{
  "type": "problem",
  "slug": "supplier-no-test-report",
  "lang": "en",
  "url": "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/supplier-no-test-report/",
  "markdown": "https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/supplier-no-test-report.md",
  "title": "Our supplier cannot provide a test report",
  "description": "What an importer must hold when the supplier has no test report: the technical documentation the law names, your own testing, and when to hold the goods.",
  "answer": "EU law does not ask for a test report as such. It asks for the manufacturer's risk analysis and technical documentation, including the outcome of any tests, and the importer must make sure these exist before placing the product (GPSR Articles 9(2) and 11(1); LVD Article 8(2)). Ask for the file rather than a report, commission your own testing where evidence is missing, and hold the goods until then.",
  "theme": {
    "id": "suppliers-imports",
    "label": "Suppliers and imports"
  },
  "roles": [
    {
      "id": "importer",
      "label": "Importer"
    }
  ],
  "regulations": [
    "GPSR",
    "LVD"
  ],
  "path": [
    "product-validation",
    "documentation-generator"
  ],
  "trigger": "You ask the supplier for a test report before shipment or for a retailer, and get silence, a refusal or a report for another model",
  "keep": "The importer keeps its copy of the technical documentation for 10 years after placing the product on the market (GPSR Article 11(6)); for low voltage equipment, the EU declaration of conformity for 10 years (LVD Article 8(8)). The period runs from the last unit of the model placed on the market (Blue Guide, footnotes 115 and 142).",
  "why": [
    {
      "text": "The duty to show that a product is safe sits with the manufacturer, but the importer has to check that it was done. Under the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, the manufacturer carries out an internal risk analysis and draws up technical documentation before placing the product on the market. Where appropriate to the risks, that documentation contains the analysis of possible risks and the solutions adopted, including the outcome of reports on tests carried out by the manufacturer or on its behalf, and the European standards or other elements applied (Article 9(2)). Before placing a product on the market, the importer must ensure that the product meets the general safety requirement and that the manufacturer has complied with Article 9(2), (5) and (6) (Article 11(1)).",
      "sources": [
        1
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The same logic applies to CE-marked products, with the sector act in charge. Under Article 2(1), third subparagraph, point (b), of the GPSR, Chapter III, Section 1 (Articles 9 to 18) does not apply to products subject to Union harmonisation legislation. For low voltage equipment, the importer must ensure that the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment and drawn up the technical documentation, and that the product bears the CE marking and is accompanied by the required documents (Directive 2014/35/EU, Article 8(2)). The module A technical documentation includes test reports (Annex III, point 2(f)).",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "A test report is therefore evidence, not a box to tick. The Commission's Blue Guide explains that the importer's checks do not imply a need to resort systematically to additional control procedures or third-party testing, nor do they preclude it. What the importer may not do is place a product it has reason to believe does not conform (GPSR Article 11(2); LVD Article 8(2), second subparagraph).",
      "sources": [
        1,
        2,
        4
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The gap becomes visible at the border and in the market. Customs suspend the release of a product that lacks the documentation its Union law requires, or whose documentation raises reasonable doubt (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 26(1)(a)). Market surveillance authorities can require the documents and order corrective action (Article 14(4)). The importer keeps its copy of the technical documentation for 10 years after placing the product on the market (GPSR Article 11(6)).",
      "sources": [
        1,
        3
      ]
    }
  ],
  "steps": [
    {
      "name": "Find out what is actually missing",
      "text": "A missing report is three different problems. The supplier may have no test at all, may hold a report it will not share, or may offer a report for another model, factory or standard edition. A report that names a different model does not show that your product meets the requirements. Write down which case you have before you ask again."
    },
    {
      "name": "Ask for the documentation the law names",
      "text": "For a consumer product under the GPSR, the manufacturer draws up an internal risk analysis and technical documentation, which includes the outcome of any test reports where that is appropriate to the risks. For low voltage equipment, the technical documentation lists test reports among its elements. Ask for that file, or the parts that cover the hazards of your product, and map what you receive against the requirements.",
      "item": "product-validation"
    },
    {
      "name": "Commission testing yourself where the gap is real",
      "text": "The importer's duties do not oblige it to test every product, but they do not stop it either. Where the supplier cannot show how a hazard was dealt with, have a sample from the production lot tested against the standard the product is meant to meet. Ask the laboratory to name your model, the standard edition and the sample identification in the report."
