General Product Safety Directive (EU) / Regulations (UK)

Within the EU and Northern Ireland, this has been replaced by GPSR. However GPSD is still in force in England, Scotland, Wales, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein and Switzerland.

In this section I'll concentrate on the legislation as implemented in Britain - it will be essentially the same in other countries, except the authorities enforcing it will differ between countries.

The EU Directive

Being a directive, this is the EU telling its member states what they have to implement in their national legislation. Each state may include their own variations on the directive, so long as they don't weaken any of the directive's requirements.

Bringing it down to a single sentence, it states that all consumer products offered within the EU must be safe. The full text is available here.

Within the EU, GPSD has been replaced by GPSR. But in England, Scotland and Wales the GPSD directive is still implemented in legislation (with Northern Ireland following GPSR), and GPSD is also still in force in the EFTA member states of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (though they are in the process of changing to GPSR).

What Does it Apply To?

It applies to all products intended for consumers, or that are likely to be used by consumers, supplied in commercial activity. It applies to new, used and reconditioned items.

It doesn't apply to antiques - these are not defined within the GPSD legislation, but we can take the same guidance as that for GPSR (see Annex IX to Council Directive 2006/112/EC), as antiques being over 100 years old (though if another definition is given in a state's legislation, that obviously has precedence). Unlike GPSR, it does apply to artworks and collectable items that are not classed as antiques.

It also doesn't apply to items that need to be repaired or reconditioned before they can be used, so long as the provider makes the consumer aware of this before purchase.

And finally where products have specific safety requirements set in EU legislation, GPSD will only apply to those aspects of product safety not covered the product specific legislation. For example, for a ceramic oven dish to be deemed safe under GPSD, it has to comply with the lead and cadmium leaching limit legislation for ceramics, but also under GPSD it will need to be safe in other respects, such as being able to be used in the oven without cracking. Also, where the product specific legislation has requirements for producers, distributors and the authorities, these shall have precedence over the GPSD requirements where they overlap.

What Does Safe Mean?

A safe product is one that presents no or minimal risks compatible with the product's use, with any risks being deemed acceptable and consistent with a high level of protection for the safety and health of people.

This includes:

• being safe for both the product's intended use and for foreseeable other uses
• being safe over the lifetime of the product
• being safe while the product is being put into use, installed or maintained as well as in use

Specific things to be considered when assessing the safety of a product are:

• the product's characteristics, including its composition, packaging, and instructions for assembly, installation and maintenance
• where it is foreseeable that the product will be used with other products, the effect it will have on those products`
• the presentation of the product, including labelling, warnings, instructions and other information on its use and disposal
• the categories of consumer at risk when using the product, in particular children and the elderly

Any product that doesn't meet the above view of safe is deemed to be dangerous.

How to Determine that a Product is Safe

A product is automatically deemed safe when:

• there there is EU legislation covering the safety aspects of that category of product, where the standards that the product must comply with are published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU) - this is as for GPSR
• or where is national law in the state to which the product is marketed covering the safety of that class of product.

In all other cases, the safety of a product shall be determined by taking into account the following, where they exist:

• EU standards, and their national equivalents, where compliance is not mandated by law
• Other national standards in the country to which the product is marketed
• EU Commission recommendations setting guidelines on safety assessment
• Codes of good practice for product safety in force in the sector concerned
• The state of the art and technology
• Reasonable consumer expectations regarding safety

Note that, unlike GPSR, there is no requirement for the producer to create a technical file showing that the product has been assessed to be safe.

Even when a product has been determined to be safe as above, action may still be taken if it turns out to be dangerous, including restrictions to placing it on the market, or banning its sale, or requiring a product recall.

Roles

Participants in the supply chain are deemed to be producers and distributors.

