Regulations (EU) 2023/988 & 2022/2065
GPSR & DSA — safety meets the marketplace
Listrar summary
Two regulations that meet at the online checkout. The GPSR, applying since 13 December 2024, rewrote EU product safety for the e-commerce age: every consumer product needs a responsible economic operator inside the EU, traceability, accident reporting, and recall mechanics that actually reach buyers. The DSA comes at it from the platform side: marketplaces must verify who their sellers are before listing them, design their interfaces so sellers can state required product information, and act on illegal-product notices. Between the two, an unverifiable product with an unreachable seller is running out of places to be listed.
Who does it apply to?
- Manufacturers of consumer products sold in the EU, including via distance sales
- Importers and distributors
- The EU responsible person every product must have — manufacturer, importer or mandated representative
- Online marketplaces (GPSR art. 22; DSA arts. 30-32)
- Sellers from outside the EU targeting EU consumers
Main obligations
- Place only safe products; run an internal risk analysis and keep technical documentation (GPSR art. 9)
- Name an EU responsible person and print their contact on product or packaging
- Show identity, contact and product-safety information in every online offer (GPSR art. 19)
- Report accidents via the Safety Business Gateway; execute recalls with direct consumer notice (GPSR art. 20)
- Marketplaces: collect and verify seller traceability data before listing (DSA art. 30), design for compliance (art. 31), and remove unsafe listings on order (GPSR art. 22)
Key dates
- 12 June 2023
- GPSR in force
- 17 February 2024
- DSA applies to all platforms (VLOPs since August 2023)
- 13 December 2024
- GPSR applies — the old 2001 directive is history
Products in scope
- All consumer products without sector-specific EU safety law — the general net
- Products under harmonised legislation, for the aspects their own rules do not cover
- Second-hand, repaired and reconditioned goods, with narrow exceptions
Obligations by actor
- Manufacturer
- Risk analysis, technical file, traceability marks, accident reports, recalls (art. 9)
- Importer
- Verify the manufacturer did the work; carry EU contact duties (art. 11)
- Distributor
- Check markings and documents; act on safety knowledge (art. 12)
- Responsible person
- Be the reachable EU address for compliance and surveillance
- Marketplace
- Know your seller, surface safety info, respond to Safety Gate orders within two working days (GPSR art. 22, DSA arts. 30-32)
Documents and evidence to keep
- The technical documentation and internal risk analysis, per product
- Traceability data: batch, serial, supplier chain — retrievable, not archived in a drawer
- Responsible-person designations and their live contact details
- Recall and accident-report records, with the consumer-notification trail
- Marketplaces: seller-verification files and takedown logs
Sanctions and risks
- GPSR: national penalties (art. 44), Safety Gate alerts, forced recalls, sales bans
- DSA: fines up to 6 % of worldwide turnover for platform-duty violations
- Listings removed and accounts suspended — for sellers, marketplace enforcement bites before any court does
Key articles
- GPSR art. 9-12 — duties of manufacturers, importers, distributors
- GPSR art. 19 — distance sales: what every online offer must display
- GPSR art. 22 — specific product-safety duties of online marketplaces
- DSA art. 30-32 — traceability of traders, compliance by design, right to information
Official text
Last verified by Listrar: 14 August 2026