Selling products in the EU: what to do before you ship

Published on 5 November 2026

Selling products in the EU from the UK, the US or Asia starts with one question: who inside the Union answers for your product? Without an economic operator established in the Union, many products may not be placed on the market at all. As a Dutch lawyer at MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam, I help manufacturers settle that before the first shipment.

Part of our overview of EU product law for companies selling into the Netherlands.

Which EU rules apply to your product?

Either the Union harmonisation legislation for your product group, with CE marking, or the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) as a safety net. The GPSR applies insofar as Union law has no specific provisions with the same objective (Article 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988).

CE products include machinery, toys, electrical equipment, radio equipment and personal protective equipment. Their sector rules set the requirements, the conformity assessment, the EU declaration of conformity and the CE marking. Most of those rules follow the model of Decision No 768/2008/EC, which itself places no obligations on your company.

The GPSR has applied since 13 December 2024 (Article 52). For CE products it covers only risks the sector rules leave open, and its Chapter III, Section 1 (Articles 9 to 18) does not apply to them (Article 2(1), third subparagraph, point (b)). More: the General Product Safety Regulation in the EU.

Which role do you and your Dutch partner have?

If you make the product, or have it designed or manufactured, and market it under your name or trademark, you are the manufacturer. A Dutch buyer that places it on the Union market is the importer (Article 3, points (8) and (9), Regulation (EU) 2019/1020).

Placing on the market is “the first making available of a product on the Union market”. Making available is “any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge” (Article 3, points (1) and (2); Article 3, points (6) and (7) GPSR).

A customer that places the product on the market under its own name or trademark becomes the manufacturer: under Article 13(1) GPSR for GPSR products, and under most CE rules (model Article R6).

What must you arrange before the first shipment?

The product must comply and the paperwork must exist before it is placed on the market: for CE products a conformity assessment, technical documentation, an EU declaration of conformity and CE marking; for GPSR products an internal risk analysis and technical documentation (Article 9(2) GPSR).

1. Determine the regime product by product: CE rules or the GPSR (Article 2(1) GPSR).
2. Fix the roles: you are the manufacturer; your Dutch buyer is importer, distributor or, with its own brand, manufacturer.
3. For a CE product, carry out the applicable conformity assessment procedure or have it carried out, sometimes with a notified body depending on product and procedure. Draw up the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity and affix the CE marking, which only you or your authorised representative may do (Article 30(1) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008).
4. For a GPSR product, carry out an internal risk analysis and draw up technical documentation, kept for 10 years (Article 9(2) and (3) GPSR). No CE marking: it may only be affixed where harmonisation legislation provides for it (Article 30(2) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008).
5. Put a type, batch or serial number and your name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and address on the product or, where that is not possible, on its packaging or in an accompanying document (for products without CE legislation: postal and electronic address, Article 9(5) and (6) GPSR), and the details of your EU economic operator on the product, its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document (Article 4(4) Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; Article 16(3) GPSR).
6. Supply instructions and safety information in a language consumers can easily understand, as determined by the Member State (Article 9(7) GPSR; model Article R2(7)).
7. Settle your EU economic operator (Article 4(2) Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; see the next section).
8. After the sale, if a GPSR product turns out to be dangerous, take corrective measures, inform consumers and inform the market surveillance authorities through the Safety Business Gateway (Article 9(8) GPSR); for CE products, the sector rules govern corrective measures.

Three things go wrong most often. The importer that is really the manufacturer, because the product is sold under its own brand, and so has no technical documentation. Instructions and warnings that are not in Dutch. And no name and address of a responsible operator in the EU on the product or packaging. All three are easy to fix in advance; afterwards they cost a held shipment or a conversation with the supervisory authority. So first a short check on these three points before the first shipment, then build from there: quickly to market, with the biggest risks out of the way.

Who in the EU is responsible for your product?

Your importer, an authorised representative with a written mandate or, only where neither is established in the Union, a fulfilment service provider. Without one, a product covered by Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 or Article 16(1) GPSR may not be placed on the market.

Article 4 covers the acts listed in Article 4(5), such as machinery, toys and electrical equipment; Article 16(1) GPSR applies the same rule to GPSR products. You need not be established in the EU yourself, and an authorised representative is one option, not a requirement: a Dutch importer that places your product on the market is that operator.

The operator verifies that the declaration and technical documentation exist, keeps the declaration available, answers reasoned requests, reports risks and cooperates on corrective action (Article 4(3)). More: EU authorised representative in the Netherlands.

