We dropship and do not know who is responsible
Not handling the goods does not take the seller out of the chain. Under the General Product Safety Regulation an online offer targeting EU consumers makes the product available on the Union market. The offer must show the manufacturer and, for a manufacturer outside the Union, the EU responsible person, without whom no covered product may be placed on the market. A seller using its own brand is the manufacturer.
Free account · no card · opens in the Demo Company
Reviewed 5 October 2026 by the Conphora compliance team · Not legal advice
Why this happens
The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 does not know the word dropshipping. It knows roles. A manufacturer markets a product under its own name or trademark, an importer is established in the Union and places a product from a third country on the Union market, and a distributor is anyone else in the supply chain who makes a product available (Article 3).[1]
Distance sales are covered expressly. Products offered for sale online are deemed to be made available on the market if the offer is targeted at consumers in the Union, and an offer is targeted when the economic operator directs its activities to one or more Member States (Article 4). Each such offer must show the information in Article 19.[1]
Whatever the set-up, one operator in the Union has to be responsible for the product. Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 lists who that can be: an EU manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative with a written mandate, or, where none of these is established in the Union, a fulfilment service provider for the products it handles (Article 4(2) of that regulation, which GPSR Article 16(1) applies to products covered by the GPSR).[2]
How to solve it
-
Work out your role for each product
Selling under your own name or trademark makes you the manufacturer. Being established in the Union and placing a product from a third country on the Union market makes you the importer; when your sale is the first supply of that product in the Union, that is you, even if the supplier ships the parcel. Otherwise you make the product available as a distributor.
Regulation guidesKnow-how Free Open -
Find the responsible person in the Union
When the supplier ships from outside the Union, check who is established in the Union and responsible for the product. If nobody is, the product may not be placed on the market.
-
Get the documents from the supplier before you list
Ask for the manufacturer's identity, the product identification, the warnings and the evidence that the product is safe. A distributor has to verify the marking and information before selling.
-
Put the mandatory information in every offer
Manufacturer, the responsible person where the manufacturer is outside the Union, product identification with a picture, and warnings, clearly and visibly.
Knowledge & insightsKnow-how Free Open
Work through the steps in the platform with your own product.
What you need to show
| Document | Where it comes from | Legal ground |
|---|---|---|
| Identity and contact details of the manufacturer | The supplier | GPSR Article 19(a) |
| Name and addresses of the responsible person in the Union | The supplier, or the operator you appoint | GPSR Articles 16(1) and 19(b) |
| Technical documentation | The manufacturer, or you when you sell under your own brand | GPSR Articles 9(2) and 13(1) |
If you do nothing
Own brand means the manufacturer's duties
A person who places a product on the market under that person's name or trademark is deemed to be a manufacturer and is subject to the obligations in Article 9 (GPSR Article 13(1)).[1]
No responsible person, no placing on the market
A product covered by the regulation shall not be placed on the market unless an economic operator established in the Union is responsible for it (GPSR Article 16(1)).[1]
Penalties under national law
Each Member State sets its own penalties for infringements of the regulation (GPSR Article 44).[1]
Questions about this problem
The supplier ships directly to the customer. Are we still involved?
Yes. The offer is yours, and a product offered online is made available on the market when the offer is targeted at consumers in the Union.
Are we the importer if the goods never pass through our hands?
Often, yes. The definition turns on who places a product from a third country on the Union market, and placing on the market means the first making available, not handling the parcel. A seller established in the Union whose sale is that first supply meets the definition. A seller established outside the Union cannot be the importer, so someone else in the Union has to be the responsible person.
Can the fulfilment centre be the responsible person?
A fulfilment service provider established in the Union can be, for the products it handles, where no manufacturer, importer or authorised representative is established in the Union. A marketplace that also stores and ships your goods can be a fulfilment service provider for them, assessed case by case (GPSR recital 46).
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety EUR-Lex · accessed 21 September 2026
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products EUR-Lex · accessed 21 September 2026
About this page
- Reviewer
- Conphora compliance team
- Reviewed
- 5 October 2026
General information, not legal advice. Check the legal text or ask an adviser about your own product.
Conphora (2026). We dropship and do not know who is responsible. Retrieved 13 October 2026 from https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/dropshipping-responsibility/
Conphora (2026) We dropship and do not know who is responsible. Available at: https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/dropshipping-responsibility/ (Accessed 13 October 2026).
@misc{conphora2026wedropshipanddonotknowwh,
author = {Conphora},
title = {We dropship and do not know who is responsible},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/dropshipping-responsibility/},
note = {Retrieved 13 October 2026}
} See it working before you add a product
The Demo Company is a complete, read-only example — products, documents, supplier requests and deadlines. Open it with a free account; no card, no trial clock.
Free account · no card · opens in the Demo Company