What is the GPSR and since when does it apply?
The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, GPSR for short, has applied across the EU since 13 December 2024. It replaced the old General Product Safety Directive and sets out when a consumer product counts as safe and what manufacturers, importers and distributors must do.
New for online retail: the GPSR states explicitly which information an online offer must contain. For Amazon sellers this means manufacturer details belong not only on the product and its packaging, but in the listing too.
Alongside it, the Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, MSR for short, governs how authorities check products, explicitly including online sales, and requires a responsible economic operator established in the EU for many products.
Which manufacturer details must an Amazon listing contain?
Article 19 GPSR sets the minimum information an online offer must show, clearly and visibly:
- Manufacturer: name, registered trade name or registered trademark, plus the postal and email address at which it can be contacted
- Responsible person in the EU: name, postal address and email address, if the manufacturer is not established in the EU
- Product identification: a picture of the product, its type and any other product identifier such as a model, type or batch number
- Warnings and safety information: everything that must appear on the product, its packaging or an accompanying document, in a language consumers can easily understand, as determined by the member state concerned
Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), full text on EUR-Lex
Who is the manufacturer, and who is the responsible person?
Under the GPSR, the manufacturer is whoever makes a product, or has it designed or made, and markets it under their own name or trademark. For private label sellers this means: if you sell a product from a factory in China under your own brand, you usually count as the manufacturer yourself, and your own name and address belong in the manufacturer details.
If the manufacturer is based outside the EU, the product needs an economic operator established in the EU who is responsible for product safety. Under Article 4 MSR, that can be:
- the manufacturer itself, if it is established in the EU
- an importer established in the EU
- an authorized representative appointed by the manufacturer in writing (often called the “EU Responsible Person”)
- a fulfillment service provider established in the EU, for the products it handles, if none of the others exists
Where does Amazon show the GPSR details?
Under Article 22(9) GPSR, online marketplaces must design their interface so that sellers can provide this information for every product and consumers can see it in the product listing or find it easily.
On Amazon.de it appears on the product page in the product safety section (in German “Sicherheits- und Produktressourcen”), with manufacturer information, the responsible person and product safety images (as of October 2026). Sellers enter the details for each product in Seller Central.
The seller, not Amazon, remains responsible for the information. And an empty field is just as visible to buyers and competitors as it is to the authorities.
Does the GPSR apply to CE products, food and cosmetics?
For products with their own EU safety rules, such as electrical goods or toys with CE marking, the GPSR only fills the gaps. The online information duties under Article 19 GPSR still apply to them.
The GPSR does not cover food, including food supplements, or feed, medicinal products, live plants and animals, or antiques, among others (Article 2(2) GPSR). Food has its own labeling rules, above all the Food Information to Consumers Regulation.
Cosmetics are not excluded. The Cosmetics Regulation takes priority, and the GPSR applies where it says nothing.
What happens if manufacturer details are missing?
The GPSR also puts duties on marketplaces: they must handle notices about product safety without undue delay, and in any case within three working days of receipt (Article 22(8) GPSR). Missing information therefore has consequences quickly:
- Amazon: the offer can be deactivated until the information is complete
- Authorities: market surveillance authorities check online offers too, sometimes in coordinated EU-wide actions (Article 32 GPSR). Penalties are set by the member states (Article 44 GPSR)
- Competitors: competitors may take action under competition law in individual cases, for example with a cease-and-desist letter. Whether that is possible for missing GPSR details is for a law firm to assess
What can you do when competitors leave the details out?
Missing or incomplete manufacturer details are visible to anyone looking at the listing. For you as a brand owner that is more than an annoyance: whoever skips their obligations saves costs and can undercut you.
Refix captures the publicly visible information on competitor listings in your category, including manufacturer information and the responsible person, and documents which details cannot be found there. Whether that amounts to a legal violation is assessed by a specialist partner law firm case by case. If it concludes that action is possible, it can, for example, file a notice-and-action report with Amazon under Article 16 of the DSA. Neither the reported competitor nor Amazon learns that the report came from you.
How do you check your own listing?
Before you take action against others, your own listing should be in order. These questions help with a self-check:
- Is the manufacturer listed with a postal and email address under manufacturer information?
- If the manufacturer is based outside the EU, is a responsible person in the EU listed with an address and email address?
- Do the name and address match what is on the product and packaging?
- Are the warnings and safety information the product needs shown in the listing in the language of the marketplace country?
- Can the product be clearly identified in the images, for example by a rating plate or model number?