A trading name of A Star Supply · ContactA trading name of A Star Supply · ContactSince 13 December 2024 the EU General Product Safety Regulation applies to goods placed on the Northern Ireland market, while Great Britain keeps the older UK rules. This catches out sellers who think of NI sales as domestic.
▶ Watch: Selling to the EU from the UK? GPSR Explained for UK Sellers (2026)
UK government guidance states that from 13 December 2024 the EU Regulation on General Product Safety 2023/988 applies to goods placed on the market in Northern Ireland, and that in Northern Ireland the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 were superseded by it on that date.
Great Britain is unaffected: products placed on the GB market continue to be regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
A business in England, Scotland or Wales selling to a customer in Belfast is placing goods on the Northern Ireland market, and the EU rules apply to that sale.
The guidance says Article 16 of the GPSR means products can only be placed on, or made available to, the NI market if there is a responsible economic operator established in either Northern Ireland or the EU.
It adds that "established" means having a presence in NI or the EU, and cannot simply be, for example, a PO Box address. A single responsible economic operator can cover supply into both the EU and NI, whichever of the two it is established in.
The order runs: the manufacturer where it is established in the EU or NI, then an authorised representative, then the importer, then a fulfilment service provider.
Behind that, the manufacturer's Article 9 duties apply as they do for any EU sale: an internal risk analysis and technical documentation, kept for 10 years.
Under the 2005 regulations, the enforcement authority in Northern Ireland is any district council, and councils describe enforcing consumer goods safety rules through environmental health. The Office for Product Safety and Standards acts in nationally significant, novel or contentious cases.
GPSR is not harmonisation legislation, so it does not require CE or any other marking. Where a product does fall under harmonised rules, UK guidance explains that the UKNI marking is never used on its own: it always accompanies an EU conformity marking such as CE, and is applied where a UK notified body carried out the assessment.
Yes. UK government guidance says the EU Regulation 2023/988 applies to goods placed on the Northern Ireland market from 13 December 2024, superseding the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 there.
No. Products placed on the GB market remain under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
Yes. The guidance says the operator can be established in either Northern Ireland or the EU, and that one operator can cover both.
No. The guidance says "established" means having a presence in NI or the EU, and cannot simply be a PO Box address.
District councils are the enforcement authority, with the Office for Product Safety and Standards acting in nationally significant, novel or contentious cases.
Instilus organises the documents you already have into a GPSR evidence pack. Take the free eligibility check.
One email with the checklist, the label generator, the templates and the example pack. No account, and nothing else is sent unless you ask.