    },
    {
      "name": "Hold the goods until the gap is closed",
      "text": "An importer that has reason to believe a product does not conform may not place it on the market until it has been brought into conformity. Goods can wait in a warehouse; they cannot be sold. Tell the supplier what is missing, by when, and that shipment or payment depends on it."
    },
    {
      "name": "Put the outcome in the product file",
      "text": "Record what you asked for, what the supplier sent, which tests you ran and the decision you took. Keep the technical documentation, the test reports and, for CE-marked products, the declaration of conformity together, so you can hand them to an authority on request.",
      "item": "documentation-generator"
    }
  ],
  "documents": [
    {
      "name": "The manufacturer's technical documentation with the internal risk analysis",
      "from": "The manufacturer, with a copy kept by you",
      "ground": "GPSR Articles 9(2) and 11(6)"
    },
    {
      "name": "Test reports that identify your model and the standard applied",
      "from": "The manufacturer's laboratory or your own",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 9(2)(a); LVD Annex III, point 2(f)"
    },
    {
      "name": "EU declaration of conformity, for CE-marked products",
      "from": "The manufacturer",
      "ground": "LVD Articles 8(2) and 8(8)"
    },
    {
      "name": "Your record of the request, the answer and the decision",
      "from": "Your own purchasing and quality files",
      "ground": "GPSR Article 14"
    }
  ],
  "risks": [
    {
      "title": "Customs suspend the release",
      "text": "Customs suspend the release for free circulation when a product is not accompanied by the documentation its Union law requires, or when there is reasonable doubt about its accuracy or completeness (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 26(1)(a)).",
      "source": 3
    },
    {
      "title": "The authority demands the file and acts on the gap",
      "text": "Market surveillance authorities can require documents in any form and wherever they are stored, require action to end a non-compliance, and prohibit, withdraw or recall the product where the non-compliance persists (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 14(4)(a), (g) and (h)).",
      "source": 3
    },
    {
      "title": "You placed a product you had reason to doubt",
      "text": "An importer must not place a product on the market where it has reason to believe it does not conform with the general safety requirement and Article 9(2), (5) and (6), and where the product is dangerous it informs the manufacturer and ensures the authorities are informed through the Safety Business Gateway before placing (GPSR Article 11(2)). Member States set the penalties (GPSR Article 44).",
      "source": 1
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Is a test report a legal requirement?",
      "a": "Not in every case. The GPSR requires technical documentation that includes test outcomes where appropriate to the risks (Article 9(2)), and the low voltage module A file includes test reports (LVD Annex III, point 2(f)). For most products with real hazards, tests are how the file shows safety."
    },
    {
      "q": "The supplier says its report is confidential. Is that acceptable?",
      "a": "Partly. Under the GPSR the importer keeps its own copy of the technical documentation for 10 years (Article 11(6)), and that documentation contains the outcome of the test reports where appropriate (Article 9(2)(a)), so the results cannot stay with the supplier. The full report must at least be available to the authority on request (Article 11(6)). For low voltage equipment the importer must ensure the file can be made available on request (LVD Article 8(8)); the Blue Guide notes it need not hold a copy (footnote 143)."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does our laboratory have to be accredited?",
      "a": "Not as a rule. Where economic operators present test reports or certificates from a conformity assessment body accredited under Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, market surveillance authorities must take due account of them (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 11(5)). Accreditation covers a specific activity (Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Article 2(10)), so check that the laboratory is accredited for the test you need."
    },
    {
      "q": "Can we sell while our own tests run?",
      "a": "Not the units in doubt. Before placing a product on the market the importer must ensure that the manufacturer has met the documentation duty (GPSR Article 11(1)); for low voltage equipment, that the conformity assessment was carried out (LVD Article 8(2))."
    }
  ],
  "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": [
    "new-supplier-onboarding",
    "importer-duties",
    "test-report-outdated",
    "supplier-material-data",
    "customs-stopped-goods"
  ],
  "reviewer": "Conphora compliance team",
  "reviewedAt": "2026-10-05",
  "notice": "General information, not legal advice."
}