GPSR
GPSR and the EU Responsible Person: what an Indian seller must do
Regulation (EU) 2023/988. Who can be your EU Responsible Person, what must appear on product and listing, how marketplaces enforce it, and the routes when you have no EU entity.
By Aaryan Kakani · · 9 min read
Does the GPSR apply to my products at all?
Almost certainly yes. The General Product Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/988, the GPSR) applies to products placed on the EU market from 13 December 2024 (Article 52). Its scope is all consumer products , not "regulated" products, not CE-marked products, not electronics. If an EU consumer can buy it and use it, the GPSR covers it.
This is the single biggest misconception among Indian exporters: "my products are handicrafts, they never needed CE marking, so EU product law doesn't apply to me." Wrong. Unharmonised products (block-printed textiles, brassware, wooden decor, jewellery, cushion covers, ceramics) were precisely the category the GPSR was written to catch. They had no product-specific EU regime before; now they have this one.
The core rule sits in Article 16(1): a product covered by the GPSR shall not be placed on the EU market unless there is an economic operator established in the Union who is responsible for the tasks set out in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (the Market Surveillance Regulation). That operator is what everyone calls the "Responsible Person." An Indian seller with no EU entity, no EU importer and no EU representative therefore cannot lawfully sell consumer products into the EU at all.
Keep the GPSR distinct from CE marking. Harmonised legislation (toys, electronics, machinery, medical devices) layers its own conformity-assessment routes on top. See our guide to product certification for Indian exports for the Indian-side certification context. But the Responsible Person requirement applies regardless: CE-marked or not, harmonised or not, the product needs an EU economic operator before it can be sold.
Who can be my EU Responsible Person if I have no EU entity?
GPSR Article 16(1) borrows the list of eligible operators from Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. There are exactly four, in order:
(a) An EU-established manufacturer. Not available to an Indian factory. Your manufacturing is in India, so this route is closed by definition.
(b) The importer , where the manufacturer is outside the EU. If you sell B2B to an EU distributor or buyer who imports your goods, that importer is automatically the Responsible Person for those goods by virtue of their role. No appointment needed.
(c) An authorised representative established in the Union holding a written mandate from the manufacturer. This is the standard route for D2C and marketplace sellers with no EU buyer in the chain. Commercial authorised-representative services exist across the EU, but the mandate must come from the manufacturer, in writing. A purchase order or an email thread is not a mandate.
(d) An EU-established fulfilment service provider handling your stock, but only where none of the first three exists. For example, inventory held in an EU fulfilment centre with no importer of record.
| Route (Art 4(2)) | Who | When it works for an Indian seller | How appointed |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) EU manufacturer | Manufacturer established in the EU | Never (manufacturer is in India) | n/a |
| (b) Importer | EU business that imports your goods | B2B sales to an EU distributor/buyer | Automatic by role |
| (c) Authorised representative | EU-established firm mandated by the manufacturer | D2C, marketplace, DDP courier sales. The standard fix | Written mandate from the manufacturer |
| (d) Fulfilment service provider | EU warehouse/fulfilment operator handling your stock | Only where (a). (c) don't exist, e.g. Stock held in an EU FC with no importer | By default of role |
For a marketplace or D2C seller, the written-mandate authorised representative is the deliberate, controllable choice: you pick the firm, sign the mandate, and the gap is closed for every channel at once. Relying on route (d) by accident (hoping your EU fulfilment centre counts) leaves your compliance at the mercy of how your logistics happen to be structured.
What does the Responsible Person actually have to do?
The baseline tasks come from Article 4(3)(a). (d) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, and the GPSR then adds a layer of its own in Article 16(2). Together they make the role an active compliance function, not a mailbox.
| Source | Duty | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Art 4(3)(a), Reg 2019/1020 | Verify that the declaration of conformity / technical documentation has been drawn up | You must actually have a technical/safety file for the product before the RP signs on |
| Art 4(3)(b), Reg 2019/1020 | Provide market surveillance authorities with information and documentation demonstrating conformity | The RP must hold your file and be able to produce it on request |
| Art 4(3)(c), Reg 2019/1020 | Inform authorities when it believes a product presents a risk | The RP has a duty to report you, not shield you, if a safety issue surfaces |
| Art 4(3)(d), Reg 2019/1020 | Cooperate to ensure immediate corrective action | Recalls and corrections run through the RP; you need a working relationship, not just a name |
| Art 16(2), GPSR | Regularly check the product against the technical documentation and the Art 9(5),(6),(7) requirements, with documented evidence of those checks available to authorities on request | An ongoing, documented review cadence. The file must be kept current, not filed once and forgotten |
The practical implication for an Indian exporter: the RP relationship is only as good as the documentation behind it. You must hand over a technical file (test reports, material declarations, safety information) and keep it current, because the RP must be able to produce it and must periodically check your product against it under Article 16(2).
