--- title: "We only resell and do not know what we must check" description: "A distributor does not test products, but it has to look. Before making a product available, the General Product Safety Regulation requires distributors to verify that the manufacturer and the importer have provided product identification, their names and addresses, and instructions and safety information. A distributor with reason to believe a product does not conform must not sell it, and must act when a sold product is dangerous." type: "problem" url: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/distributor-duties/" markdown: "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/distributor-duties.md" locale: "en" language: "en" updated: "2026-10-05" author: "Conphora compliance team" publisher: "Conphora" source: "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/988/oj" tags: ["GPSR", "roles-responsibilities"] license: "Free to quote with attribution and a link to the page" --- # We only resell and do not know what we must check A distributor does not test products, but it has to look. Before making a product available, the General Product Safety Regulation requires distributors to verify that the manufacturer and the importer have provided product identification, their names and addresses, and instructions and safety information. A distributor with reason to believe a product does not conform must not sell it, and must act when a sold product is dangerous. ## Why this happens Article 12 of the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 sets out the distributor's obligations. Before making a product available on the market, distributors shall verify that the manufacturer and, where applicable, the importer have complied with Article 9(5), (6) and (7) and Article 11(3) and (4): identification of the product, name and addresses, and instructions and safety information. Products placed on the market before 13 December 2024 in conformity with Directive 2001/95/EC may still be made available (Article 51); the Commission's guidelines add that the new traceability information requirements do not apply to them (Commission Notice C/2025/6233, section 2.1). [1] The duty continues while the product is in the distributor's hands: storage or transport conditions must not jeopardise its conformity (Article 12(2)). Where the distributor has reason to believe that a product is not in conformity, it shall not make it available (Article 12(3)), and where a product it has made available is dangerous or lacks that identification and information, it informs the manufacturer or importer, ensures that corrective measures are taken and ensures that the authorities are informed (Article 12(4)). [1] Market surveillance authorities can turn to any economic operator in the chain and require corrective action (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 16, applied to products under the GPSR by its Article 23(1)), which is why retailers pass the same questions on to their suppliers. [2] ## How to solve it 1. **Check the product when it arrives** Type, batch or serial number; the manufacturer's name, postal and electronic address; the importer's details where the product comes from outside the Union; instructions and safety information in a language consumers easily understand, as the Member State determines. 2. **Do not sell what fails the check** Where you have reason to believe that a product is not safe or does not meet these requirements, do not make it available until it has been brought into conformity. 3. **Look after it while it is yours** Storage and transport must not jeopardise the product's conformity while it is under your responsibility. 4. **Record what you checked, per product** A record per product shows an authority or a retailer customer that the verification was done. 5. **Act when a product you made available is dangerous** The same applies when it lacks the required identification, addresses or instructions. Inform the manufacturer or the importer, make sure corrective measures are taken, and make sure the authorities are informed through the Safety Business Gateway. ## What you need to show - **Identification on the product** — The manufacturer (GPSR Article 9(5)) - **Manufacturer's and importer's name and addresses** — The manufacturer and the importer (GPSR Articles 9(6) and 11(3)) - **Instructions and safety information in the local language** — The manufacturer (GPSR Articles 9(7) and 11(4)) - **Your own record of the verification** — You (Shows that Article 12(1) was applied) ## If you do nothing - **Selling a product you had reason to doubt** — Where a distributor considers or has reason to believe that a product is not in conformity, the distributor shall not make the product available on the market (GPSR Article 12(3)). - **Own brand changes the role** — A distributor that places the product on the market under its own name or trademark is deemed to be a manufacturer (GPSR Article 13(1)). - **Penalties under national law** — Each Member State sets its own penalties for infringements of the regulation (GPSR Article 44). ## Questions ### Do we have to ask for test reports? The regulation asks distributors to verify the marking and the information, and to act on what they know. Asking for documents is a sensible way to know more, and many retailers require it by contract. ### Does this apply to online shops? Yes. An online shop that resells products bought inside the Union is a distributor, and its offers must also show the information listed for distance sales in Article 19. ### What if the manufacturer does not answer? You still inform the authorities when a product you made available is dangerous, and you do not keep selling it. ## Regulations involved GPSR ## Sources 1. [Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/988/oj) — EUR-Lex, 2026-09-21 2. [Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1020/oj) — EUR-Lex, 2026-09-21