A producer may be:

• Where the manufacturer is within the GPSD area, they shall be a producer
• Where the product is refurbished, and the refurbisher is within the GPSD area, they shall be a producer
• Where a business within the GPSD area buys in a product and sells it under their own brand, they shall be a producer
• Where any of the above are not within the GPSD area, but they have appointed a representative within the area, then the representative shall be a producer
• Where none of the above apply, the importer into the GPSD area shall be a producer
• Where there are others in the supply chain who are within the GPSD area and whose activities may affect the safety of the product, then they shall be seen as the producer

Where more than one potential producer is identified, then the one furthest down the supply chain shall be the producer.

Note that there is a requirement for the producer to be within the GPSD area. This means that where the manufacturer is outside of the area, and selling direct to consumers within the area, there is a requirement for them to have a representative within the GPSD area.

A distributor is anyone else in the supply chain whose activities do not affect the safety of the product.

Other Obligations of Producers

Where risks associated with a product aren't immediately obvious to consumers without warnings, they shall provide consumers with information to enable them to assess the risks and take precautions against them.

Supplying warnings doesn't exempt the producer from complying with the other GPSD safety requirements.

The producer shall inform themselves of the risks that a product may pose. They may then decide to take action to avoid those risks, warn the customers, or withdraw the product, as appropriate. This may be on a voluntary basis or as required by the authorities.

The product or its packaging shall include the identity and details of the producer and the product reference or batch identifier.

Where appropriate, the producer will carry out sample testing of products; investigate and if necessary keep a register of complaints; and keep distributors informed of such monitoring.

Where the producer knows, or ought to know, that a product on the market presents a risk to consumers incompatible with GPSD, they shall inform the relevant national authorities. They shall also cooperate with the authorities on actions to avoid the risks of products that they have supplied.

Obligations of Distributors

Distributors shall act to help ensure compliance with the safety standards, in particular by not supplying products that they know, or should have known with the information available to them, do not comply with the applicable safety requirements.

They shall also monitor the safety of the products they deal with, by: passing on information on product risks; keeping information to enable the tracing of products; and cooperating with the producer and authorities to avoid the risks of dangerous products.

Where the distributor knows, or ought to know, that a product on the market presents a risk to consumers incompatible with GPSD, they shall inform the relevant national authorities. They shall also cooperate with the authorities on actions to avoid the risks of products that they have supplied.

Obligations and Powers of the States

States shall ensure that producers and distributors comply with their GPSD obligations, and that their products are safe. They shall appoint an authority to ensure this, and apply penalties for non-compliance that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

Authorities may take the following actions, where appropriate:

• for any product, to check on its safety, including obtaining all necessary information from the parties concerned, and taking product samples to subject them to safety checks
• for a product that could pose risks in certain conditions, to require it to be marked with warnings of the risks in the language of the state it is marketed to, or to require actions to make it safe
• for a product that could pose risks to certain persons, to ensure that a warning is given in an appropriate form
• for a product that could be dangerous, while its safety is being evaluated to ban its sale, advertising and display
• for a dangerous product, to ban its marketing, and introduce measures to ensure the ban is complied with
• for a dangerous product already on the market, to order its immediate withdrawal and to advise consumers of the risks; and/or to order producers and distributors to recall the product from consumers, destroying the product where appropriate

Where possible, actions shall be carried out by the producers and distributors rather than the authorities.

Authorities shall carry out market surveillance, and also provide the means for consumers to submit complaints on product safety and surveillance activities to them.

There are also various processes for information and sharing between states and the EU, in particular using the RAPEX tool for this. Unlike SafetyGate in GPRS, RAPEX is a closed system just for the state authorities and the EU.

UK

Within the UK, on Brexit the GPSD legislation was continued without reference to the EU for England, Scotland and Wales (Great Britain); Northern Ireland is subject to the EU's GSPR. GPSD was initially implemented in the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, and then amended for Brexit in the Accordingly, the Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

In this section I'll just cover variations from or GB specific aspects of the EU GPSD directive.

