EU General Product Safety Regulation 2023/988: What the Text Asks of Manufacturers, Importers and the EU Responsible Person

Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety was published in the Official Journal on 23 May 2023 and, according to its Article 52, applies from 13 December 2024. It replaces Directive 2001/95/EC and sets a general safety requirement for products that are placed or made available on the EU market. It sits underneath sector rules: Article 2(1) says it applies insofar as there are no specific provisions with the same objective under Union law.

This article reads the Regulation as published (Official Journal text, L 135/1), read on 11 October 2026. It covers the articles that matter to a buyer who ships from China into the EU: the definition of product, who counts as a manufacturer or importer, the economic operator established in the Union, labelling, technical documentation and record keeping. It is a reading of the legal text for procurement planning, not legal advice, and we have not checked amendments published after the original text. Whether a given hotel, office or student-housing package falls inside the Regulation is a question for the project’s compliance adviser. For related EU topics, see our guides to the EU formaldehyde limit for furniture and the EU deforestation regulation for wooden furniture.

What counts as a product under the Regulation

Article 1(2) states that the Regulation lays down essential rules on the safety of consumer products placed or made available on the market. The definition in Article 3(1) is wider than a shop product. It reads: a product is “any item, whether or not it is interconnected to other items, supplied or made available, whether for consideration or not, including in the context of providing a service, which is intended for consumers or is likely, under reasonably foreseeable conditions, to be used by consumers even if not intended for them”.

Article 3(17) defines a consumer as a natural person acting for purposes outside that person’s trade, business, craft or profession. The text does not list furniture, building products or hotel fittings, and it does not say that a product bought by a business for a hotel falls inside or outside the definition. That judgement depends on the facts of the project and belongs to the project’s adviser. What a buyer can do is ask the question early, because the obligations below attach to the product, not to the sales channel.

Article 2(2) lists what the Regulation does not apply to, including medicinal products, food, feed, living plants and animals, and antiques. Article 2(3) says it applies to products whether new, used, repaired or reconditioned. Article 4 treats products offered online or by other distance sales as made available on the market if the offer is targeted at consumers in the Union.

Who is who: manufacturer, importer, authorised representative

The definitions in Article 3 decide which party carries which duty. Read them before you decide who signs what.

• Manufacturer (Article 3(8)): a natural or legal person who manufactures a product or has a product designed or manufactured, and markets it under that person’s name or trademark.
• Importer (Article 3(10)): a person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market.
• Authorised representative (Article 3(9)): a person established within the Union with a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on its behalf for specified tasks.
• Placing on the market (Article 3(7)): the first making available of a product on the Union market.
• Own-name rule (Article 13(1)): a person who places a product on the market under that person’s own name or trademark is deemed a manufacturer and carries the manufacturer’s obligations in Article 9.

The practical point is the own-name rule. If a project owner or contractor puts its own name or brand on goods made in China, the text treats that party as the manufacturer for the Regulation, with the manufacturer’s duties.

What the manufacturer must do (Article 9)

Article 9 lists the manufacturer’s obligations. The points below are quoted or closely paraphrased from the text.

• General safety requirement (Article 5, Article 9(1)): economic operators place or make available on the market only safe products, and manufacturers ensure products were designed and manufactured accordingly.
• Internal risk analysis and technical documentation (Article 9(2)): before placing a product on the market, the manufacturer carries out an internal risk analysis and draws up technical documentation containing at least a general description of the product and its essential characteristics relevant for assessing safety. Where appropriate to the possible risks, it also contains an analysis of the possible risks and the solutions adopted, including the outcome of test reports, and a list of the European standards or other elements applied.
• Retention (Article 9(3)): the documentation is kept up to date and at the disposal of market surveillance authorities for 10 years after the product has been placed on the market.
• Series production (Article 9(4)): procedures must be in place for products produced in series to remain in conformity.
• Identification (Article 9(5)): each product bears a type, batch or serial number or other element enabling identification, easily visible and legible for consumers, or, where size or nature does not allow it, on the packaging or in an accompanying document.
• Name and address (Article 9(6)): the manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or trade mark, and postal and electronic address on the product or, where that is not possible, on the packaging or in an accompanying document.
• Instructions and safety information (Article 9(7)): clear instructions and safety information in a language easily understood by consumers, as determined by the Member State where the product is made available, unless the product can be used safely without them.
• Complaints channel and register (Article 9(11), (12)): publicly available communication channels for complaints and an internal register of complaints, recalls and corrective measures.

