GPSR Compliance

[bojangled]

This is as clear as mud to me. Been to the gov. advice website and various others.
How does a 1972 poster fit in to this process?

It's not an exempt category. 

Advise buyers this item is for viewing only ? 

My initial reaction, sadly, to to switch EU and NI off. 
Jo

[watson8332]

That's not what Amazon told me. I contacted them via Help and they told me that i would have to turn off NI postage in Amazon UK otherwise the item would not be complient without all the EU responsible person garbage etc. I'm just turning off EU and NI-if you don't you're risking having items removed,loosing feedback and history. Whoever negotiated Brexit (was it Theresa May?) is an absolute muppet. To be left in a situation where you cannot sell to a part of your own country is absurd. Northern Ireland customers are going to have to buy from the EU and pay extra for international postage. It's pathetic. 

[zancoindustrialautomation]

So does anyone know what you actually need to sell into the EU

For example

A remote control which is a simple item

1) do you have to find make model and specification of that remote control
2) how do you get a Responsible Person (RP) to cover you sending something
to Europe

The whole thing is so confusing for everyone

[cooksongold]

Precisely. Consider that Amazon, the largest online retailer in the UK don't know what to do...well thats concerning.

[cooksongold]

If you wish to sell that remove control into the EU you would need to ensure and safety marks or documents are available to the customer on the listing. On ebay this is taking the form of showing a CE mark if one exists, and then selecting up to 8 preset safety messages. You can also upload all sorts of documents. For a remove, that might be the instructions or any safety warnings.

You then need to identify if the manufacturer is in the EU. if they are, you add that info. If they are not based in teh EU, you would need to allocated a responsible person based in the EU/NI. A google of GPSR responsible person service will show loads that can offer that.

[4_bathrooms]

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@zancoindustrialautomation wrote:
So does anyone know what you actually need to sell into the EU

For example

A remote control which is a simple item

---

A remote control would require a CE mark. You therefore need the manufacturer's details and the technical documentation including the user instructions and the EU Declaration of Conformity (which includes the model number) translated into the local language of every country you sell to.

Everything that requires a CE Mark is supplied with the above technical documentation. However, if the manufacturer no longer exists and/or is otherwise unable to provide these documents the item will not be made available to buyers in NI/EU/EEA.

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@zancoindustrialautomation wrote:

2) how do you get a Responsible Person (RP) to cover you sending something
to Europe

---

If you have the technical documentation you should not need a responsible person as the manufacturer/entity named in the DoC performs that role. Sellers of goods that do not require CE marking - that are not specifically excluded in Annex IX - are the ones who will definitely need to employ an RP if they want to continue selling to NI/EU/EEA.

[dwtrading2015]

If the circuit board is manufactrued in the EU, the keypad is manufactured in the US and the plastic case moulded in the UK, where is the remote manufactured?

It does sem that somebody in the EU has a very simplistic idea of 'manufacturing' and what that means these days.  I think they have confused a brand name with manufacturers.

As for the detailed wording, the key point is whether the country being sold into is an EU member state.  NI is NOT an EU state or part of an EU state.  The issue of the border not being between NI and the Republic is because the UK didn't want to put up a border in order to comply with the Good Friday agreement.  The EU have taken advantage of this and invented this archaic system.  True the UK (BoJo) shouldn't have agreed but the nationalists insisted the Good Friday agreement was not up for renegotiation.  The Republic should have had an in/out referendum at the same time as the UK but the Republic's voting record in favour of the EU is very poor - they were marched back to the ballot box twice until they voted 'the right way'.  So the EU sold to the Republic the idea of annexing NI and creating an EU border off the island down the Irish sea with rules and regs so complicated NI would end up unifying with the Republic.  In return for this, the Republic avoided having an in/out referendum in 2016.

