{
  "type": "problem",
  "slug": "parallel-import",
  "lang": "en",
  "url": "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/parallel-import/",
  "markdown": "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/parallel-import.md",
  "title": "We buy branded goods outside the EU and sell them here",
  "description": "Branded goods bought outside the EU make you the importer. What to check when the brand does not supply you and the units were made for another market.",
  "answer": "When you bring branded goods from outside the EU onto the EU market, you are the importer for those units, even if the brand sells the same model here. Under the General Product Safety Regulation and the CE acts, you must make sure the manufacturer's assessment and documentation cover the exact variant you bought, add your own details and the local-language instructions, and not place what you cannot verify.",
  "theme": {
    "id": "suppliers-imports",
    "label": "Suppliers and imports"
  },
  "roles": [
    {
      "id": "importer",
      "label": "Importer"
    },
    {
      "id": "distributor",
      "label": "Distributor"
    }
  ],
  "regulations": [
    "GPSR",
    "LVD"
  ],
  "path": [
    "regulation-library",
    "knowledge-articles"
  ],
  "trigger": "You find the branded product cheaper from a wholesaler outside the EU and plan to sell it in the EU",
  "keep": null,
  "why": [
    {
      "text": "Buying outside the official channel does not change the legal roles. Under the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, the importer is any natural or legal person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market (Article 3(10)), and placing on the market means the first making available on the Union market (Article 3(7)). The Commission's Blue Guide explains that placing on the market refers to each individual product, not to a type of product, and that all products imported from third countries, whether new or used, must meet the applicable rules when they are made available for the first time in the Union (section 2.3).",
      "sources": [
        1,
        4
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The importer must check the manufacturer's part for its own units. For consumer products under the GPSR, the importer ensures before placing that the product complies with the general safety requirement and that the manufacturer has drawn up the technical documentation and put the identifier and its contact details on the product (Article 11(1)); it keeps a copy of the technical documentation for 10 years (Article 11(6)). For CE products the sector act applies instead, because the GPSR's Chapter III, Section 1 does not apply to them (Article 2(1), third subparagraph, point (b)). Under the Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, the importer ensures that the conformity assessment was carried out, that the technical documentation exists and that the equipment bears the CE marking and comes with the required documents (Article 8(2)), and keeps a copy of the declaration of conformity for 10 years (Article 8(8)).",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The declaration of conformity is drawn up for a product model and identifies the equipment it covers (Low Voltage Directive, Annex III, point 4.2, and Annex IV). Goods made for another market may carry a different model reference, plug, charger or set of markings. Whether the manufacturer's declaration covers them is a fact to check, not an assumption.",
      "sources": [
        2
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The importer adds what belongs to the EU market: its own name and address (GPSR Article 11(3); LVD Article 8(3)) and instructions and safety information in a language consumers in the country of sale easily understand (GPSR Article 11(4); LVD Article 8(4)). Changing the product itself is another matter. An importer that modifies equipment already placed on the market in a way that may affect compliance is treated as the manufacturer (LVD Article 10), and under the GPSR a substantial modification has the same effect (Article 13(2)). For units not designed or manufactured for the Union market, the Blue Guide treats whoever places them on that market as their manufacturer, with the conformity assessment that role requires (section 3.1). At the border, customs suspend the release of goods whose documentation is missing or doubtful (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 26(1)(a)).",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2,
        3,
        4
      ]
    }
  ],
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Accept that you are the importer",
      "text": "You are established in the EU and you place units from a third country on the EU market. That makes you the importer of those units, whoever else imports the same model through the brand's own channel. Your duties attach to your units. If the units were not designed or made for the EU market, the Commission's Blue Guide goes further: whoever places them here must assume the role of the manufacturer.",
      "item": "regulation-library"
    },
    {
      "name": "Identify the exact variant you bought",
      "text": "Record the model number, any regional code, the plug or charger, the markings and the languages on the product and the packaging. Products made for other markets can differ from the EU version in ways that matter for compliance."
    },
    {
      "name": "Get the documents that cover that variant",
      "text": "Ask the brand or its EU representative for the declaration of conformity and confirm that it names your model and variant. Make sure the technical documentation exists and that you can get it to an authority on request. Keep your own copy of the declaration."