What the importer and the EU responsible person must do

For a buyer importing from China, Articles 11 and 16 matter most.

• Importer checks before placing on the market (Article 11(1)): the importer ensures the product complies with the general safety requirement and that the manufacturer has complied with Article 9(2), (5) and (6), that is, technical documentation, identification and name and address.
• Importer’s own name and address (Article 11(3)): the importer indicates its name, trade name or trade mark and its postal and electronic address on the product or, where that is not possible, on the packaging or in an accompanying document, without obscuring information required by Union law on the manufacturer’s label.
• Importer’s documentation (Article 11(6)): the importer keeps a copy of the technical documentation at the disposal of the authorities for 10 years after placing the product on the market.
• Instructions (Article 11(4)): the importer ensures the product is accompanied by clear instructions and safety information in the required language.
• An operator established in the Union (Article 16(1)): a product covered by the 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.
• Checks by that operator (Article 16(2)): where appropriate to the risks, it regularly checks that the product complies with the technical documentation and with the identification, name and instruction requirements, and provides documented evidence of the checks on request.
• Contact details on the product (Article 16(3)): the name, trade name or trade mark and contact details, including postal and electronic address, of that operator are indicated on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.

Article 15 adds traceability duties: on request, economic operators identify who supplied them with the product or a component and to whom they supplied it, and must be able to present the risk information for 10 years and the traceability information for six years (Article 15(4), (5)).

What to put in a China purchase brief

The Regulation places duties on the parties named in it, not on a factory as such. The following are questions a buyer can write into the brief so the file exists before the goods ship. Put each answer in writing and keep it with the purchase order.

• Who is the manufacturer in the sense of Article 3(8)? Name the party whose name or trademark is on the goods.
• Who is the operator established in the Union under Article 16? Name it and confirm that its name and contact details will appear on the product, packaging or accompanying document.
• Identification: which type, batch or serial number will be on each product or on its packaging.
• Technical documentation: whether the factory can provide a description of the product, a risk analysis and the test reports it holds, and in what language.
• Instructions and safety information: in which languages, and where they are placed.
• Change notice: whether the factory will tell the buyer before changing a material, a component or a source of components.
• Records: who keeps the file for 10 years and where.

See our guides to room-by-room labelling for hotel deliveries and shipping and customs documents for China project orders for how these items sit with the shipping file.

Questions buyers ask about the EU General Product Safety Regulation

Does the Regulation apply to hotel and commercial furniture?

The text defines a product as an item intended for consumers or likely, under reasonably foreseeable conditions, to be used by consumers, including in the context of providing a service. The text does not list furniture or say how hotel fittings are treated, so ask the project’s compliance adviser to judge the facts of the project.

Since when does it apply?

Article 52 states that the Regulation applies from 13 December 2024. Article 51 says Member States shall not impede the making available of products conforming to Directive 2001/95/EC that were placed on the market before that date.

Who must be established in the EU?

Article 16(1) says a covered product shall not be placed on the market unless an economic operator established in the Union is responsible for the tasks set out in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, and Article 16(3) requires that operator’s name and contact details on the product, packaging, parcel or accompanying document.

How long must the documentation be kept?

Article 9(3) says manufacturers keep technical documentation for 10 years after the product has been placed on the market, and Article 11(6) requires importers to keep a copy for the same period.

Does the Regulation replace sector rules?

No. Article 2(1) says it applies insofar as there are no specific provisions with the same objective under Union law, and only to the aspects and risks not covered by specific requirements.

How does FBM Sourcing support this kind of project?

We review the brief, collect comparable quotations and manage the package for the project. For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and the client’s project team is welcome to attend.

FBM Sourcing manages the entire China procurement package for overseas construction projects. We work with Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers.