Does GPSR Apply to Digital Products or Software?

Many online sellers offer a mix of physical goods and digital downloads, so a natural question is whether the https://prestashopcompliance.com/eu-laws/gpsr/ reaches software, e-books, subscriptions or other purely digital products. The short answer is that the Regulation is aimed at physical consumer products, but the boundary deserves a closer look. What the Regulation Is Built Around The General Product Safety Regulation applies to non-food consumer products placed on the EU market, covering new, used, repaired and refurbished items. Its concept of safety is grounded in physical characteristics: how a product is made, its composition, its packaging and the instructions that accompany it. A file that a customer downloads, with no tangible article behind it, generally does not fit that framework. Pure Digital Goods: Usually Out of Scope Standalone software licences and apps sold as downloads.E-books, digital templates and online courses.Streaming or subscription access with no physical item. These are typically addressed by other EU rules on digital content and services rather than the https://prestashopcompliance.com/faqs/what-is-gpsr/ product-safety regime. Where Digital and Physical Meet The picture changes once software is embedded in, or connected to, a physical product. A smart speaker, a fitness tracker or a connected toy is still a physical consumer product, and its safety can depend on the software it runs and on the updates that keep it safe. In that context, the digital element is part of assessing whether the physical product is safe, so the Regulation is relevant even though the code itself is not the product. The practical takeaway: if you sell purely digital goods, the GPSR usually will not apply to them, but if your product is a physical device with software inside it, treat it as an in-scope product and document its safety accordingly. This answer is for general education and does not constitute legal advice.

Do I Need an EU Responsible Person If I Only Sell in My Own Country?

A common misunderstanding is that the responsible-person requirement only bites when you ship across borders. In fact, it does not depend on how far your parcels travel. What matters under the https://prestashopcompliance.com/eu-laws/gpsr/ is where the product was made and who first places it on the Union market. The Test Is the Product's Origin, Not Your Delivery Radius The General Product Safety Regulation says a product may only be placed on the market if an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for it. This flows from Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Article 4. The trigger is a product manufactured outside the Union that reaches EU consumers. If you import goods from outside the EU and then sell them, even only to customers in your own country, you have placed those goods on the Union market and a https://prestashopcompliance.com/glossary/responsible-person/ is required. When You Probably Do Need One You import products from outside the EU and resell them domestically.You dropship items shipped directly from a non-EU manufacturer.You sell own-brand goods manufactured for you outside the Union. When It May Already Be Covered If you buy products from an EU-based manufacturer or importer, that upstream operator is usually the responsible person, and their details should appear in your https://prestashopcompliance.com/faqs/what-is-gpsr/ compliant listings. You still have to show that information under Article 19, but you may not need to appoint anyone yourself. The safest approach is to confirm in writing which party in your supply chain holds the role. So domestic-only selling is not an exemption. The question is always: was this product made outside the EU, and is there already an EU operator responsible for it? If not, that responsibility falls to you. This answer is for general education and does not constitute legal advice.

Which Country's Rules Apply When I Sell Across the EU?

The short answer: EU-wide regulations give you a single baseline that applies everywhere, but a number of national obligations follow the country you are selling into. When you ship across the EU, you meet the EU rules once, then add the destination country's specifics for each market you serve. EU-wide regulations are the baseline Regulations such as the GPSR (product safety), the Omnibus rules (price transparency and reviews), the PPWR (packaging) and the European Accessibility Act apply across all 27 member states. Their core requirements - a safe product, a responsible person in the EU, honest price reductions, accessible e-commerce - do not change from one country to the next. Get these right and you have your common foundation for the whole single market. National transposition adds detail Where EU rules take the form of directives, each country writes them into national law and can add detail. Germany's price-display rules sit in the Preisangabenverordnung; Italy's consumer rules are in the Codice del Consumo; Spain uses the Texto Refundido consumer statute; France layers on strong consumer-protection practice. The substance is harmonised, but the exact wording, disclosures and enforcement bodies are national. Language follows the customer Consumer information must generally be in the language of the destination country: French for France (the Toubon law), Italian for Italy, Spanish (and sometimes co-official regional languages) for Spain, German for Germany. This covers product descriptions, safety warnings, instructions and the required pre-contractual information. A single English storefront is not enough for these markets. EPR is per destination country Extended Producer Responsibility registrations are national and depend on where your goods and packaging end up. If you ship to Germany, you register in the LUCID packaging register before selling. If you ship to France, you deal with the REP system and a unique identifier via ADEME, plus packaging EPR. Italy uses CONAI; Spain applies Royal Decree 1055/2022. You need the right EPR registration for each destination country you supply, not one blanket registration. In practice Meet the EU-wide regulations once as your baseline.For each destination country, add local language, transposition detail and EPR registration.Confirm specifics with the named national authority, as they change over time. See our country hubs for France, Italy, Spain and Germany for the destination-specific detail.

What are the penalties for GPSR non-compliance?

There is no single EU-wide penalty figure for GPSR breaches. The regulation requires penalties to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, but leaves the actual sanctions to each Member State to set under national law. This means the fines and other consequences you face depend on which country's authority is enforcing, so a breach affecting sales in several markets can expose you to several national regimes at once. Financial penalties are only part of the picture. Market surveillance authorities have a range of powers that can be more disruptive to an online store than a fine: Withdrawal or recall — authorities can order a dangerous product to be taken off the market or recalled from consumers.Safety Gate listing — dangerous products can be published on the EU Safety Gate rapid alert system (formerly RAPEX), visible across all Member States.Marketplace takedowns — online marketplaces must act on notices about dangerous products, so listings can be removed and seller accounts restricted.Sales bans and destruction — in serious cases authorities can prohibit supply or require products to be destroyed. For PrestaShop merchants, the practical takeaway is that non-compliance risks losing the ability to sell a product entirely, not just a monetary penalty. Check the enforcement notes for your main markets, such as Germany and France, and work through the Complete GPSR Guide to reduce your exposure.