Where products are covered by retained EU law for safety aspects, then they shall be deemed safe. This applies to products listed in the OJEU where the GB legislation still mirrors that of the EU.

Where the product complies with a voluntary national standard of the UK, as determined and published by the secretary of state, it will be presumed to be safe. See the list here.

Roles

Producer

They may be:

• the manufacturer, when they are established in the UK, or any other person selling the product under their own brand, or the person who reconditions the product
• or when the manufacturer is not established in the UK, their representative if the representative is in the UK, or otherwise the person in the UK that places a product from outside of the UK onto the GB market
• or other professionals in the supply chain, where their activities affect the safety of the product

Distributor

Any professional in the GB supply chain, whose activity does not affect the safety properties of the product.

Enforcement Authority

The regulations may be enforced by local Trading Standards, the Secretary of State, and any other Minister of the Crown in charge of a government department.

Obligations of Producers

As per the EU GPSD except:

• the product or its packaging must include both the name and the address of the producer
• where a product is found to be not safe, it must be reported to the authorities using the form and procedure given here and/or to the local Trading Standards authority
• the British Standards Institute has published a Code of Practice on Corrective Actions and Recalls, PAS 7100, that provides guidance on fulfilling these obligations. It can be downloaded here.

Obligations of Distributors

Requirements are as per GPSD, except:

• where a product is found to be not safe, it must be reported to the authorities using the form and procedure given here and/or to the local Trading Standards authority
• During the post-Brexit transition period, where importers find it not reasonable for them to put their name and address on the individual products or their packaging, they may find a different way to supply that information so that the consumer can trace the product back to the importer. This may include putting the importer's name and address on the invoice or shipping documents or the outside of the packaging for the shipment. Distributors must also ensure that this information is available. This exception may only be used until 31 December 2027.

Enforcement

This is primarily carried out by Trading Standards. They may impose the following actions, where any actions carried out by the producer and distributors are deemed to be insufficient.

Where the authorities suspect that there may have been a contravention of the regulations, a Suspension Notice may be issued, which bans the product from being placed on the GB market or the supply of the product, whilst tests are being done and the results awaited.

A Requirement to Mark may be issued, requiring the marking of a product with suitable warnings where it could pose risks in certain conditions, or a Requirement to Warn that requires that specific warnings be given to certain persons considered to be at risk from a product – for example, young children, the elderly, etc.

A Withdrawal Notice may be issued, preventing a person from supplying a product that is believed to be dangerous.

Penalties may be posed, of a fine of up to £20 000 and/or a prison sentence of up to 12 months.

Where the authorities believe a product is dangerous, and it has already been made available to consumers, a Recall Notice may be issued. This requires the product to be recalled, and may require the recall to be carried out in compliance with an applicable code of practice.

Northern Ireland

Items placed on the market in Northern Ireland need to comply with the EU's GPSR, even if they are coming from England, Scotland or Wales.

Whilst outside of the scope of GPSR, information on shipping goods between N Ireland and the rest of Britain is available here and here and here.

Help on moving goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain is available for free through the Trader Support Service. This can include their completing customs paperwork on your behalf, and acting as your representative, as well as general information and training.

References

Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council - as implemented in British law
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005
Statutory guidance General Product Safety Regulations 2005: Great Britain: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/general-product-safety-regulations-2005/general-product-safety-regulations-2005-great-britain
PAS 7100 - Product Recall and Other Corrective Actions. Code of Practice

plus subsequent amendments:
The Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
UK Product Safety and Metrology What’s changed from 1 January 2021 in relation to Great Britain? - though note that some of this has since been superceded, e.g. the use of the UKCA mark, and the dates of some grandfather clauses.

The Product Safety and Metrology (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Specific information on electrical items such as lamps:

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016
The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 - basic requirements for any electrical item brought to market
and the actual legislation:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1101/contents

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016: Northern Ireland - and similar regulations for Northern Ireland