The new German Act Regarding the Marketing of Products (Product Safety Act, ProdSG), entered into force on December 01, 2011, replacing the previous “Act for the Safety of Devices and Products (GPSG).

The primary impetus for revising the GPSG came from the EU Regulation 765/2008/EC for accreditation and market surveillance, which has been in effect in Germany in direct conjunction with the GPSG since January 01, 2010. Besides Regulation 765/2008/EC, there is Decision No. 768/2008/EC on the marketing of products. These two EU statutes, together with Regulation 764/2008/EC, give rise to the so-called New Legislative Framework (NLF) and continue the development of the previous New Approach; as a consequence, it became necessary to adapt the GPSG so that contrary regulations could be eliminated. Moreover, the replacement of the GPSG by the ProdSG serves the objective of clarifying ambiguities.

The GPSG included another, smaller set of products which were not covered by any European legal provisions for harmonization in addition to those harmonized at the European level and were consequently not subject to Regulation 765/2008/EC. The entry into force of the ProdSG now applies the same enforcement provisions to these “national” products as to the harmonized products.

Decision No. 768/2008/EC includes principles and examples of items which are supposed to be included in the ProdSG during the amendment of the domestic market regulations as a way of improving the interaction among the various individual regulations.

Another change has been made in the definition of terms. There is no longer any division of the products affected by the act into consumer products and technical working equipment (working equipment, devices, components, facilities, etc.). In the future, they will be designated as “Goods produced by a manufacturing process”. In addition, there is now inclusion of products which are offered exclusively in online trade.

The ProdSG obligates the market surveillance authorities and the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to provide extensive and adequate information regarding any lack of safety and any products involving risks to human health to the general public on the Internet. This is also the intention behind the announcement of unsafe consumer products in the RAPEX system throughout the EU. Consumers can utilize this system to find information about the identification of the products, the type of risks, and the actions which have been taken.

Some changes have also been made with respect to the GS (safety tested) mark. The “Central Body of the Laender for Safety” (ZLS) is designated as the “regulatory authority issuing authorization” for institutions appraising conformity and continues to have responsibility for the supervision of the requirements for “GS organizations”. The essential changes for the GS mark contain additional requirements for consumer products. Moreover, the specifications laid down by the Committee for Product Safety must be applied in determining the award of the GS mark.

In addition, the GS organizations undertake the obligation to proceed against manufacturers who use the GS mark without authorization and to take appropriate actions such as the issue of a warning to anyone illegally using the mark, the submission of a request for a cease and desist declaration, or the assertion of cease and desist claims. Other GS organizations must be notified and the information about the falsification of the GS mark must be published.

In the course of replacing the GPSG with the ProdSG, the provisions concerning fines and criminal penalties have also been adapted. New elements such as the failure to provide necessary information about installation, the lack of operating instructions in German, and the lack of certain consumer product information or special labeling have been included. The ProdSG punishes the intentional unlawful use of the GS mark with imprisonment of up to one year or a fine.

The VDE Institute is one of the most important authorities for the issue of the GS mark. Retailers and consumers place tremendous confidence in the safety and quality seals of the VDE because of the impartiality of its testing procedures.