EU Law

GPSR: The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988

Q: Does GPSR apply to dropshipping?

Yes, the GPSR applies to dropshipping. The regulation covers online and distance selling regardless of how the goods are fulfilled or where the seller is based. Dropshipping does not create an exemption; it simply changes who occupies which role in the supply chain. The key question is which economic operator role you occupy. If you list and sell products to EU consumers under your own store, and your supplier is outside the EU, you may be treated as the importer — or even the manufacturer if you sell under your own brand. Either role carries substantial duties, including ensuring the product is safe, documented and traceable. See our glossary entry on the economic operator. Crucially, a product may not be placed on the EU market unless there is a responsible person established in the EU. A dropshipper sourcing from outside the EU cannot rely on the overseas supplier to satisfy this. You must ensure an EU responsible person exists — an importer, authorised representative or qualifying fulfilment service provider — and display their details on your listings alongside the manufacturer's contact information, product identifiers and any warnings. In short, dropshipping models that source directly from non-EU suppliers face some of the hardest GPSR compliance challenges. Before scaling such a model, work through the requirements in the Complete GPSR Guide and confirm you can meet the distance-selling information rules for every product you list.

By Compliance Editorial Team Updated July 3, 2026 4 min read

In effect from: December 13, 2024

The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), formally Regulation (EU) 2023/988, is the EU’s overarching safety law for consumer goods. It was adopted on 10 May 2023 and applies from 13 December 2024, replacing the older General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC. Because it is a regulation rather than a directive, it applies directly and uniformly across every Member State without separate national transposition.

For PrestaShop merchants, the GPSR is one of the most consequential compliance developments in years. It reaches almost every non-food consumer product and, crucially, it applies to online and distance sellers regardless of where the seller is established. If you ship physical goods to consumers in the EU, this regulation almost certainly concerns you.

What the GPSR covers

The GPSR sets a general safety requirement: products placed on the EU market must be safe. It covers virtually all non-food consumer products, whether new, used, repaired or reconditioned, unless a more specific piece of EU product legislation already governs a particular safety aspect. Even where sector-specific rules apply (for example toys or electrical equipment), the GPSR fills the gaps and acts as a safety net.

It also modernises the framework for the digital economy, introducing explicit duties for online marketplaces and clear information requirements for distance selling. See our What is the GPSR? FAQ for a plain-language overview, or the full Complete GPSR Guide for implementation detail.

Timeline

10 May 2023 — Regulation (EU) 2023/988 adopted and published in the Official Journal.
13 December 2024 — the GPSR applies in full; the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC is repealed.

Who it affects

The GPSR assigns obligations to economic operators: manufacturers, importers, distributors, authorised representatives and, in some cases, fulfilment service providers. A central rule is that a product may not be placed on the EU market unless there is a responsible person established in the EU. This connects to Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance.

If you are a merchant based outside the EU, or you sell own-brand products, you may find yourself acting as manufacturer or importer and needing to appoint an EU responsible person. See our glossary entries on the economic operator and the responsible person.

Core obligations

Carry out a risk analysis and hold technical documentation demonstrating the product is safe.
Ensure traceability: apply type, batch or serial identifiers and the manufacturer’s contact details to the product or its packaging.
Provide clear warnings, safety information and instructions in a language easily understood by consumers in the target Member State.
Take corrective action where a product is unsafe, including withdrawal or recall, and notify authorities.
Report dangerous products through the Safety Business Gateway.

Distance-selling information requirements

When products are offered online, the GPSR requires the product listing itself to display specific information before purchase. For PrestaShop stores this means your product pages must show:

the manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or trade mark, and postal and electronic address;
where the manufacturer is outside the EU, the name and contact details of the responsible person;
product identifiers such as type, batch or serial number, and a picture where relevant;
any warnings or safety information required for the product.

Online marketplaces

Providers of online marketplaces have specific cooperation and notice-and-action duties. They must register with the EU Safety Gate portal, designate a single point of contact, act on notices about dangerous products, and cooperate with market surveillance authorities. Merchants who sell through marketplaces should expect these platforms to request GPSR compliance data as a condition of listing.

Enforcement and the Safety Gate

Dangerous products can be flagged across the EU through the Safety Gate rapid alert system (formerly RAPEX). Businesses use the linked Safety Business Gateway to notify authorities of risks and recalls. Enforcement powers include ordering products to be withdrawn or recalled and requiring marketplaces to remove listings.

Penalties

The GPSR requires penalties to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, but the actual sanctions are set by each Member State under national law. There is therefore no single EU-wide penalty figure; the consequences depend on where you sell. See our FAQ on GPSR penalties for more.

Next steps

Start with the Complete GPSR Guide, then review country-specific enforcement notes for Germany and France. If you are unsure whether the rules apply to you, read Who needs to comply with the GPSR?

This page is educational information for PrestaShop merchants and is not legal advice. Always verify obligations against the official regulation and your national market surveillance authority.

Official reference: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/988/oj