The background to this law is the new EU Market Surveillance Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/1020), which will apply from 16.07.2021 and which requires an adaptation of national product safety and market surveillance law throughout the European Union (EU). As a result, the German legislator has reformed the ProdSG without, however, changing the fundamental regulatory structure and logic.
The main changes include:
- Introduction of the fulfilment service provider in Sec. 2 No. 11 ProdSG as an additional norm addressee
- Fulfilment service providers belong to the group of economic operators according to Sec. 2 No. 28 ProdSG.
- Like traders, fulfilment service providers must contribute to ensuring that only safe consumer products reach the consumer, Sec. 6 para. 6 ProdSG.
- Enabling digital instructions in the case of so-called hidden product risks, Sec. 6 para. 1 1st sentence No. 1 ProdSG
- Qualification of the offering of products for the purpose of making them available on the market as placing on the market and no longer as exhibiting; this concerns in particular online trade, Sec. 2 No. 2 ProdSG
- Cautious reform of the GS mark by adapting it to actual practice and slightly changing the visual design of the GS mark, Sec. 20-24 ProdSG, Annex to ProdSG
- Enabling market surveillance authorities to issue prohibition and restriction ordinances in the case of high product risks, Sec. 8 para. 2 ProdSG
- Transfer of the market surveillance provisions together with official information and notification obligations to the Market Surveillance Act (MüG); this is currently still in the legislative process.
The initially discussed extension and concretisation of the trader obligations for not harmonised consumer products did not ultimately find its way into the resolution (Sec. 6 para. 5 4th sentence ProdSG-E). Although no serious changes are associated with the reform, there is sufficient reason for economic operators to deal with the entire reform of product safety and market surveillance law, i.e. including the new EU Market Surveillance Regulation and the forthcoming MüG.
Do you have any questions about this news, or would you like to discuss the news with the author? Please contact: Dr. Gerhard Wiebe
