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Article 2 lists exclusions that should be checked before treating a product as covered. The exclusions are product-category exclusions, not general business-model exceptions.

The regulation excludes medicinal products for human or veterinary use, food, feed, living plants and animals, genetically modified organisms and genetically modified microorganisms in contained use, products of plants and animals relating directly to future reproduction, animal by-products and derived products, plant protection products, transport equipment on which consumers ride or travel when a service provider directly operates it, the aircraft specified in Article 2(2)(h), and antiques. Apply the exact category test; the exclusion for provider-operated transport equipment does not automatically cover consumer-operated bicycles, scooters, or similar equipment.

Yes, where the Article 2 scope test is met. GPSR expressly applies to products placed or made available on the market whether they are new, used, repaired, or reconditioned.

Online or other distance-sale offers count as made available on the market when the offer targets consumers in the Union. That means marketplace, ecommerce, and distance-sale listings need a scope review when the seller directs activity to one or more EU Member States.

Keep the record short and product-specific. A useful GPSR scope record names the item, intended and foreseeable consumer use, route to the EU market, whether the sale is online or offline, any Article 2 exclusion considered, and any sector-specific EU product-safety law that covers the same risk.

The answer should be tied to the risk being assessed. A product can be subject to specific Union harmonisation law for one risk while GPSR remains relevant for another risk not covered by that law. For risks covered by Union harmonisation legislation, Article 2(1) switches off Chapter II; Chapter IIa, Chapter III Section 1, Chapters V and VII, and Chapters IX to XI also do not apply. Chapter IIa can operate only when the internal market emergency mode has been activated under Regulation (EU) 2024/2747. Do not describe the GPSR as an unrestricted second layer.

The GPSR responsible person is the EU-established economic operator tied to a covered consumer product before it is placed on the Union market. Article 16 points to the Article 4 task model in Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, so the operator must be able to hold or make available compliance documentation, respond to market-surveillance authorities, inform authorities when there is a product risk, and support corrective action.

The role can sit with an EU manufacturer. If the manufacturer is outside the Union, it can sit with the EU importer. It can also sit with an authorised representative that has a written mandate for the relevant tasks, or with an EU fulfilment service provider for products it handles when none of the other listed EU operators exists. A fulfilment service provider must offer at least two of warehousing, packaging, addressing, and dispatching without owning the product; excluded postal, parcel-delivery, and freight services do not qualify on that basis alone.

The trigger is EU market availability, not only physical stocking in an EU warehouse. GPSR recitals explain that a product offered online or through other distance sales is considered made available on the market when the offer is targeted at consumers in the Union.

Targeting is assessed case by case. The regulation points to factors such as dispatch areas, languages used for the offer or ordering, payment methods, Member State currency, and Member State domain names. Mere accessibility of a website from the EU is not enough by itself.

For online and other distance sales, Article 19 requires the offer itself to clearly and visibly indicate manufacturer contact details. If the manufacturer is not established in the Union, the offer must also show the name, postal address, and electronic address of the responsible person under GPSR Article 16 or Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4.

Online marketplaces have a parallel interface duty: their listing flow must let traders provide the same manufacturer, responsible-person, product-identification, and warning or safety information, and must display it or otherwise make it easily accessible to consumers on the product listing.

Keep evidence that proves the named operator is eligible, established in the Union, reachable, and able to perform the legal tasks. The record should connect the product, sales channel, manufacturer location, selected EU operator, mandate or contract basis, displayed contact details, and authority-response process.

For GPSR Article 16 specifically, add evidence of the regular checks required by Article 16(2): checks that the product complies with the technical documentation referred to in Article 9(2) and with the manufacturer-information, identification, instruction, and warning requirements in Article 9(5), (6), and (7), where appropriate for the product risk. The operator must provide documented evidence of those checks when a market surveillance authority asks.