GPSR in Belgium: What PrestaShop Sellers Must Do
GPSRThe General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, or GPSR, has applied across the European Union since 13 December 2024. It provides a single safety baseline for consumer products and applies to online sellers placing products on the EU market. If your PrestaShop store sells to customers in Belgium, the GPSR applies to you, wherever your business is based.
This guide explains what the Belgian market means in practice for a PrestaShop merchant, with particular attention to Belgium’s multilingual character. The national specifics are qualitative prompts, so confirm the details with the named authority before relying on them.
One EU regulation, applied in Belgium
The GPSR applies directly in every member state, so Belgium enforces the same EU rules as everywhere else, through its national market-surveillance system. There is no separate Belgian product-safety statute to satisfy on top of the GPSR. For background, see our https://prestashopcompliance.com/eu-laws/gpsr/ page and the https://prestashopcompliance.com/guides/complete-gpsr-guide/.
The regulation’s central aim is that consumer products are safe and that the operators behind them are identifiable and reachable. For online sales, the emphasis falls on the information presented before purchase, which is exactly what you control on your PrestaShop product pages.
Who enforces the GPSR in Belgium
In Belgium, the Federal Public Service Economy, commonly referred to as FPS Economy, is the authority associated with product safety and market surveillance. It can monitor products, request documentation, and require corrective measures where products are found to be unsafe.
As with other member states, some product categories may involve additional specialised bodies. Confirm which authority is responsible for your particular goods directly with FPS Economy rather than assuming a single contact point covers all products.
The EU responsible person requirement
Under the GPSR, a product generally cannot be placed on the EU market unless there is a responsible economic operator established in the EU, such as a manufacturer, importer, or authorised representative. This is a key point for sellers based outside the EU.
If you are a non-EU seller shipping into Belgium, you will typically need an EU responsible person whose name and contact details can be provided to customers and to FPS Economy. The responsible person has defined duties, including confirming that required documentation exists and cooperating with authorities on safety matters.
What your product listings must show
Article 19 of the GPSR requires online listings to display specific information before purchase. For a PrestaShop store selling into Belgium, each product page should generally show the following.
- The manufacturer’s name, registered trade name or trade mark, and contact details.
- Where the manufacturer is outside the EU, the EU responsible person’s name and contact details.
- Information identifying the product, such as a type, batch, or serial number, and an image where relevant.
- Clear safety warnings and any instructions the consumer needs.
PrestaShop lets you present this through descriptions, feature fields, and attachments for manuals or declarations. The goal is that a Belgian shopper can identify the manufacturer and responsible person, read the identifiers, and see the warnings before buying.
Language: Belgium’s multilingual expectations
Belgium is a special case because it has three official languages: Dutch, French, and German. Which language a consumer needs depends on the region, and to reach customers across Belgium many sellers provide safety warnings and essential instructions in Dutch and French at minimum, with German for the German-speaking community where relevant.
Because language expectations can be interpreted strictly and can depend on where your customers are located, treat multilingual safety information as the safe approach and confirm what is required for your product and audience with FPS Economy.
A practical checklist for PrestaShop merchants
- Confirm whether you need an EU responsible person and appoint one if so.
- Show manufacturer and responsible-person details on every relevant product page.
- Provide product identifiers and clear safety warnings in the relevant Belgian languages.
- Keep supporting documentation ready for FPS Economy on request.
- Review listings regularly as your products and suppliers change.
For country-level context and related material, see our https://prestashopcompliance.com/countries/belgium/ hub. These steps help align your PrestaShop store with the GPSR baseline as applied in the Belgian market.
This article is for educational purposes and is not legal advice. Confirm your obligations with FPS Economy or a qualified adviser before acting.