GPSR Article Numbers: 12 Outdated or Wrong Citations Fixed
Many GPSR guides that rank well in search still quote article numbers from the 2021 Commission proposal, figures that were dropped before adoption, or the directive that the GPSR repealed. This guide checks 12 recurring citations against the text in force: Regulation (EU) 2023/988 in its consolidated version of 29 May 2026. For German fines it adds the Produktsicherheitsgesetz (ProdSG) as amended in 2026.
We found these citations on pages that ranked in the top 10 of Google for responsible person queries in September 2026. We do not name the pages. The point is the law, not the publisher.
Why do GPSR article numbers differ between guides?
The Commission published its proposal, COM(2021) 346, on 30 June 2021. During the legislative process new articles were inserted, so most article numbers moved. Guides written in 2022 or 2023 often kept the proposal numbering, and some copied figures that the final text no longer contains.
Three texts get mixed up:
- Directive 2001/95/EC (GPSD): repealed with effect from 13 December 2024 (GPSR Article 50(1)).
- Proposal COM(2021) 346: never law. Its numbering and some of its rules did not survive.
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR): in force, applies from 13 December 2024 (GPSR Article 52), amended once by Regulation (EU) 2024/2748.
For the directive itself, see what happened to the General Product Safety Directive.
Quick correction table
| What some guides say | What the current text says | Current source |
|---|---|---|
| GPSR is a proposal, or comes into force in 2026 | Applies since 13 December 2024 | GPSR Article 52 |
| The Responsible Person is in Article 15 | Article 16 | GPSR Article 16 |
| Online marketplace duties are in Article 20 | Article 22; Article 20 is about accidents | GPSR Articles 20 and 22 |
| Fines of at least 4% of turnover | Member States set penalties; no percentage | GPSR Article 44 |
| Fines of EUR 5,000 to 50,000 per violation under GPSR | The GPSR sets no amounts; in Germany up to EUR 10,000 or EUR 100,000 | GPSR Article 44, ProdSG § 28(3) |
| Accidents within two working days | Without undue delay | GPSR Article 20(1) |
| The Responsible Person does random sample testing | Regular checks plus documented evidence | GPSR Article 16(2) |
| A postal address is enough | Postal and electronic address | GPSR Article 16(3) |
| Businesses notify through the Safety Gate | Businesses use the Safety Business Gateway | GPSR Articles 20(1), 27 |
| A GPSR certificate proves compliance | No certification exists in the GPSR | GPSR Article 9(2) |
| A distributor can be the Responsible Person | Four listed operators; distributors are not one of them | GPSR Article 16(1), Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(2) |
| An authorised representative is mandatory | The manufacturer may appoint one | GPSR Article 10(1) |
The sections below give the wording behind each row.
Is the GPSR still a proposal, or does it start in 2026?
Neither. We still found pages that describe the GPSR as "a proposed reform", say it is "coming into force in 2026", or treat the old directive as "the current directive".
The regulation entered into force in June 2023 and "shall apply from 13 December 2024" (GPSR Article 52). On the same date Directives 87/357/EEC and 2001/95/EC were repealed (GPSR Article 50(1)). The only link back to the directive is the transitional rule in Article 51 for products placed on the market before 13 December 2024.
The only amendment so far, Regulation (EU) 2024/2748, added emergency procedures in Articles 8a to 8c. It did not change the Responsible Person rules.
Article 15 or Article 16 for the Responsible Person?
Article 16. Its title in the current text is "Responsible person for products placed on the Union market". In the 2021 proposal the same title sat in Article 15.
The whole block of economic operator duties moved by one number:
| Topic | Proposal COM(2021) 346 | GPSR 2023/988 |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturers | Article 8 | Article 9 |
| Authorised representatives | Article 9 | Article 10 |
| Importers | Article 10 | Article 11 |
| Distributors | Article 11 | Article 12 |
| Responsible person | Article 15 | Article 16 |
| Distance sales | Article 18 | Article 19 |
| Accidents | Article 19 | Article 20 |
| Online marketplaces | Article 20 | Article 22 |
| Recall remedies | Article 35 | Article 37 |
| Penalties | Article 40 | Article 44 |
If a guide cites "Article 8" for manufacturer duties or "Article 18" for online listings, it is probably using the proposal.
Which article covers online marketplaces?
Article 22, "Specific obligations of providers of online marketplaces related to product safety". One German guide we checked places the marketplace duties in "Art. 20 GPSR", which was the marketplace article in the proposal.
In the current text, Article 20 covers accidents. Article 21 covers information in electronic format. Article 22 covers marketplaces: a single point of contact for authorities and consumers, registration with the Safety Gate Portal, and acting on authority orders "without undue delay, and in any event within two working days" (GPSR Article 22(1), (2) and (4)).