What must appear on my product, packaging and parcel?
GPSR Article 16(3) requires the Responsible Person's name, registered trade name or trade mark, and contact details (including both the postal address and the electronic address) to be indicated on the product, or on its packaging, the parcel, or an accompanying document.
For an Indian exporter that gives four practical placement options, any one of which satisfies the article:
- Printed on the product label itself. Cleanest for textiles and goods with sewn-in or hang-tag labels
- Printed on the retail box or packaging
- On the courier parcel. A label alongside the shipping label works
- On an insert or accompanying document travelling inside the parcel. The cheapest retrofit for existing inventory
Whichever option you choose, the details must physically travel with the goods. A PDF on your website, a line in your invoice system, or the address in seller central does not satisfy Article 16(3).
Treat the RP insert or label as part of the pre-shipment documentation pack, checked alongside the invoice, packing list and the rest of the export paperwork before the consignment leaves the factory.
What must every online listing show under Article 19?
GPSR Article 19 applies to every distance-sale offer. Your own Shopify store, Amazon, eBay and Etsy alike. Each offer must clearly and visibly show four things: (a) the manufacturer's name plus postal and electronic address; (b) where the manufacturer is outside the Union. Always true for an Indian factory. The name, postal and electronic address of the Responsible Person; (c) information to identify the product, including a picture , its type and other identifiers; and (d) any warnings or safety information in a language easily understood by consumers of the Member State where the product is sold.
That last point means German for .de listings and French for .fr listings. English everywhere does not satisfy Article 19(d). And because the obligation attaches to each offer, catalogue-wide compliance means updating every ASIN and every product page, not just a store-level footer.
| Art 19 element | What the listing must show | Common Indian-seller gap |
|---|---|---|
| (a) Manufacturer | Name + postal + electronic address | Only a brand name, no address |
| (b) Responsible Person | Name + postal + electronic address (manufacturer outside EU) | Missing entirely, or postal address without email |
| (c) Identification | Picture, type, other identifiers | Usually present |
| (d) Warnings/safety info | In a language easily understood in the Member State of sale | English-only warnings on .de/.fr listings |
How do Amazon, eBay and Etsy enforce the GPSR?
The GPSR puts direct duties on online marketplaces themselves. Under Article 22 they must register with the EU's Safety Gate Portal, designate single points of contact for authorities and for consumers, run internal product-safety processes, and comply with removal orders for dangerous-product listings within two working days of receipt (Article 22(4)).
The legal hook behind platforms demanding a Responsible Person address on every listing sits in Recital 58 and Article 22, read with the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065): marketplaces must not allow a product offer to be listed unless the trader has provided the product-safety and traceability information the Regulation requires. The platform's own legal exposure now depends on your compliance data being complete.
One framing caution: the specific mechanics you encounter in seller central (a dedicated "EU Responsible Person" field, automated listing suppressions, compliance dashboards) are platform practice , not text of the Regulation. They are how platforms operationalise their Article 22 and DSA duties, and each platform designs its own workflow. Treat a platform's form as the enforcement surface, and the Regulation as the reason it exists.
The practical upshot: the marketplace is the first and fastest enforcer. Expect the compliance request to arrive in seller central (with a deadline and a suppression threat) long before any EU authority ever contacts you. This is the same pattern as CBAM : an EU-side obligation that lands on the Indian supplier through the counterparty, not through a regulator's letter.
What happens if I sell into the EU without a Responsible Person?
Three layers of consequence, in increasing order of speed.
| Layer | What it is | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Legality | With no EU economic operator, every placing on the market is unlawful. There is no small-seller or low-value carve-out | GPSR Art 16(1) |
| Penalties | Set by each Member State. Effective, proportionate and dissuasive, notified to the Commission by 13 December 2024. No single EU-wide fine exists; exposure varies by country of sale | GPSR Art 44(1)-(3) |
| Delisting | Surveillance authorities issue removal orders and the platform must act within two working days. For a marketplace-dependent seller, revenue stops immediately | GPSR Art 22(4) |
Because penalties are national, do not rely on any specific fine figure you read online. Amounts differ country by country, and the GPSR itself sets none. Customs and surveillance authorities can also act on goods at the border, holding or refusing consignments that lack a Responsible Person.
What is the GPSR compliance checklist for an Indian seller?
