EU responsible person (GPSR): what it is, when you need one, how to get it

The most common question about GPSR is the "EU responsible person". It's also where most offers get stuck. Let's clear it up.

What the EU responsible person is

GPSR (and Regulation 2019/1020) require that, for any product placed on the EU market, there be an economic operator established in the European Union accountable for the product's compliance and safety. Their role is to be the point of contact for authorities and consumers and to provide compliance documentation.

When you need one

The EU responsible person is mandatory when the manufacturer is not established in the EU. If you sell products made outside the EU (very often, Asian brands), each such product needs a responsible EU operator. If the manufacturer is already in the EU, the manufacturer details are enough.

Who can be the responsible person

• The importer — if you import the product into the EU, you are usually the responsible operator.
• An authorised representative — designated in writing by the manufacturer.
• An EU-established fulfilment provider that accepts the role.

Importantly, for many stores your own company (as importer) can be the responsible person for a large part of the catalog — which greatly simplifies compliance.

What data must be shown

The offer must show the responsible person's name, postal address and an electronic contact address. On eMAG these fields are filled at offer level (or in bulk via API).

How to avoid the chaos

In practice you have a few responsible persons for the whole catalog (usually your company plus a few importers/distributors). You define them once and map them to brands. Then each product automatically gets the correct responsible person.

That's how we automate GPSR at SISSOFT — including mapping the responsible person across thousands of products and pushing to eMAG.