Are GPSR fines at least 4% of turnover?
No. That figure comes from the proposal. Its Article 40(4) said: "In the case of fines, the maximum amount of penalties shall be at least 4 % of the economic operator's or, where applicable, online marketplace's annual turnover in the Member State or Member States concerned."
The final Article 44 has three paragraphs and no amount:
- Member States lay down the rules on penalties.
- The penalties must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive".
- Member States notify the Commission of those rules.
The word "turnover" does not appear anywhere in Regulation (EU) 2023/988. Pages that say GPSR fines "may be based on annual turnover", or give a fixed range such as "EUR 5,000 to 50,000 per violation under GPSR", do not quote the regulation.
What the German rules actually say. Germany amended its Produktsicherheitsgesetz with the law of 3 February 2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 29), in force since 19 February 2026. Under § 28(3) ProdSG, fines of up to EUR 100,000 apply to a short list of offences, including a manufacturer's or importer's failure to take corrective action under GPSR Article 9(8)(a) or 11(8)(b). All other listed offences carry fines of up to EUR 10,000. Missing Responsible Person details under Article 16(3) fall in the EUR 10,000 group. Other Member States set their own amounts.
For consequences beyond fines, see what happens if you do not comply with the GPSR.
Must accidents be reported within two working days?
No. The proposal's Article 19(1) asked for notification "within two working days from the moment it knows about the accident". The final text changed this.
GPSR Article 20(1) says the manufacturer shall ensure that an accident caused by its product is notified through the Safety Business Gateway "without undue delay from the moment it knows about the accident". Article 20(2) limits this to occurrences that resulted in death or serious adverse effects on health and safety.
Where the manufacturer is not established in the Union, the Responsible Person who has knowledge of an accident "shall ensure that the notification is made" (GPSR Article 20(4)).
Some pages also give sellers the two-working-day deadline from Article 22(4). That deadline applies to online marketplace providers acting on authority orders, not to manufacturers or sellers. Another guide says authority requests must be answered within ten days; neither the GPSR nor Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(3) contains that figure.
One guide also tells retailers to report accidents themselves. Under Article 20(3), importers and distributors inform the manufacturer without undue delay, and they make the notification only if the manufacturer instructs them to.
Does the Responsible Person have to do random sample testing?
Not under the final text. The proposal's Article 15(2) required the responsible operator to "periodically carry out sample testing of randomly chosen products made available on the market". That duty was dropped.
The rule that replaced it is Article 16(2). The Responsible Person "shall regularly check":
- that the product complies with the technical documentation referred to in Article 9(2), and
- that the product complies with the identification, contact and instruction requirements in Article 9(5), (6) and (7).
It must also, on request, "provide documented evidence of the checks performed". Of the 35 top-ranking pages we reviewed, only one described both the regular checks and the documented evidence. One pricing guide presents a budget tier with "no compliance review" as a normal market option, which does not fit Article 16(2).
This is also why a single payment for "the lifetime of the product" describes a price model, not the legal role. Article 16(2) and the tasks in Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(3) run for as long as the product is on the market.
Is a postal address enough on the label?
No. Two texts apply, and they ask for different things:
| Text | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 4(4) | Name, registered trade name or trade mark, and contact details including the postal address |
| GPSR Article 16(3) | Name, registered trade name or trade mark, and contact details "including the postal and electronic address" |
| GPSR Article 19(b), online offers | Name, postal and electronic address of the Responsible Person |
For GPSR products, the electronic address is required. The Commission guidelines C/2025/6233 add that "A website as such is not sufficient if it does not allow direct communication with you."
About 20 of the 35 pages we reviewed mentioned only an address. One said that "a contact email on the website may be sufficient". The proposal had also asked for a telephone number in online offers; the final Article 19(b) does not.
For the full label list, see GPSR labelling requirements. For online listings, see GPSR Article 19 online listing requirements.
Safety Gate or Safety Business Gateway?
These are two different systems, and several guides mix them up:
- The Safety Gate Rapid Alert System (GPSR Article 25) is how authorities exchange information about dangerous products. The public Safety Gate Portal (GPSR Article 34) is where marketplaces register and consumers read alerts.
- The Safety Business Gateway (GPSR Article 27) is the web portal for economic operators. Manufacturers use it to inform authorities about dangerous products (Article 9(8)(c)) and to notify accidents (Article 20(1)).
A business does not "register with the Safety Gate" to report its own product. It reports through the Safety Business Gateway.
Is there an official GPSR certificate?
No. The GPSR contains no certification procedure, no certifying body and no certificate. Pages that offer a "GPSR Certificate of Compliance", an "official EU RP certificate" or a certificate "in minutes" describe a private document, not a legal one.
