With the amendment to the German Product Safety Act, the German legislature is sending a clear signal: compliance with the European Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 is no longer merely a recommendation, but a legally enforceable obligation. This is particularly evident in the comprehensive revision and significant expansion of the provisions on fines and sanctions. At the same time, Section 6 of the ProdSG has been given a new, clearly defined function after its previous content was transferred in its entirety to directly applicable EU law.
Product Safety Regulation
We have already reported on the Product Safety Regulation. It introduced a large number of directly applicable provisions on product safety, insofar as no more specific provisions exist. However, the sanction system was still lacking, and few warnings under the ProdSV have become known to date.
Introduction of a sanction system under German law
The new provisions in the Product Safety Act therefore focus on administrative offenses. Section 28 ProdSG now contains a comprehensive, detailed catalog of violations of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, covering almost all key obligations of manufacturers, importers, distributors, and platforms. For the first time, it is thus explicitly clarified at the national level that violations of directly applicable EU law are directly punishable by fines. Anyone who fails to comply with the European Product Safety Regulation is not only acting in violation of EU law, but also risks specific sanctions under German law.
Of particular practical relevance is the fact that not only classic product safety defects are sanctioned, but also formal and organizational obligations. Penalties are imposed for, among other things, inadequate risk analyses, incomplete or outdated technical documentation, missing identification information, inadequate documentation and storage obligations, and failure to report or delayed reporting to authorities and consumers. This makes it clear that product safety is not only violated when damage has occurred, but already when there are deficiencies in the prescribed processes.
The inclusion of digital distribution is also of considerable significance. Retailers, online marketplace providers, and other economic actors in online trade are explicitly addressed. Anyone who offers dangerous products, obstructs recall measures, ignores official orders, or denies access to digital interfaces is at risk of being fined. This gives market surveillance authorities effective tools to enforce cross-border and digital distribution structures.
This fine structure highlights the paradigm shift: the Product Safety Regulation is not an abstract catalog of rules, but an enforceable, sanctioned program of obligations. Companies are required to consistently align their internal processes, responsibilities, and documentation systems with the requirements of the regulation. A "wait-and-see" approach or selective implementation of individual requirements is no longer legally justifiable.
§ 6 ProdSG adé – new regulatory content on the agenda
Against this background, the newly revised Section 6 ProdSG takes on particular significance. The former Section 6 has been completely omitted because its substantive provisions – in particular those relating to safety information and instructions – are now directly and conclusively regulated in Regulation (EU) 2023/988. The national legislator has deliberately refrained from introducing parallel regulations and has limited itself to a clearly defined supplement.
The new Section 6 regulates exclusively the language of the information. For products within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, it stipulates that instructions, safety information, warnings, and certain consumer information must be provided in German. This requirement applies regardless of whether the product is sold online or in a brick-and-mortar store. This clearly resolves a frequent point of contention in practice and at the same time bridges the gap between full harmonization under EU law and national consumer protection.
The provision is by no means formal in nature. Violations of the language requirements are immediately punishable by fines and can also render the marketing of a product illegal. Companies must therefore ensure that translations are not only available, but also complete, comprehensible, and correct. This is organizationally challenging, particularly in the case of cross-border supply chains and digital offerings, but it is legally mandatory.
Conclusion
In summary, the most important regulations in practice can be stated as follows: With the revision of the provisions on fines and sanctions and the clear reorientation of Section 6, the legislator has consistently tightened the enforcement of the Product Safety Regulation. Product safety is thus becoming a comprehensive, sanctioned compliance obligation that covers technical, organizational, and communicative aspects in equal measure. Companies would be well advised to fully adapt their processes to the new legal framework now.
The statements represent initial information that was current for the law applicable in Germany at the time of initial publication. The legal situation may have changed since then. Furthermore, the information provided cannot replace individual advice on a specific matter. Please contact us for this purpose.