On 5 March 2021, the European Commission published guidelines on the practical implementation of Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (“Market Surveillance Regulation”). From 16 July 2021, Article 4 will prevent distance sellers based outside of the EU from selling certain types of CE marked products (including toys, electrical goods and PPE) to customers in the EU where there is no EU-based economic operator responsible for compliance. This is of particular relevance to sellers using online marketplaces to sell third party products to customers in the EU, who will not be able to appoint an EU-based economic operator themselves. It also has significant implications for EU-based fulfilment service providers, who will qualify as the responsible economic operator in the absence of anyone else meeting the criteria. The guidelines provide welcome further clarity on the Article 4 requirements.
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