What the regulation asks for is an internal risk analysis and technical documentation, drawn up by the manufacturer before the product is placed on the market (GPSR Article 9(2)) and kept for 10 years (Article 9(3)). The Commission guidelines C/2025/6233 mention voluntary certification schemes only as one possible element of a safety assessment.
CE marking and EU declarations of conformity come from product-specific EU laws, such as the toy safety rules or the Low Voltage Directive. The GPSR does not require them for products outside those laws. See whether an official GPSR certificate exists.
Can a distributor be the Responsible Person?
Not as a distributor. GPSR Article 16(1) applies Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, which lists four operators:
- a manufacturer established in the Union,
- an importer, where the manufacturer is not established in the Union,
- an authorised representative with a written mandate from the manufacturer,
- a fulfilment service provider established in the Union, where none of the above is established in the Union.
A distributor is defined separately in GPSR Article 3(11) and is not on that list. Freight and postal services are also excluded from the fulfilment service provider definition in GPSR Article 3(12). A natural person can hold a written mandate as authorised representative (GPSR Article 3(9)), but only in that capacity.
Two definition numbers are also often wrong. In the GPSR, the importer is Article 3(10) and the fulfilment service provider is Article 3(12). "Article 3(11)" for the fulfilment service provider is the numbering of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, not of the GPSR.
Is an authorised representative mandatory?
No. GPSR Article 10(1) says: "A manufacturer may, by means of a written mandate, appoint an authorised representative." The word is "may".
What is mandatory is an EU-based economic operator for each product (GPSR Article 16(1)). If an EU importer already fills that role, no separate authorised representative is needed. The mandate route is the usual one for non-EU brands that sell directly to EU consumers. See EU authorised representative vs Responsible Person.
How long must records be kept?
The GPSR sets three different periods:
| Record | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Technical documentation | 10 years after placing on the market | GPSR Article 9(3) |
| Risk, complaint and corrective action information provided on request | 10 years | GPSR Article 15(4) |
| Who supplied you and whom you supplied | 6 years | GPSR Article 15(5) |
Guides that say "10 to 15 years", or apply 10 years to supply chain traceability, go beyond the text.
How we checked
We read 35 pages that ranked in the top 10 of Google for GPSR responsible person queries in September 2026, in English and German. We compared every legal citation with the consolidated text of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 of 29 May 2026, Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, the Commission proposal COM(2021) 346, the Commission guidelines C/2025/6233 and the current German ProdSG.
Most errors were not old article numbers. They were missing duties: 32 of 35 pages left out the Article 16(2) checks, and about 20 left out the electronic address.
If you want your labels, listings and Responsible Person set-up checked against the current text, see our EU Responsible Person service.
Frequently asked questions about GPSR citations
Which GPSR article covers the EU Responsible Person?
Article 16 of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, titled "Responsible person for products placed on the Union market". In the Commission proposal of 2021 the same rule was Article 15, which is why some older guides still cite Article 15.
Are GPSR fines at least 4% of annual turnover?
No. The 4% figure was in Article 40(4) of the 2021 Commission proposal and was not adopted. Article 44 of the final GPSR leaves penalties to the Member States and only requires them to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. The word "turnover" does not appear in the regulation.
Must accidents be reported within two working days under GPSR?
No. The two-working-day deadline was in the 2021 proposal. GPSR Article 20(1) requires the manufacturer to ensure notification through the Safety Business Gateway "without undue delay". The two working days in the final text apply to online marketplaces acting on authority orders under Article 22(4).
Is there an official GPSR certificate?
No. The GPSR contains no certification procedure and no certificate. The manufacturer carries out an internal risk analysis and draws up technical documentation under Article 9(2). The Commission guidelines C/2025/6233 describe voluntary certification schemes only as one possible element of a safety assessment.
Is a postal address enough for the Responsible Person on the label?
No. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(4) asks for contact details including a postal address, but GPSR Article 16(3) requires the postal and the electronic address of the Responsible Person on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document.
Can a distributor be the GPSR Responsible Person?
Not in that capacity. GPSR Article 16(1) applies Article 4(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, which lists four operators: an EU manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative with a written mandate, or an EU fulfilment service provider where none of the others is established in the Union.
Official sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), consolidated text of 29 May 2026
- Commission proposal COM(2021) 346 final for a regulation on general product safety
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, consolidated text of 12 August 2026
- European Commission GPSR guidance for businesses (C/2025/6233)
- Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety (repealed)
- Produktsicherheitsgesetz § 28, fines (Germany)
This guide compares published citations with the legal texts. It does not replace product-specific legal analysis or an authority decision.
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