The Market Surveillance and Compliance of Products Regulation (EU) 2019/1020

Article 4 gives the requirements for ‘economic operators’ (i.e. Manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors and fulfilment services.) The rest of the regulation gives requirements for market surveillance and customs authorities to help them cooperate better and be more effective.

All products covered by the 18 directives and regulations and placed on the EU market must have an economic operator established in the EU, referred to as the ‘responsible economic operator’. They must liaise with the manufacturer to get product safety information when the market surveillance authorities request it and cooperate with action on non-compliant products.

Article 4 of the EU Regulation on Market Surveillance, on the tasks of economic operators applies from 16 July 2021.

With a start date of 16 July 2021, it was not in operation when Great Britain left the single market in December 2020 and therefore the EU Withdrawal Act did not retain it as UK domestic law in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).

It does apply in Northern Ireland to allow continued single market membership under the NI protocol of the EU withdrawal agreement. NI legislation has been amended to incorporate the EU regulation.

A responsible economic operator is required for products:

1. that are in the scope of one or more of the CE Marking Directives and Regulations that are listed in Article 4.5
2. The product is placed on the market in an EU or EEA member state.

The regulation only covers products in the scope of one or more of harmonisation laws requiring the CE marking. The General Product Safety Directive applies the same principles to other consumer products requiring economic operators in the EU (if there are any) to represent them but it contains much less detail.

• European Union member states are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
• The European Free Trade Area (EFTA) consists of Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
• The European Economic Area (EEA) members are the 27 EU member states and three of the four EFTA states – Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway.
• Switzerland has its own trade agreement with the EU.
• Turkey and most Balkan and Eastern European countries and Northern Ireland have trade agreements giving partial access.

A product is placed on the market when it is, supplied for distribution, consumption or use on the EU single market for the first time in the course of a commercial activity. It includes products supplied free of charge.

‘Product’ means each individual product, not a model or type of product. Consequently, even if products of a certain model or type have been supplied before 16 July 2021, individual units of the same model or type which are placed on the market from 16 July 2021 onwards must comply with the new requirements.

Offering a product for sale online is considered to be “placed on the EU market” if the website is targeted at end users in the EU or EEA. This depends on factors such as:

• Whether dispatch to the EU/EEA is offered,
• the languages available,
• the means of payment and currencies offered

If a website does not target EU consumers with dispatch to the EU, payment in EU currencies or pages in EU-only languages, then the product is considered to be placed on the market overseas Then it is not “placed on the EU market” and not subject to Regulation EU 2019/1020.

The responsible economic operator can be one of four types:

• A manufacturer in the EU, who fulfils the obligations of manufacturers
• An Authorised Representative in the EU appointed by the manufacturer, whose contract or ‘mandate’ includes fulfilling the responsible economic operator’s tasks.
• An importer in the EU who places products on the EU market through distributors or directly to end users and fulfils the obligations of importers. This can include wholesalers and retailers if they receive non-EU products that do not have an Authorised Representative.
• A fulfilment service provider in the EU if there is none of the other three types of economic operators who handles the product

The flow chart from the EU Commission’s guide explains who is the Responsible economic operator in different supply chains:

The importer is the responsible economic operator unless the manufacturer has appointed an authorised representative in the EU / UK.

The fulfilment service provider is the responsible economic operator, unless the manufacturer has appointed an authorised representative in the EU, in which case the AR will be the responsible economic operator instead.

An authorised representative in the EU is the responsible economic operator. If the manufacturer has not appointed such authorised representative, the product cannot be offered for sale to EU end-users.

Online marketplaces operate in a variety of ways:

• When they merely provide information such as listings that allow consumers and traders to conclude online sales, they are not an economic operator and do not have any obligations under the EU Regulation on Market Surveillance.
• When they also offer fulfilment services, they may be the responsible economic operator. The large online marketplaces generally avoid this by requiring their sellers to appoint an authorised representative for products they fulfil.
• If an online marketplace offers products with their own name or brand, they are, at the same time manufacturer of those products.

Some online marketplaces offer products in all these ways. The service they offer for each listing decides which type of economic operator they and the seller are and who is responsible for meeting Regulation EU 2019/1020.

The name and postal address, have to be indicated on or with the product. The name can be a registered trade name or registered trade mark instead of the registered company name. A postal address is normally made up of a street/post office box, building number, postcode and town.

It must be indicated on:

• the product – e.g. label, plate, printed or engraved
• sales packaging (primary packaging)
• grouped packaging (secondary packaging)
• transport packaging (tertiary packaging)
• an accompanying document such as instructions, declaration, etc.

CE legislation is stricter than EU 2019/1020 and requires details on the product itself. If it is not reasonably practicable then primary packaging or an accompanying document can be used.

Product marking is not reasonably practicable for products that:

• are too small
• have no markable surface
• would need unpacking and re-packing

The responsible economic operator’s contact details have to be present when the product is declared at customs. Customs officials may not release products for free circulation in the EU if they are not found.

CE marking legislation also requires the manufacturer’s and importer’s contact details to be indicated to allow market surveillance officers (such as consumer protection and health and safety officers) to facilitate checks throughout the supply chain.

No. These are not an adequate substitute for a name and postal address. They are encouraged as additional means of contact.

It should be made clear which of them is the responsible economic operator, for example by indicating ‘authorised representative,’ ‘represented by’ or ‘Responsible person Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020’.

Where the economic operators’ roles are not specified, the authorities will determine them themselves. Each economic operator should be able to prove its role.

No. The English terms ‘manufactured by’, ‘imported by’, ‘represented by’ or ‘fulfilled by’; are considered easily understandable throughout the EU