What are the penalties for non-compliance with GPSR?

Regulation (EU) 2023/988 takes a decentralised approach to enforcement: Article 44 requires each EU Member State to establish its own regime of effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalties, rather than setting a single EU-wide fine schedule. In practice, this means the financial consequences of non-compliance vary by country — but the operational consequences (listing removal, customs seizure, Safety Gate publication) apply uniformly across the EU from day one.

Germany — the largest EU marketplace for most product categories — has enacted the most detailed implementing legislation. The revised German Product Safety Act (Produktsicherheitsgesetz, in force since 19 February 2026) provides for administrative fines of up to €100,000 for serious GPSR violations. For less serious cases, the cap is €10,000. In extreme cases — where someone intentionally and repeatedly violates specific GPSR provisions in a way that endangers another person's life or health — Section 29 of the revised ProdSG provides for criminal prosecution with imprisonment of up to one year or a fine. This criminal sanction targets individuals, not just companies, and can apply to directors and managers who knowingly allow non-compliant products to be sold.

Beyond financial penalties, the operational consequences of non-compliance are often more immediately damaging for online sellers. Amazon deactivates non-compliant listings across all EU stores simultaneously, with no advance warning. Products blocked at EU customs can be destroyed at the importer's expense. If a product is flagged as dangerous, it is listed permanently in the public Safety Gate database — visible to consumers, competitors, distributors, and regulators across all 30 EEA countries. The reputational damage from a Safety Gate alert can be severe and long-lasting.

What the law says

Consequences of non-compliance