Under the EU's product safety rules, who is the manufacturer of a product made in China, and how do you find the company behind the business card?
Since 13 December 2024 the EU's General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, known as GPSR, applies to most non-food products for consumers placed on the EU market. It asks that a product can be traced to its manufacturer and to an economic operator established in the EU. In practice, tracing a product made in China is easiest with the name the company is registered under, not only the name on its business card.
What the regulation asks
| who | what GPSR asks of them |
|---|---|
| the manufacturer | its name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, and its postal and electronic address, on the product or, where that is not possible, on the packaging or an accompanying document (Art. 9(6)) |
| the importer | its name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, and its postal and electronic address, on the product or, where that is not possible, on the packaging or an accompanying document (Art. 11(3)) |
| an economic operator in the EU | a product may only be placed on the EU market if there is an economic operator established in the EU who is responsible for the tasks in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 for that product (Art. 16(1)) |
| an online seller | at least the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or registered trade mark and its postal and electronic address, and, where the manufacturer is outside the EU, the name and postal and electronic address of the responsible person, shown in the offer itself (Art. 19) |
More precisely, GPSR applies to products intended for, or likely to be used by, consumers that are placed or made available on the EU market, where no more specific EU safety rules cover the same risks.
Why the business card is not enough
A company registered in mainland China has one legal name, registered in Chinese, and one 18-character Unified Social Credit Code. The English name on a business card, a website or a trade-fair badge is chosen by the company and is not the name in the Chinese business register. One group can trade under one English name through several legal entities: a trading company, one or more factories, a Hong Kong office. The company that signs the contract, the one that makes the product and the one that issues the invoice may be three different entities.
When a product needs to be traced, recalled or documented, the question is which of those legal entities made it. For a mainland company, the registration code answers that; the English name does not.
What to ask a supplier
- What is the registered Chinese name of the company that makes this product, and what is its Unified Social Credit Code?
- Is that the same company that signs our contract and issues the invoice? If not, which entity does what?
- Which name, trade mark and address will be on the product or packaging as the manufacturer's?
What Clacta shows
A Clacta report is built on the registration code, not on the English name. Its first block is the registered company the report is about: its registered name, its registration code, its status in the business register and its registered address, with the status shown beside the authority that recorded it. Where the company holds a customs export registration, the report shows that too. Clacta does not decide which entity is the manufacturer of a given product; it shows which company a report is about, so the answer to question 1 can be compared with the register.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety, Articles 2, 3, 9, 11, 16, 19 and 52, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ L 135/1, 23.5.2023) by the European Parliament and the Council; applies from 13 December 2024
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products, Article 4(3), as cited by Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988
- Chinese business registration records, as made by the market regulation bureau that registered each company, for registered names, codes, status and addresses
Cross-check, Clacta.