Amazon have written to sellers informing them that the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) will come into effect on the 13th of December 2024. It will mainly apply to non-food products in the EU and Northern Ireland.
GPSR will not apply in Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales). It will, however, apply to sales in Northern Ireland, under the Northern Ireland Protocol. GPSR red tape almost certainly won’t be restricted to Amazon either, they’re just first out of the blocks to give you a heads up that it’s coming!
As it’s nigh on impossible to sell on Amazon without shipping to Northern Ireland, this looks like it will be mandatory (expensive) red tape to sell on Amazon UK to consumers based in Great Britain, even if you never have a customer in Northern Ireland. This looks like one of the many instances where Brexit isn’t going to save British businesses from continuing to comply with EU dictats.
Main GPSR requirements
- Ensure all the products you sell in the EU or Northern Ireland in scope of the GPSR meet GPSR as well as existing labelling and traceability requirements. For more information, go to Product safety and compliance .
- Have a Responsible Person based in the EU for those products.
- Label those products with the contact information, including the postal and electronic address, of the Responsible Person. This labeling can be attached to the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.
- Label those products with the contact information, including the postal and electronic address, of the manufacturer and, if applicable, of the importer and, where different, the postal or electronic address of the single contact point at which they can be contacted. This labeling can be attached to the product, its packaging or an accompanying document.
- Label those products with the type, batch or serial number or other element to make it possible to identify the product, and ensure the information is easily visible and legible for consumers. Where the size or nature of the product does not allow it, this labeling can be provided on its packaging or an accompanying document.
- Display the Responsible Person’s name and contact details, including the postal and electronic address, in online listings.
- Display the manufacturer’s name and contact details, including the postal and electronic address, in online listings.
- Display a product picture and any other information needed to identify the product in online listings.
- Display warning and safety information–in addition to any other information concerning the labelling and marking required in compliance with applicable EU product safety and compliance law–in online listings, in the language of the country of sale.
Responsible Person requirement
A Responsible Person can be one of the following:
- The manufacturer or brand, if established in the EU.
- An importer established in the EU.
- An authorized representative established in the EU, who is appointed in writing as the Responsible Person by the manufacturer or brand.
- A fulfillment service provider established in the EU, if no manufacturer, importer or authorized representative is established in the EU.
- If you are a brand owner based in Northern Ireland, you can act as your own Responsible Person, or can appoint another entity based in Northern Ireland or the EU, as your Responsible Person.
If you need to find a Responsible Person (which looks inevitable), there are third-party providers offered in Amazon’s Service Provider Network.
There is a ton more detail on what you need to do on the Amazon GPSR help page.
