Consumer products in Europe: one company for all the duties
Since 13 December 2024 every non-food consumer product sold in the EU needs a responsible person established in the EU. CE-marked products have needed an EU economic operator since 2021. On top of that come packaging, battery and electronics registrations per country. A brand from the United States, the United Kingdom, China or India covers all of it with one Dutch company.
Ask about your situationThe General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) applies to every non-food consumer product sold in the EU since 13 December 2024. It requires a responsible person established in the EU, named on the product or its packaging, that keeps the technical documentation and answers the authorities. For products with CE marking, such as toys, electronics and personal protective equipment, the market surveillance regulation has asked for an EU economic operator since 16 July 2021. The role can be filled by the manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative or a fulfilment service provider in the EU. Holdwise sets up the Dutch company that takes the role, registers it for the packaging, battery and electronics schemes, and works with product safety partners for the technical files.
On this page: what the responsible person does, the difference with CE-marked products, the producer responsibility registrations, why the Netherlands, and the steps to the first shipment.
The responsible person under the product safety rules
The GPSR replaced the old product safety directive. It covers every consumer product without its own EU rule: furniture, textiles, sports goods, kitchenware, decoration, tools for home use, and everything sold on marketplaces. A product can only be sold in the EU if a responsible person established in the EU exists for it. That is the manufacturer if it is in the EU, otherwise the importer, an authorised representative appointed in writing, or a fulfilment service provider in the EU.
The responsible person checks that the technical documentation and the safety information exist, keeps them for ten years, cooperates with the authorities, reports accidents and dangerous products through the EU Safety Gate, and takes part in recalls. Its name, address and an electronic contact go on the product, its packaging or a document that comes with it. Online marketplaces check that a responsible person exists before a listing goes live and show its details to buyers.
CE-marked products: the importer and the economic operator
Toys, electronics, radio equipment, personal protective equipment, machinery for home use and several other product groups have their own EU rules and have the CE marking. For those, the market surveillance regulation has required an economic operator established in the EU since 16 July 2021: the manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative or a fulfilment service provider. The importer has extra duties: it checks that the conformity assessment was done, that the declaration of conformity and the technical documentation exist, that the product is labelled correctly, and it puts its own name and address on the product.
Electronics and connected products get two more rules. The radio equipment directive requires a USB-C charging port on most portable devices since 28 December 2024. The Cyber Resilience Act applies to every product with digital elements: manufacturers must report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents since 11 September 2026, and the full requirements apply from 11 December 2027. Read machinery, electronics and connected products for the details.
Packaging, batteries, electronics and textiles: the producer registrations
The company that first places a packaged product on the market in an EU country pays for the collection and recycling of that packaging. In the Netherlands that is the Verpact scheme; the company registers, reports the kilos per material and pays a fee per kilo. The EU packaging regulation (PPWR) applies since 12 August 2026 and asks a company from another country to appoint an authorised representative for producer responsibility in each country where it sells.
The same principle applies to batteries and to electrical and electronic equipment: the producer registers in each country of sale, or appoints an authorised representative there. The Netherlands also has extended producer responsibility for textiles since 1 July 2023: a company that first sells clothing or household textiles in the Netherlands registers and reports.
Your Dutch company is the producer for the Netherlands and holds the registrations in its own name. For Germany, France and the other countries where you sell, the partner appoints the representative there, from your Dutch company, so every scheme has the same name and the same address.
Why the Netherlands for consumer goods
Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe and Schiphol is one of the largest cargo airports in Europe. A warehouse in the Netherlands reaches Germany, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom within a day. With the Article 23 licence, import VAT is reported in the VAT return and nothing is paid at the border. One Dutch VAT number and the One Stop Shop return cover sales to consumers in the whole EU.
The Dutch market surveillance authority for consumer products is the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA); for electronics and radio equipment it is the Dutch Authority for Digital Infrastructure (RDI). Both work in English with foreign companies. A Dutch company pays 19% corporate tax on the first €200,000 of profit and 25.8% above that. Read more on entering the EU market and setting up a subsidiary in Europe.
Based on Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 (market surveillance), Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR), Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (batteries), Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE), the Dutch extended producer responsibility decrees and the guidance of the NVWA and the RDI, as applied in September 2026. Product files are prepared by specialised partners; Holdwise coordinates.
Who does what
Holdwise sets up and runs the Dutch company and stays your single point of contact. Specialist partners do the licence and product work. You keep one contact, one file and one invoice.
Your company
- Own the brand, the products and the supplier contracts
- Provide the technical documentation, test reports and label artwork
- Decide the countries, the marketplaces and the price
- Sign the power of attorney; nobody travels
The Dutch base
- Sets up the Dutch company (a BV), by power of attorney, with the notary
- Registered office, the address that goes on your products
- KVK number, tax number, VAT number, EORI customs number
- Bank account, the Article 23 licence, bookkeeping and VAT returns, One Stop Shop
- Producer registrations for packaging, batteries, electronics and textiles in the Netherlands
- Single point of contact for the product safety partner and the warehouse
Licences and product rules
- Product safety review: does the technical file meet the EU rules for this product
- CE marking, declarations of conformity and test reports
- Producer responsibility representatives in the other EU countries
- Marketplace compliance: responsible person details, listing checks
- Warehousing and fulfilment for the EU from the Netherlands
The route, step by step
What happens from your first question to the day your first product is on the European market.
- One question. You tell us what you sell, where it is made, which countries and marketplaces you want and how many products you have. We answer in writing with the roles your products need, the structure that fits and one written proposal.
- The Dutch company. The notary sets up the BV by power of attorney with the parent as shareholder. You receive the KVK number, the tax number, the VAT number and the customs number. The bank file starts on day one.
- The roles. Your Dutch company becomes the responsible person and, for CE-marked products, the importer. The partner checks the technical files and the labelling.
- The registrations. Packaging, batteries, electronics and textiles in the Netherlands in your company’s name; representatives in the other countries where you sell.
- The marketplaces. Responsible person details on every listing, VAT number and EORI number in your seller account, invoices from your own company.
- Operations. Stock in a Dutch warehouse, orders shipped across the EU, VAT and bookkeeping done. One monthly overview, one point of contact.
Related guides
The other parts of the route to Europe, on the same site.
Common questions
Ask about your own situation
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and which countries you want to sell in. You get a written answer. Where a Dutch company fits, we write down what it would look like and what it costs.
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