What you are now seeing is the implementation of the very confusing rules designed to fail.  However, rather than NI suddenly wanting to reunite with the Republic, instead their will be a resurgence of division leading to old paramilitary problems starting up again as NI is defended and defined as non-Republican on the streets and the Republicans in NI try to keep the province steered towards reunification using trade as the basis.  The EU has a habit of making terrible judgments in these situations, Yugoslavia, Ukraine, and sadly a return to the troubles, the other way round, will likely follow. The EU should not have been allowed the attempted annexation of NI.

Unfortunately they will not conceed their error and it will be years before the customs boder is put in the correct location or the Republic gets a referendum and leaves the EU.  The are not the only ones that want out (and net zero is accelerating this issue with the right now progresing in many EU zones).

[andrehartford]

I sell new parts for vintage cars and having spoken to somone just at ebay, they said I will be exepmt and are sending me a template form to fill in.  But an important point about new listings , sellers that have BUY it NOW listings, when they re lost every 28 days that counts as a fresh listing !

[4_bathrooms]

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@dwtrading2015 wrote:

If the circuit board is manufactrued in the EU, the keypad is manufactured in the US and the plastic case moulded in the UK, where is the remote manufactured?

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As far as the EU is concerned whoever puts their name or brand on the product is the manufacturer:

"Any natural or legal person that either places a product on the market under their own name or trademark or substantially modifies a product in such a way that conformity with the requirements of this Regulation might be affected, should be considered to be the manufacturer and should assume the obligations of the manufacturer."

[dwtrading2015]

Yup, the brand names becomes the manufacturer. 

[jonatjonatjonat]

If the circuit board is manufactrued in the EU, the keypad is manufactured in the US and the plastic case moulded in the UK, where is the remote manufactured?

i would say that is very much over complicating things. Its a standard approach that it would be where the remote underwent assembly into its final form. So if LG were sourcing from China, Japan etc, the manufacture would still be South Korea, or in this instance LG would likely have an EU subsidiary to deal with GPSR.

[ojewellery]

Isn't there some complex formula about something having to be sufficiently worked to be considered the place of manufacture, I think that might have been an EU rule too.  

[4_bathrooms]

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@ojewellery wrote:

Isn't there some complex formula about something having to be sufficiently worked to be considered the place of manufacture, I think that might have been an EU rule too.  

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I believe you're referring to the "Made In Britain" logo which required a product to have a significant portion of the manufacturing or final assembly process to be carried out in Great Britain to qualify. It seems they may have changed their exact requirements (along with a subtle logo change) and no longer publish them online.

[gl_trading]

The, "final assembly process" has been a loophole for many years. I used to know a wedding dress "manufacturer" in the UK who imported the dresses from China with one sleeve unattached; they would then sew on the sleeve, (also imported), and voila! the wedding dress was now "Made In Britain" and cost double the price of those "foreign made ones".

[ojewellery]

The made in Britain thing is interesting.

 I was trying to decide what I declare my products as when I started getting bits manufactured.  The one place it's relevant for me is customs forms where icountry of origin gets declared.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-your-goods-meet-the-rules-of-origin

[4_bathrooms]

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@ojewellery wrote:

Isn't there some complex formula about something having to be sufficiently worked to be considered the place of manufacture, I think that might have been an EU rule too.  

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Oh wait...I now believe you're referring to preferential tariff treatment. This wouldn't apply in a B2C sale as the consumer will have to pay any customs duty that will be due on their purchase.

**Edit - never mind; that is what you were referring to. I didn't see your last post before replying.**

[dwtrading2015]

The usual discussion on provinance is related to food and especially meat where meat reared and processed abroad is passed off as British.  There are also the protected brands - keep your hands off our pork pies!  This is why I wondered how the 'manufacturing' location would be decided as I am sure there are various complex rules out there.

