Translated using ChatGPT service.
Non-food product manufacturers, their authorized representatives, importers, distributors, as well as online marketplace service providers, are reminded that, as of December 13 this year, the production and sale of non-food products, including online trading, must comply with the requirements set out in the new General Product Safety Regulation.
The purpose of the regulation is to ensure product safety, taking into account the development of new technologies, as well as addressing the challenges posed by the increasing volume of online sales. At the same time, the regulation provides for more effective monitoring rules and processes for recalling unsafe products. This will ensure a higher level of consumer protection and equal competition conditions for businesses, thus improving the functioning of the European Union's internal market.
The regulation applies to new, used, repaired, or refurbished products, as well as products offered to consumers in the EU through all sales channels.
The regulation introduces new obligations for entrepreneurs and online marketplaces, supplemented rules for ensuring product traceability, including the obligation to indicate the entrepreneur responsible for product safety in the European Union for all products imported into the EU.
The regulation also defines aspects to consider to ensure product safety, including new technologies, the obligation for businesses to report incidents to supervisory authorities, as well as rules for processing product recalls. This includes mandatory formats for recall notices and consumers’ rights to compensation for damages caused by unsafe products.
The requirements of the regulation do not apply to medicines for human or veterinary use, food and feed, live plants and animals, genetically modified organisms and microorganisms under restricted use, animal by-products and derived products, plant protection products, transport equipment used by service providers, aircraft with low safety risk in design, manufacturing, maintenance, and operation, antiques, as well as products explicitly labeled as requiring repair or refurbishment before use.
The requirements set out in the regulation are directly applicable and do not need to be transposed into Latvian national legislation. Compliance in Latvia will be monitored by the Consumer Rights Protection Center and the Health Inspectorate.
For additional information about the regulation and the obligations it sets for each type of business, please refer to the EU’s official legal portal: General Product Safety Regulation 2023.