Are we the manufacturer, the importer or the distributor?
Your role follows from what you do, not from what your contract calls you. Under the General Product Safety Regulation the manufacturer markets a product under its own name or trademark, the importer is established in the Union and places a product from a third country on the market, and the distributor is anyone else in the chain. Selling under your own brand makes you the manufacturer.
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Reviewed 5 October 2026 by the Conphora compliance team · Not legal advice
Why this happens
Article 3 of the General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 defines the roles. A manufacturer is any person who manufactures a product or has a product designed or manufactured, and markets that product under that person's name or trademark. An importer is any person established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market. A distributor is any person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the market.[1]
Article 13 closes the gaps. A person who places a product on the market under that person's own name or trademark is deemed to be a manufacturer and is subject to the obligations of Article 9. So is a person who substantially modifies a product, for the part affected by the modification or for the entire product if the modification has an impact on its safety (Article 13(2) and (3)).[1]
The roles matter because the duties differ. Manufacturers draw up technical documentation and mark the product (Article 9), importers ensure that this was done and add their own name and address (Article 11), and distributors verify the marking and information before selling (Article 12). The same set of roles is used for the responsible person in Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (Article 4).[2]
How to solve it
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Go through the range product by product
A company can be a manufacturer for one product, an importer for the next and a distributor for the third. The role is decided per product.
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Ask whose name is on it
If the product carries your name or trademark, you are deemed to be the manufacturer and carry the manufacturer's obligations.
Regulation guidesKnow-how Free Open -
Ask where it comes from and who brings it in
If you are established in the Union and place a product from a third country on the Union market, you are the importer. For CE products, the Commission's Blue Guide adds that whoever places second-hand products from a third country, or products not designed or manufactured for the Union market, must assume the role of the manufacturer.
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Ask whether you changed it
A person other than the manufacturer who substantially modifies a product is deemed to be a manufacturer for the part affected by the modification, or for the whole product if the modification affects its safety.
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Write the role down and the duties that follow
Record the role per product together with the documents that role must hold.
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Work through the steps in the platform with your own product.
What you need to show
| Document | Where it comes from | Legal ground |
|---|---|---|
| Technical documentation, kept for 10 years | The manufacturer | GPSR Article 9(2) and (3) |
| Name, postal and electronic address on the product | The manufacturer, and the importer for imported products | GPSR Articles 9(6) and 11(3) |
| Verification that marking and information are in place | The distributor, before making the product available | GPSR Article 12(1) |
If you do nothing
The brand owner carries 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 (GPSR Article 13(1)).[1]
Substantial modification has the same effect
A person other than the manufacturer that substantially modifies the product is deemed to be a manufacturer for the part affected, or for the entire product if the modification has an impact on its safety (GPSR Article 13(2)).[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
A factory makes the product for us. Is the factory the manufacturer?
Not if the product is marketed under your name or trademark. The definition covers a person who has a product designed or manufactured and markets it under its own name.
We buy from a wholesaler in another EU country. Are we an importer?
No. An importer places a product from a third country on the Union market. Buying inside the Union makes you a distributor, unless you use your own brand or substantially modify the product.
Does the role depend on the company's size?
No. The definitions apply to any natural or legal person.
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). Are we the manufacturer, the importer or the distributor?. Retrieved 13 October 2026 from https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/which-role-are-we/
Conphora (2026) Are we the manufacturer, the importer or the distributor?. Available at: https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/which-role-are-we/ (Accessed 13 October 2026).
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author = {Conphora},
title = {Are we the manufacturer, the importer or the distributor?},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.conphora.com/solutions/problem/which-role-are-we/},
note = {Retrieved 13 October 2026}
} See it working before you add a product
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