A small brand from outside the EU ships a leather product to the EU. Customs stops it. Months later, a letter arrives from the national market surveillance authority of an EU member state. It says the product does not meet the General Product Safety Regulation, lists what is missing, and gives a deadline to respond.
This happened to a client who came to us in October 2026. We have removed the details that could identify the brand or the authority, but the content of the letter is real. Many sellers do not know what is expected of them when such a letter arrives.
This article explains what such a letter means, which rules it usually cites, how much time you have, and how to answer it.
- What the letter said
- Why this letter is your chance
- How a parcel gets stopped at customs
- How to answer, step by step
- What happens if you do not respond
- How to prevent the next letter
- Checklist
What the letter said
The letter was a consultation letter: the authority announced what it intended to do and invited the company to respond first. It made four points.
The brand was treated as the manufacturer. The authority based this on a sentence on the company's own website. Under the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR, Regulation (EU) 2023/988), a manufacturer is anyone who makes a product, or has it designed or made, and markets it under their own name or trade mark (Article 3(8)). What you say on your own website counts.
Three things were missing on the product.
| What the authority found | Rule | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| No type, batch or serial number | Article 9(5) GPSR | Each product needs an identifier consumers can see; if the product is too small, it goes on the packaging or an accompanying document |
| No name and postal and email address of the manufacturer | Article 9(6) GPSR | These details must be on the product or, where that is not possible, on the packaging or in an accompanying document |
| No name and contact details of a responsible economic operator in the EU | Article 16(1) and (3) GPSR | A product may only be placed on the EU market if an economic operator established in the EU is responsible for it |
The responsible economic operator in the EU is often called the EU responsible person or EU authorised representative. It is the same role.
Documentation was requested. The authority asked for the internal risk analysis and the technical documentation that manufacturers must draw up before placing a product on the market (Article 9(2) GPSR).
Instructions in the local language. The letter pointed out that instructions and safety information must be in a language consumers in that member state can easily understand, as set by that member state (Article 9(7) GPSR).
The deadline to respond was about two weeks.
Why this letter is your chance
A consultation letter is not yet a decision. Before an authority takes a measure, the company must be given the chance to be heard, with at least 10 working days to respond. Only when a measure is urgent, for health, safety or other public-interest reasons, may the authority act first and hear the company afterwards (Article 18(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020).
Any measure that follows must state its exact grounds, and the company must be told how it can object or appeal under national law and within which time limits (Article 18(1) and (2)).
In practice this means: what you send back in that period is the most important thing you can do. An authority that receives complete documentation, a corrected label and a clear plan is more likely to close the case. An authority that receives nothing will take a decision on the information it has.
Selling in the EU from outside the EU? With our EU Authorised Representative service under the GPSR we are the EU contact point that authorities reach, and the first contact is included.
How a parcel gets stopped at customs
Customs authorities check products entering the EU together with the market surveillance authorities. They must suspend the release of a product when, among other things, the required documentation is missing, the product is not marked or labelled as EU law requires, or there is another reason to believe it does not comply with EU law (Article 26(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020).
The market surveillance authority then has four working days to ask customs to keep the product on hold. If it does not, the product is released, provided all other customs formalities are met (Article 27). If the authority concludes that the product may not be placed on the market, customs refuses release, and the customs record and the invoice state that it is a non-conforming product that may not be released for free circulation (Article 28(2)).
Our article on EU customs controls on e-commerce imports shows how often this happens.
How to answer, step by step
- Note the deadline. Write it down the day the letter arrives. If you cannot make it, ask for more time in writing, before the deadline, and explain why.
- Check which role the authority gives you. If the letter treats you as the manufacturer, read your own website, packaging and listings. If they present you as the manufacturer, the authority will likely see you that way.
- Collect your documentation. The internal risk analysis and the technical documentation (Article 9(2) GPSR). Test reports, if you have them. Our article on the GPSR risk assessment shows what the analysis looks like.
- Fix the label. Add a type, batch or serial number, the manufacturer's name and postal and email address, and the EU responsible person. Send a photo or a print proof of the corrected label.
- Appoint an EU responsible person. The authority will check this. Include the name, postal and email address in your answer.
- Translate instructions and safety information into the language of the member state, where your product needs them.
- Propose what happens to the stock. For example relabelling the products held at customs or in the warehouse before they are released.
- Answer point by point, in writing. Follow the order of the letter. For each point: what was missing, what you changed, and the evidence. Keep a copy of everything you send.
| Point in the letter | What to send |
|---|---|
| No product identifier | Photo of the corrected label with the type, batch or serial number |
| No manufacturer details | Photo of the label with name, postal and email address |
| No EU responsible person | Name, postal and email address of the responsible person, and the corrected label |
| Risk analysis and technical documentation | The documents themselves, in a language the authority understands |
| Instructions in the local language | The translated instructions and safety information |
| Products on hold | Your plan for relabelling or returning the stock |
What happens if you do not respond
If the authority receives no answer, it decides on the information it has. It can ban the product from the market and refuse its release at the border (Article 28(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020). If the product presents a serious risk, the measure is notified in the EU's Safety Gate system and becomes public. Our article on the EU Safety Gate explains what such an alert means for your brand and listings.
The consequences rarely stay with one parcel. Every next shipment of the same product meets the same problem, and online marketplaces act on orders from authorities.
How to prevent the next letter
Almost everything in this letter could have been fixed before the first parcel left. The product label needs an identifier and the manufacturer's details, the product needs an EU responsible person, and the manufacturer needs a risk analysis and technical documentation.
Want to know whether your labels and documentation would pass such a check? Our labelling check reviews your label, and our technical file service drafts the technical documentation if you do not have it yet.
Checklist
- Write down the deadline the day the letter arrives.
- Check whether your website, packaging and listings present you as the manufacturer.
- Collect your risk analysis, technical documentation and test reports.
- Correct the label: product identifier, manufacturer details and EU responsible person.
- Appoint an EU responsible person if you do not have one.
- Translate instructions and safety information where your product needs them.
- Answer in writing, point by point, with evidence for each point, before the deadline.
- Propose what happens to the products on hold.
- Keep a copy of everything you send and receive.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR), Articles 3(8), 9(2), 9(5), 9(6), 9(7), 16 and 23(1). EUR-Lex
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products, Articles 2(2), 18, 26, 27 and 28. EUR-Lex
- Consultation letter from an EU market surveillance authority to a client of Westwood Sourcing, October 2026 (anonymised).
- Consulted October 2026.
