EU GPSR FAQ Article 16 responsible person

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.

Check the product's scope before choosing the legal basis. GPSR Article 16 is in Chapter III Section 1, which Article 2 excludes for products subject to Union harmonisation legislation. For those products, test Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4 and the relevant sector law directly; do not assume the GPSR extends its additional checks to every CE-marked product.

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.