If, however, it is now just down to the geographical location where the brand name is placed on the item, what happens for unbranded goods? Does everything now have to be branded and how is that confirmed?  Wil every item need a registered bar code?  Can I open the box in the EU (intercepted in a warehouse next to the logistics hub outside the customs zone), put a label on the item with my name thereby branding it and then place the box back in the logistics chain to the UK?  What happens to the holding warehouses were goods are held on UK land but not offically imported utill they are sold t consumers and only then released through customs.  I forget the name of the set up but I am sure the EU also has the same arrangments at most major ports of entry.  If I ship stock for fullfilment to one of those warehouses in the EU, what is the situation then?

The EU has opened a can of worms trying to control and restrict trade without and good reason other than retaliation against the UK for leaving the EU.  Many other countries are being caught up in this and there are lots of 'diplomatic' complaints being aimed at the EU.  The EU will be the big loser here. 

Shrug shoulders, turn away from EU, focus on US.

[cooksongold]

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@dwtrading2015 wrote:

The usual discussion on provinance is related to food and especially meat where meat reared and processed abroad is passed off as British.  There are also the protected brands - keep your hands off our pork pies!  This is why I wondered how the 'manufacturing' location would be decided as I am sure there are various complex rules out there.

If, however, it is now just down to the geographical location where the brand name is placed on the item, what happens for unbranded goods? Does everything now have to be branded and how is that confirmed?  Wil every item need a registered bar code?

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You're bringing in permutations that are making things too complicated.
Its not simply where the rband name is placed - in the LG analogy it works because everything will become a completed LG TV Remote in Korea. This would apply to an unbranded, unbarcoded remote control as well if say the case was made in Japan, the circuits in China etc...It undergoes sufficient processing to add value in Korea. That is generally what the rules are - here are the UK rules.

An example the UK give is of a shirt

For example, if cotton from country X in the EU is woven into fabric, then dyed with dye from country Y in the EU, and finally made into a shirt in the UK, this might count as sufficient processing when exporting back to the EU. The product could then claim UK origin.

The reason being, some fabric and dye isn't really of any value to the consumer until it becomes a shirt. Sticking a logo on a shirt in the UK, even though the shirt was made in China wouldn't cut it.

[ojewellery]

Regarding unique identifiers, I actually think this is one part of the legislation I agree with the philosophy of.  Items sold in bulk that if there is a fault could do some real damage - I'm thinking electronics that are Chinese Export marked (CE that looks remarkably like the European CE) that overheat, that haven't been tested and don't meet domestic (EU) or UK for that matter legislation.  It doesn't matter what the brand is from a safety perspective a recall or warning to user notice needs to quickly notify the customers of the product.   I use EAN for my products but they're my own brand. Equally I'd have thought the eBay/ online marketplace item number or combination of item number and SKU would count as a unique number to trace supply.

However, these sorts of product should already be covered by effective policing of the relevant policies that already exist.

There are holes and flaws in every argument.  Items ended and sold similar would have a different item number so traceability chain would be broken.  Multiple sellers of unbranded goods would each use different SKU and item numbers etc.

It really feels like no one with any online selling experience sat down on the consultation on this.

[4_bathrooms]

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@dwtrading2015 wrote:

If, however, it is now just down to the geographical location where the brand name is placed on the item, what happens for unbranded goods?

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The GPSRs don't care where the item was manufactured unless it was manufactured within the EU. The GPSRs treat whoever placed the product on the EU market as being the manufacturer.

In the case of an LG remote control LG (or their EU representative) is the manufacturer as they would have needed to obtain CE certification for such a product. Someone selling an LG remote control would need to find the Declaration of Compliance - which can be downloaded from LG's website - and the user manual.

In the case of something that is unbranded the seller assumes the responsibilities of a manufacturer and would need to employ an EU-based Responsible Person. This is because the seller is deemed to be placing the item on the EU market (which they are).

[dwtrading2015]

To be honest I have found far more problems with non chinese items wrt quality.  German engineering?  Err not so, often cheap weak alloy used.  American products are truley awful and across many manufacturers, especially in the EU built in redundancy is normal.

How many Chinese cars have turned in to fire *bleep* compared to Tesla and the EU makes? 

It isn't as black and white as - oops is it allowed to still say that?