    },
    {
      "name": "Fix what is market-specific without changing the product",
      "text": "Add your importer details and instructions and safety information in the language of each country of sale. Do not swap parts such as plugs or chargers yourself: a change that may affect compliance can make you the manufacturer with all its duties.",
      "item": "knowledge-articles"
    },
    {
      "name": "Do not place what you cannot verify",
      "text": "Where the documents do not cover your variant, or the brand will not confirm them, hold the goods. The importer must not place a product it has reason to believe does not conform."
    }
  ],
  "documents": [
    {
      "name": "EU declaration of conformity naming your model and variant",
      "from": "The manufacturer or its authorised representative",
      "ground": "LVD Article 8(8) and Annex IV"
    },
    {
      "name": "Confirmation that the technical documentation exists and can be made available",
      "from": "The manufacturer",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 11(1) and (6); LVD Article 8(2) and (8)"
    },
    {
      "name": "Record of the variant bought: model, markings, plug, languages",
      "from": "Your goods-in inspection",
      "ground": "Supports GPSR Article 11(1); LVD Article 8(2)"
    },
    {
      "name": "Supplier and customer records",
      "from": "Your purchase and sales systems",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 15(3) and (5); LVD Article 11"
    }
  ],
  "risks": [
    {
      "title": "Customs hold the goods",
      "text": "Customs suspend release for free circulation where the required documentation is missing or doubtful, or where a CE marking has been affixed in a false or misleading manner (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 26(1)(a) and (c)).",
      "source": 3
    },
    {
      "title": "You become the manufacturer",
      "text": "An importer that modifies equipment already placed on the market in a way that may affect compliance takes on the manufacturer's obligations (LVD Article 10). The Blue Guide adds that whoever places on the Union market a product not designed or manufactured for it, or second-hand products from a third country, must assume the role of the manufacturer (section 3.1). Under the GPSR, a substantial modification has the same effect (Article 13(2) and (3)).",
      "source": 2
    },
    {
      "title": "Withdrawal and penalties",
      "text": "Authorities can restrict the product or order withdrawal or recall (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 14(4)(h)); Member States set penalties for GPSR infringements (Article 44).",
      "source": 3
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "The brand already sells this model in the EU. Do we still have duties?",
      "a": "Yes. The Blue Guide says placing on the market concerns each individual product, not a type, and that products imported from third countries, new or used, must comply when they are made available in the EU for the first time. Your units are placed by you."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can we rely on the EU importer's documents?",
      "a": "Only as far as they cover your variant. The declaration of conformity identifies a product model. If your units were made for another market, check that the declared model, standards and markings are the same, and keep your own copy."
    },
    {
      "q": "The brand refuses to give us the documents. What then?",
      "a": "Without the declaration and access to the technical documentation you cannot meet the importer's checks. The importer must not place a product it has reason to believe does not conform, so hold the goods until you have the evidence or return them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does this apply to used or refurbished branded goods?",
      "a": "The GPSR applies to products whether new, used, repaired or reconditioned, except products clearly marked as to be repaired or reconditioned before use (Article 2(3)). For CE products, the Blue Guide goes further: whoever places second-hand products from a third country on the Union market must assume the role of the manufacturer (section 3.1)."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is parallel importing allowed under trade mark law?",
      "a": "That is a separate question of intellectual property law, which this page does not cover. Product compliance duties apply whatever the answer."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (consolidated text of 29 May 2026)",
      "publisher": "EUR-Lex",
      "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02023R0988-20260529",
      "accessed": "2026-10-04"
    },
    {
      "title": "Directive 2014/35/EU on electrical equipment (Low Voltage Directive), consolidated text of 30 May 2026",
      "publisher": "EUR-Lex",
      "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014L0035-20260530",
      "accessed": "2026-10-04"
    },
    {
      "title": "Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products (consolidated text of 12 August 2026)",
      "publisher": "EUR-Lex",
      "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02019R1020-20260812",
      "accessed": "2026-10-04"
    },
    {
      "title": "The 'Blue Guide' on the implementation of EU product rules 2022 (2022/C 247/01)",
      "publisher": "European Commission, via EUR-Lex",
      "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52022XC0629(04)",
      "accessed": "2026-10-04"
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "importer-duties",
    "which-role-are-we",
    "sourcing-platform-products",
    "power-adapter-imported",
    "language-requirements"
  ],
  "reviewer": "Conphora compliance team",
  "reviewedAt": "2026-10-05",
  "notice": "General information, not legal advice."
}