Work through in order
- 1 Map every EU sales channel B2B, marketplace, own-site D2C, DDP courier. For each, identify whether an EU economic operator already exists in the chain. An importer or an EU fulfilment provider.
- 2 Appoint an authorised representative where the chain is empty Written mandate from the manufacturer, signed before the next shipment leaves India. This is the standard fix for D2C and marketplace channels.
- 3 Assemble and hand over the technical documentation Test reports, material declarations, safety information. The file the RP must hold and check under Art 4(3) and Art 16(2).
- 4 Mark the goods RP name + postal + electronic address on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document (Art 16(3)).
- 5 Update every listing Manufacturer details, RP details, product identification with a picture, and Member-State-language warnings on every ASIN and product page (Art 19).
- 6 Answer marketplace compliance requests Respond to RP-information requests and keep the seller-central compliance fields current. The platform is your fastest enforcer.
- 7 Set a review cadence with the RP Art 16(2) requires documented periodic checks. Agree the schedule and keep the file current as products change.
- 8 Run CE routes in parallel where they apply If products are also CE-regulated (toys, electronics), the harmonised-legislation conformity route runs alongside. The RP does not replace it.
Slot the RP steps into your existing pre-shipment workflow alongside the export documentation checklist and any product certification work. Questions about origin marking or third-country invoicing are a different track. See proof of origin by regime and origin, transhipment and third-country invoicing .
| Step | What happens | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Scope | Cushion covers are consumer products, so GPSR Art 16(1) applies despite there being no CE regime | GPSR Art 2, Art 16(1) |
| 2. Chain check | No EU importer (consumers buy direct) and no EU fulfilment provider (goods ship from Jaipur). No Art 4(2) operator exists, so every sale since 13 December 2024 has been an unlawful placing on the market | Reg 2019/1020 Art 4(2) |
| 3. Fix | Signs a written mandate appointing a Netherlands-based authorised representative and hands over the product safety file (fibre composition, flammability and azo-dye test reports), which the AR must hold and periodically check | Reg 2019/1020 Art 4(2)(c), Art 4(3); GPSR Art 16(2) |
| 4. Physical marking | A printed insert with the AR's name, Amsterdam postal address and email now travels in every parcel | GPSR Art 16(3) |
| 5. Listings | Every Amazon.de ASIN and Shopify product page is updated with the manufacturer's Jaipur address, the AR's postal and electronic address, a product photo and identifiers, and care/safety warnings in German for .de and French for .fr customers | GPSR Art 19(a)-(d) |
| 6. Marketplace | The AR's details are entered in Amazon's seller compliance fields when requested, keeping the listings live | GPSR Art 22 (platform duty), operationalised by the platform |
Frequently asked questions
Do handicrafts and home textiles that never needed CE marking still need an EU Responsible Person?
Yes. The GPSR covers all consumer products placed on the EU market from 13 December 2024, not just CE-marked or harmonised goods. Handicrafts, home textiles, brassware, jewellery and decor are fully in scope, and under Article 16(1) they cannot be placed on the EU market unless an EU-established economic operator is responsible for the product-safety tasks of Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
Is my REACH Only Representative the same as my GPSR Responsible Person?
No. The REACH Only Representative (REACH Article 8) handles chemicals registration only. The GPSR Responsible Person is a separate role under GPSR Article 16, and an authorised representative in that role needs its own written mandate from the manufacturer. One firm can hold both mandates, but they are legally distinct appointments.
If I ship DDP by courier straight to the EU consumer, is there really no way around appointing a Responsible Person?
There is no way around it. Shipping DDP direct from India means no EU importer and usually no EU fulfilment provider, so none of the four Article 4(2) operators exists. And under Article 16(1) the product then may not be placed on the EU market at all. The fix is an EU-established authorised representative appointed by written mandate from the manufacturer.
Does the Responsible Person's address have to be on both the parcel and the online listing?
Yes, both. Article 16(3) requires the details on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document, and Article 19 separately requires them in every online offer. The two requirements are cumulative, and both require an electronic address as well as a postal address.
Is there one EU-wide fine for selling without a Responsible Person?
No. Article 44 leaves penalties to individual Member States (effective, proportionate and dissuasive, notified to the Commission by 13 December 2024) so exposure varies by country of sale. In practice the fastest consequence for a marketplace seller is delisting: platforms must comply with removal orders within two working days under Article 22(4).
Sources & citations
- [Regulation (EU) 2023/988. General Product Safety Regulation (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32023R0988).
- [Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. Market Surveillance Regulation (EUR-Lex)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32019R1020).
Update history
- First published.