We only resell and do not know what we must check

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]