The European Union's General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) (EU) 2023/988 is a significant update to consumer product safety laws, replacing the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) 2001/95/EC. Effective from 13 December 2024, the GPSR aims to enhance consumer protection by addressing challenges posed by digitalisation and online marketplaces.
Scope: The GPSR applies to all consumer products, including new, used, repaired, and reconditioned items, with certain exceptions such as medicinal products, food, and feed.
Obligations for Economic Operators: Manufacturers, importers, distributors, and fulfilment service providers must ensure product safety, conduct risk assessments, maintain technical documentation, and provide clear product identification and manufacturer details.
Online Marketplaces: Platforms facilitating sales must designate a single point of contact for product safety issues, register with the Safety Gate Portal, and ensure compliance with safety requirements.
Traceability and Labelling: Products must display information such as the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or trademark, postal and electronic addresses, and a type, batch, or serial number.
While the GPSR is an EU regulation, it directly affects UK businesses in several ways:
Northern Ireland: Due to the Northern Ireland Protocol, the GPSR applies in Northern Ireland. Businesses placing products on the Northern Ireland market must comply with the GPSR.
Exports to the EU: UK businesses exporting to the EU must ensure their products meet GPSR requirements, including appointing an EU-based responsible person for compliance.
Online Sales: UK businesses selling online to EU consumers must adhere to the GPSR, ensuring product safety information is accessible and appointing an EU representative if necessary.
For WooCommerce-based e-commerce sites, compliance with the GPSR involves:
Product Information: Ensure all product listings include required safety information, manufacturer details, and any necessary warnings.
EU Representative: If your business lacks an EU presence, appoint an EU-based responsible person to handle compliance matters.
Traceability: Implement systems to track products from manufacture to consumer, maintaining records for at least 10 years.
If you choose to restrict sales to the European Economic Area (EEA) and Northern Ireland to avoid compliance complexities, you can adjust your WooCommerce settings accordingly.
Access General Settings: In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Settings > General. Under "Selling Location(s)," select "Sell to specific countries." Specify only the countries you want to sell to, excluding those in the EEA.
Restrict Northern Ireland Shipping: Since Northern Ireland is part of the UK, WooCommerce doesn’t allow direct exclusion. Instead:
Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping.
Create a new shipping zone specifically for Northern Ireland.
In the zone settings, enter "BT*" under the postcode field to cover all Northern Ireland addresses.
Leave the shipping methods blank for this zone to block shipping.
Disable EEA Shipping Zones: For other EEA countries, create or edit existing shipping zones and remove shipping methods for these regions.
Save Your Settings: Ensure all changes are saved to implement the new restrictions.
By setting up these configurations, customers in excluded regions will see a message indicating that no shipping options are available for their address.