Meet your duties as an importer of products for Great Britain

Check whether you are the importer

You are an importer if you are established in the UK and you supply a product from a country outside the UK in the course of a commercial activity. That covers supply for distribution, consumption or use. A business that has a product made abroad and sells it under its own name is the manufacturer, not an importer.

You take on the manufacturer's duties instead if you sell the product under your own name or trade mark, or change it in a way that affects whether it complies. Then you must hold enough information about its design and production to stand behind the UKCA or CE marking.

The detailed duties sit in the regulation for each type of product, such as toys, electrical equipment or machinery, so check the one that covers yours. They follow the same pattern. Where no specific regulation applies to a consumer product, the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 treat you as the producer.

What you must do

For a CE-marked product, you must do the following. The same duties apply to a UKCA-marked product, with a UK declaration of conformity in place of an EU one.

Check before you place the product on the market

If you consider, or have reason to believe, that a product does not conform, you must not place it on the market. If it presents a risk, tell the manufacturer and the market surveillance authority, which is normally your local Trading Standards service.

Put your details on the product

For consumer products covered only by the 2005 Regulations, you can use your invoice to the GB customer, the shipping documents or the outer packaging label until 11pm on 31 December 2027. End users and regulators must still be able to identify you.

Keep your records

Under many regulations you must also sample test products where the risk justifies it and investigate complaints. Keep your distributors informed of what you find, and stay in contact with the manufacturer.

If a product turns out to be unsafe

If you have reason to believe that a product you have already placed on the market does not conform, you must immediately take the corrective measures needed. You can bring it into conformity, withdraw it or recall it. Where it presents a risk, you must immediately tell the market surveillance authority what is wrong and what you have done.

What happens if you do not comply

It is a defence to show that you took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence. If you rely on another person's act or information, you must serve notice on the prosecutor at least 7 clear days before the hearing, unless the court allows otherwise.