Skip to content
Third-party product inspection, explained
Product Inspection

The EU responsible person under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020

Sources checked

Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 says that a product subject to the legislation listed in Article 4(5) may be placed on the market only if there is an economic operator established in the Union who is responsible for the tasks set out in Article 4(3) in respect of that product. Article 4(2) lists who that operator can be. The Regulation's own words are "an economic operator established in the Union"; "responsible person" is the everyday name used in the title of this article.

Who can be the economic operator

Article 4(2) names four possibilities, each with its own condition:

  • A manufacturer established in the Union.
  • An importer, where the manufacturer is not established in the Union.
  • An authorised representative who has a written mandate from the manufacturer designating the authorised representative to perform the tasks set out in paragraph 3 on the manufacturer's behalf.
  • A fulfilment service provider established in the Union with respect to the products it handles, where no other economic operator as mentioned in points (a), (b) and (c) is established in the Union.

The tasks

Article 4(3) opens with the words "Without prejudice to any obligations of economic operators under the applicable Union harmonisation legislation" and then lists four tasks.

Verify the technical documentation and keep declarations available. If the Union harmonisation legislation applicable to the product provides for an EU declaration of conformity or declaration of performance and technical documentation, the operator verifies that the declaration and the technical documentation have been drawn up, keeps the declaration of conformity or declaration of performance at the disposal of market surveillance authorities for the period required by that legislation, and ensures that the technical documentation can be made available to those authorities upon request.

Answer a reasoned request from an authority. Further to a reasoned request from a market surveillance authority, the operator provides that authority with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the product in a language which can be easily understood by that authority.

Report a suspected risk. When having reason to believe that a product in question presents a risk, the operator informs the market surveillance authorities thereof.

Cooperate on corrective action. The operator cooperates with the market surveillance authorities, including following a reasoned request, making sure that the immediate, necessary, corrective action is taken to remedy any case of non-compliance with the requirements set out in Union harmonisation legislation applicable to the product in question, or, if that is not possible, to mitigate the risks presented by that product, when required to do so by the market surveillance authorities or on its own initiative, where the operator considers or has reason to believe that the product in question presents a risk.

Name and contact details on the product

Article 4(4) provides that, without prejudice to the respective obligations of economic operators under the applicable Union harmonisation legislation, the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, and contact details, including the postal address, of the economic operator shall be indicated on the product or on its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.

Which products

Article 4(5) states that the Article applies in relation to products subject to 18 acts: Regulations (EU) No 305/2011, (EU) 2016/425 and (EU) 2016/426, and Directives 2000/14/EC, 2006/42/EC, 2009/48/EC, 2009/125/EC, 2011/65/EU, 2013/29/EU, 2013/53/EU, 2014/29/EU, 2014/30/EU, 2014/31/EU, 2014/32/EU, 2014/34/EU, 2014/35/EU, 2014/53/EU and 2014/68/EU.

The Commission's list of legislation subject to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 describes Article 4 as applying to a narrower set of EU harmonisation legislation, "initially including 18 directives and regulations", and says "In other words, the lists of legislation laid down in Annex I and Article 4(5) were only a starting point." The same document describes itself as "purely informal" that "does not have any legal value" — earlier in the document it calls itself a non-binding guidance document intended only to facilitate the application of the Regulation. That document carries a second list of EU harmonisation legislation to which Article 4 applies, which "includes not only the pieces of legislation listed in Article 4(5) but also the additional sectoral legislation specifying that Article 4 applies to it". One item on that list is Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.

The Commission's market surveillance page puts the same point more briefly, describing Article 4 as requiring that, "for some products, there must be an economic operator established in the EU who is responsible for certain specific tasks, as defined in Article 4(3) of the regulation."

Separately, Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 provides that products offered for sale online or through other means of distance sales are deemed to be made available on the market if the offer is targeted at end users in the Union.

Dates

Article 44 states that the Regulation "shall apply from 16 July 2021. However, Articles 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 36 shall apply from 1 January 2021."

The general product safety rule

Regulation (EU) 2023/988 sets its own requirement. Article 16(1) provides that a product covered by that Regulation shall not be placed on the market unless there is an economic operator established in the Union who is responsible for the tasks set out in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 in respect of that product. Article 16(3) requires that the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, and contact details, including the postal and electronic address, of that operator be indicated on the product or on its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document. Article 10(1) of the same Regulation provides that a manufacturer may, by means of a written mandate, appoint an authorised representative.

On its list, the Commission comments on item 22 with "See Article 16 GPSR" and notes that the provision "goes further than Article 4 of Regulation 2019/1020 by requiring the economic operator based in the EU to carry out additional tasks." The same document adds that "The GPSR is not a piece of harmonisation legislation."

Notes from the Blue Guide

The 2022 Blue Guide on the implementation of EU product rules notes several points around this Article.

A manufacturer established outside the EU may, for certain supply chains, also need an authorised representative to act as the economic operator referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.

Not all Union harmonisation legislation provides for an authorised representative.

An authorised representative appointed by a manufacturer may be an importer or a distributor within the meaning of Union harmonisation legislation, in which case it must also fulfil the obligations of the importer or distributor. The Blue Guide defines the importer as a natural or legal person established in the Union who places a product from a third country on the EU market.

Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 includes fulfilment service providers as another category of economic operators.

Questions people ask

Does Article 4 apply to only the 18 acts named in Article 4(5)?

No conclusion should be drawn from the list alone. What the Commission's list document says is that Article 4 applies to a narrower set of EU harmonisation legislation, "initially including 18 directives and regulations"; that the lists in Annex I and Article 4(5) "were only a starting point"; and that its own list of legislation to which Article 4 applies includes further sectoral legislation, for example Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.

Where must the operator's name appear?

Article 4(4) allows the product itself, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document. For products covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/988, Article 16(3) lists the same four places and adds that the contact details include the postal and electronic address.

Sources

Checked 11 October 2026. This page is an unofficial summary and is not affiliated with the European Commission or any EU body; the official text governs.

Inspection Guide