Situation	Your role	Arrange before the sale	Source
A Dutch importer imports through Rotterdam	Manufacturer; the importer is your EU operator	Documents; instructions in the language the Netherlands requires for the product; the operator’s name and contact details on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document	Art. 4(2)(b), 4(4) Reg. 2019/1020
Online sales to EU consumers, no EU importer	Manufacturer; your EU operator is an authorised representative with a written mandate or, only where none is established in the Union, the fulfilment service provider handling your products	Mandate or arrangement; operator’s details on the product, packaging, parcel or an accompanying document, and in the offer	Art. 4(2)(c)–(d), 4(4), 6 Reg. 2019/1020; Art. 16(3), 19 GPSR
A Dutch customer sells under its own brand	Supplier; the customer is the manufacturer	Agree which technical documentation you supply	Art. 13(1) GPSR; model Art. R6

Which language does the Netherlands require?

For GPSR products, instructions, warnings, safety information and recall notices must at least be in Dutch (Article 3 of the Dutch decree implementing the GPSR). For CE products, the answer depends on the product group.

For electrical equipment, the Warenwetbesluit elektrisch materiaal requires contact details, instructions and safety information at least in Dutch; the EU declaration of conformity may be in Dutch or English (Article 3). “At least” means Dutch must be there; other languages may sit alongside. For other CE product groups, check the Dutch decree for that group.

Is a Dutch buyer asking for your documents before the first order? I can check your product, documents and labels against the EU and Dutch requirements: contact Martin Krüger, product law partner in the Netherlands.

What happens if customs holds your shipment?

The authority designated for import controls suspends release for free circulation if, for example, documents, labels or the EU operator’s details are missing (Article 26 Regulation (EU) 2019/1020). Market surveillance then has four working days to ask for the suspension to be maintained (Article 27).

Release is suspended if (Article 26(1)):

• the required documentation is missing, or there is reasonable doubt about its authenticity, accuracy or completeness;
• the product is not marked or labelled in accordance with Union law;
• the CE marking or another required marking has been affixed in a false or misleading manner;
• the name and contact details, including the postal address, of the EU economic operator are not indicated or identifiable (Article 4(4));
• there is other cause to believe that the product does not comply or presents a serious risk.

“The release for free circulation shall not be deemed to be proof of conformity with Union law” (Article 27). On a serious risk or non-compliance, placing on the market is prohibited and the product is not released (Article 28(1) and (2)); a product that presents a risk to the health and safety of end users may be destroyed or rendered inoperable, at the declarant’s cost (Article 28(4)).

I act quickly and stick to the facts. We find out exactly why release was suspended: missing documents, a label, the CE marking or the details of the responsible operator in the EU. Then we supply what is missing, in consultation with the manufacturer; often it is a documentation issue we can sort out. I do not press for release until everything is right: pressing when the product is not in order moves the problem to the market and increases the risk. Release by customs does not mean the product is in order; the check afterwards remains necessary.

Does selling to the EU online count as placing on the market?

Yes, if the offer is targeted at end users in the Union, which is the case if you direct your activities, by any means, to a Member State. The product is then deemed to be made available on the market (Article 6 Regulation (EU) 2019/1020).

If it is the first supply of that product on the Union market, that is also placing it on the market (Article 3, point (2)). A webshop outside the EU needs the same documents, labels and EU operator as a container. Under Article 19 GPSR, which also applies to CE products covered by the GPSR, the offer must clearly and visibly show:

• your name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and your postal and electronic address;
• the name, postal and electronic address of your responsible person in the Union;
• information identifying the product, including a picture and its type;
• warnings and safety information in the language determined by the Member State; for the Netherlands, at least in Dutch.

Who is liable: you, your importer or your authorised representative?

Under current Dutch law, you are liable as manufacturer, and so is anyone who imports the product into the European Economic Area to sell, hire, lease or otherwise distribute it in the course of its commercial activities (Article 6:187(2) and (3) Dutch Civil Code).

That importer is regarded as producer, without prejudice to your liability, and its liability is the same as yours.

Under Directive (EU) 2024/2853, Member States must make the importer, the authorised representative and, where there is no importer established within the Union or authorised representative, the fulfilment service provider liable for products of a manufacturer established outside the Union (Article 8(1), point (c)). This applies to products placed on the market after 8 December 2026. The Dutch implementing bill (36 906) is before the Senate, the Eerste Kamer. More: the new EU Product Liability Directive for non-EU manufacturers.

