Responsible Person Liability: Why Your Obligations Stay With You

Appointing a Responsible Person adds an EU operator, but your duties as manufacturer under the GPSR stay with you. On Responsible Person liability, Article 16(2) of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 leaves your duties in place. Eldris's terms also have you hold product liability insurance and indemnify Eldris against claims arising from your products.

Does Responsible Person liability replace your own?

No. An appointment adds an EU-based operator that takes on the tasks in Article 4(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. It answers to the authorities, but it does not take over your duties.

You may not place a product the GPSR covers on the EU market without that operator. That rule is in Article 16(1) of the GPSR. Its definitions show what the role carries.

Under Article 3(9), an authorised representative is a person established in the EU. It holds a written mandate from you, the manufacturer. The mandate covers specific tasks linked to your duties.

Under Article 10(1), you may appoint one by written mandate. Article 4(2)(c) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 describes the same mandate. There, the representative does the Article 4(3) tasks on your behalf.

So it acts for you, while the duties those tasks relate to stay yours. None of them moves to Eldris.

The appointment itself is your act. At sign-up you confirm you have the right to appoint Eldris for the markets chosen.

The short version of this answer sits in the Responsible Person FAQ.

Which duties stay with you as manufacturer?

Your core GPSR duties stay with you under Article 9. You design and make the product in line with the general safety requirement. You also carry out the internal risk analysis and draw up the technical documentation.

Article 9(3) has you keep that file for the authorities. It sets the period: 10 years after placing the product on the market.

If you market a product under your own name or trademark, Article 3(8) makes you its manufacturer. That holds whoever makes it for you and whoever your Responsible Person is.

Article 9(6) also keeps your own details on the product. Your name, postal address and electronic address go on it. Where that is not possible, they go on its packaging or an accompanying document.

They sit next to the Responsible Person's details under Article 16(3). So both sets of details appear. Article 3(13) also counts you as an economic operator.

The checks in Article 16(2) leave the duties of every economic operator in place. So your Article 9 duties stay with you after the appointment. An appointment does not change who the manufacturer is.

What does Responsible Person liability cover in law?

In law, it covers the Responsible Person's own tasks under Article 4(3). They include the declaration of conformity and technical file, where the product's law requires them. They also include answering reasoned requests, reporting risks and working with the authorities on corrective action.

For GPSR products, Article 16(2) adds regular checks against the technical file. These checks apply where the product's possible risks call for them. On request, the Responsible Person shows the authorities written proof of them.

Article 16(3) puts its name, postal address and electronic address on the product. Or they can go on its packaging, the parcel or an accompanying document. So Responsible Person liability sits beside yours, not in place of it.

Each side keeps its own duties. Article 4(3) leaves the duties in the product's own law in place. Article 16(2) does the same under the GPSR.

As your Responsible Person, Eldris deals with the authorities. It handles regulatory correspondence too. Each task has its own section in the guide to what a Responsible Person does.

The requirements guide covers the role itself. The service page covers what the appointment includes.

How do Eldris's terms handle Responsible Person liability?

On Responsible Person liability, Eldris's terms put insurance and an indemnity on you. You keep product liability insurance for products sold in the EU. The terms also cap Eldris's total liability.

The cap is the fees you paid in the 12 months before the claim. It applies as far as the law allows.

You indemnify Eldris against claims arising from your products. That includes product liability claims.

The terms of service are a contract between you and EldrisAi OÜ, registry code 17298529. You accept them at the authorise step of sign-up.

The table sets Responsible Person liability beside yours, for GPSR products.

Duty	Who carries it	Source
Design and make the product in line with the general safety requirement	You, as manufacturer	GPSR Article 9(1)
Risk analysis and technical documentation, kept for 10 years	You, as manufacturer	GPSR Article 9(2) and 9(3)
Your own name and addresses on the product	You, as manufacturer	GPSR Article 9(6)
Answering requests, reporting risk, cooperating on corrective action	The Responsible Person	Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 Article 4(3)
Product liability insurance for products sold in the EU	You	Eldris's terms
Indemnity for claims arising from your products	You, towards Eldris	Eldris's terms

How does the split differ for cosmetics and harmonised products?

The shape of Responsible Person liability depends on the product's own law. Products under specific EU harmonisation law, such as toys, follow that law. Articles 9 to 18 of the GPSR do not apply to them.

Cosmetics have their own Responsible Person under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 lists the Cosmetics Regulation as EU harmonisation law. So the GPSR's Article 16 does not apply to cosmetics.

Each importer is the Responsible Person for the cosmetics it places on the market. That rule is in Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.

The importer may name an EU person as Responsible Person by written mandate, accepted in writing. The cosmetics FAQ covers that role.

Article 4(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 lists the acts for toys and radio equipment. It also lists the one for electrical equipment within certain voltage limits.

For those products, your duties come from the product's own law. The Responsible Person's Article 4(3) tasks sit beside those duties.

On Responsible Person liability, this guide stays on those legal texts and Eldris's terms. It does not cover civil claims for damage caused by a product.

Frequently asked questions

Does Responsible Person liability replace my product liability insurance?

No, it does not. Eldris's terms still ask you to keep product liability insurance for products sold in the EU, as one of your duties as the client. The appointment adds an EU operator for your product, but your own duties as manufacturer under the GPSR also stay with you.

Is Eldris's liability to me capped?

Yes, Eldris's terms cap its total liability for claims arising from the service. The cap is the fees you paid in the 12 months before the claim, and it applies to the extent the law allows. The current fees sit on the service page, and the terms are a contract between you and EldrisAi OÜ.

Do I indemnify Eldris for claims about my products?

Yes, under the indemnity clause in the terms you agree with EldrisAi OÜ. You indemnify Eldris against claims arising from your products, and that includes product liability claims. Under the same terms, your products must meet the EU product safety rules that apply to them before they go on the EU market.

Does an authorised representative act for me or instead of me?

It acts for you, not instead of you. Under Article 3(9) of the GPSR, an authorised representative holds a written mandate to act on your behalf for specified tasks. It does those tasks for you, but the duties they relate to stay with you as the manufacturer of the product.

Does Responsible Person liability change for toys and electrical goods?

The source of your duties changes, but not who carries them. Those products follow their own EU law rather than Articles 9 to 18 of the GPSR, and your duties as manufacturer come from that law. The Responsible Person's Article 4(3) tasks still sit beside your duties rather than replacing them.