authorities about the dangers associated with a product and ensuring that manufacturers and importers comply with the regulation’s requirements. The product safety obligations of providers of online marketplaces under this regulation are registering with the Safety Gate portal, establishing internal product safety processes, ensuring that a listing can be published only if the relevant trader provides data on product safety and traceability, responding to government orders promptly, making sure that listings taken down do not reappear, checking safety of random products using databases, informing relevant economic operators and market surveillance authorities during a product recall or an accident, updating consumers about the recall of a product, and pursuing direct communication with the market surveillance authorities and the public on safety issues by implementing two single points of contact. The obligations of economic operators under the GPSR include ensuring internal product safety processes, cooperating with market surveillance authorities, sharing specific product information when demanded by the authorities, providing data to the European Commission’s traceability system, informing affected consumers about product safety recalls and safety warnings, enabling consumers to decide between repair, replacement, and refund of a product, and abiding by specific rules for distant sales.
Some of the measures that organizations can adopt in order to deal with this regulation include adopting improved risk assessment procedures, strengthening supply chain traceability, preparing for increased market surveillance activities, collaborating with online marketplaces, and making sure that there is an EU-based responsible person if the product being exported comes under the GPSR.
Important Distinctions Between the GPSR and GPSD:
Legal Framework and Applicability-
Regulation vs. Directive: Unlike GPSD, which needed national implementation, GPSR is directly applicable throughout EU Member States.
Scope: GPSR broadens its purview to encompass emerging technologies and digital product safety procedures.
Risk Evaluation and Adherence-
Enhanced Risk Assessments: Unlike GPSD, GPSR requires thorough pre-market risk assessments that take into account the threats to digital products' mental health.
Online Sales: To fill up the gaps in GPSD, GPSR establishes particular safety standards for e-commerce platforms.
Enforcement and Monitoring of the Market-
Tougher Enforcement: GPSR improves market monitoring and lays out more precise procedures and sanctions for noncompliance.
Modernized Systems: Enhances customer awareness and expedites remedial action by updating the RAPEX system.
Rights of Consumers and Product Recalls-
Better Remedies: Unlike GPSD, consumers have the option of repair, replacement, or refund during recalls.
Standardized Recalls: Compared to GPSD, GPSR offers more structure by requiring templates and procedures for recalls.
Taking Care of New Risks-
Emphasis on Technology: Unlike GPSD, GPSR clearly addresses the threats posed by AI and connected products, reflecting contemporary technology issues.
All things considered, GPSR provides a more robust and updated foundation than GPSD, tackling the present issues with digitalization and security.
How EICBI can help Indian Businesses with GPSR compliance:
EICBI's vast experience of helping Indian companies navigate the European Union's regulatory mandates is sure to be instrumental in managing the terms of the demanding GPSR. Our strong network in Europe allows for effective communication with regulatory bodies and market stakeholders, streamlining approval processes. Right from getting a grip on the technicalities of the Regulation to finalizing the approvals, EICBI's technical know-how and skilled professionals have the ability to make the compliance process much less cumbersome.
Consequences of Non Compliance
Noncompliance with the EU's General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) can have serious ramifications for enterprises. Major penalties include fines of up to 4% of the company's annual global turnover, depending on the severity of noncompliance and the hazards to consumers. Authorities can also order product recalls for unsafe or non-compliant goods with the corporation responsible for all associated costs. Persistent infractions may result in market restrictions, which prevent companies from selling their products in the EU. Serious violations might also result in legal action, such as litigation or criminal accusations, which can impact the reputation and create long-term operational issues. Noncompliance also attracts heightened surveillance, with authorities undertaking more regular and intensive inspections to ensure compliance with safety regulations.
Given all the above matters, GPSR is undoubtedly one of the most consequential regulations for Indian businesses already operating and aiming to operate in the EU market.
REFERENCES
The EU’s new General Product Safety Regulation is set to land in December 2024. (2024, August 1). RPC.
Catherine Follin-Arbelet. (2024, March 26). Understanding the EU General Product Safety Regulation: Commonly asked questions. SGSCorp.
General product safety regulation (2023) | EUR-Lex. (n.d.).
EU Consumer Goods General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). (2024, September 30). International Trade Administration | Trade.gov.
DOI- https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/eu-consumer-goods-general-product-safety-regulation-gpsr
Ensure Compliance with EU General Product Safety Regulation. (2024b, October 28).
IndiaFilings. (n.d.-b). GPSR Compliance Made Easy - Start your Business in EU.
Pandey, V., Kumar, A., & Gupta, S. (2024). Assessing the need for the adoption of digitalization in Indian small and medium enterprises. Open Engineering, 14(1).
This article has been written in collaboration by EICBI Interns Gargi Mishra, Aarti Raturi, Harshaman Mehta, Ravi Rawat, Udlakshaya Raina and Unnimaya Parakkattu
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