What should your contract with your Dutch importer say?

The law says who can be your EU economic operator: your importer or an authorised representative with a written mandate (Article 4(2), points (b) and (c), Regulation (EU) 2019/1020). Your contract decides which of them takes on that role, who supplies what and who pays.

I put four arrangements in the contract. Access to the technical documentation and the declaration of conformity within a fixed period. Who supplies which language versions and labels. Who bears the costs if a product has to be withdrawn from the market or recalled, with an indemnity from the manufacturer. And who in the EU is the responsible economic operator. Then everyone knows in advance where they stand.

When do you need a Dutch lawyer?

Before the first shipment, while roles, documents and contracts are open, and when the designated authority suspends release, a supervisory authority asks questions or a customer claims damages. Article 4 Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Article 6:187 Dutch Civil Code decide who answers for the product.

It is usually a manufacturer from the UK, the US or Asia that has found a Dutch distributor or wants to sell online to customers in the EU. The question is rarely “what is the law?”. It is “what do we need before the first shipment?”. As a Dutch lawyer at MAAK Advocaten, my first step is a short check of three things: which EU rules apply to the product, who will be the responsible operator inside the EU, and whether the documents and labels are ready for the Dutch market.

For EU market access through the Netherlands, we act for manufacturers outside the EU and for their Dutch importers and distributors. We check documents and labels, draft importer contracts and mandates under Dutch law, deal with customs and with market surveillance (as a rule the NVWA for consumer products, other supervisory authorities for certain product groups), and litigate at first instance and on appeal.

Example: a UK kettle maker shipping through Rotterdam

A first shipment can stall on two details: the name and contact details of the EU economic operator (Article 4(4) Regulation (EU) 2019/1020) and the Dutch language rules.

Suppose a UK manufacturer sells electric kettles to a Rotterdam distributor that imports them and is therefore the EU economic operator (Article 4(2), point (b)). The kettles bear the CE marking; their English declaration of conformity is accepted under the Dutch decree on electrical equipment. But the packaging names only the UK company, and the instructions are in English. The authority designated for import controls suspends release (Article 26(1), point (d)). The importer’s name and postal address are added to the kettles, as Article 8(3) of Directive 2014/35/EU requires where possible, Dutch instructions are supplied, and the market surveillance authority approves release (Article 27, point (b)).

A hypothetical example, not one of our cases.

Frequently asked questions about selling products in the EU

Does a manufacturer outside the EU have to appoint an authorised representative?

Not in itself. For the products they cover, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Article 16 GPSR require an economic operator established in the Union. That can be your importer or an authorised representative with a written mandate; a fulfilment service provider only where neither is established in the Union.

Does release by customs mean that a product complies with EU law?

No. Under Article 27 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, release for free circulation is not deemed to be proof of conformity with Union law. It only means that the shipment was not stopped at the border.

Since when do these EU rules apply?

Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance applies from 16 July 2021 (Article 44) and the General Product Safety Regulation from 13 December 2024 (Article 52). The new Product Liability Directive applies to products placed on the market after 8 December 2026.

Do the Dutch language rules also apply to my webshop?

Yes, for products covered by the GPSR. Article 19, point (d), GPSR requires warnings and safety information in the online offer in the language determined by the Member State, and the Dutch implementing decree requires that information at least in Dutch (Article 3).

When should a non-EU manufacturer contact a Dutch lawyer?

Before the first shipment, when the contract with a Dutch importer or the mandate of an authorised representative is drafted, and as soon as the designated authority suspends release, a supervisory authority asks for documents or someone claims damages.

Primary sources

• Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance, Articles 3, 4, 6, 26 to 28 and 44.
• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR), Articles 2, 3, 9, 13, 16, 19 and 52.
• Decision No 768/2008/EC, Annex I, Articles R2 and R6 (model; no obligations on companies).
• Regulation (EC) No 765/2008, Article 30 (CE marking).
• Directive 2014/35/EU (Low Voltage Directive), Article 8(3).
• Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products, Article 8.
• Warenwetbesluit uitvoering verordening algemene productveiligheid en verordening inzake accreditatie, Article 3.
• Warenwetbesluit elektrisch materiaal, Article 3.
• Dutch Civil Code, Article 6:187.

Last checked on 5 November 2026 · next relevant date: 9 December 2026 (new Product Liability Directive)

Planning your first shipment to the EU, or is a shipment held at the border? Put your situation to me through my page as product law partner in the Netherlands. — Martin Krüger