NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Eva Schothorst-Gransier, Claims Made Advocatuur
Notification Process The GPSR makes it compulsory for economic opera - tors and providers of online marketplaces to use the Safety Business Gateway to fulfil the notification obli - gations. Formal Requirements The notification to the authorities via the Safety Busi - ness Gateway should include details of the notifier, the product involved, the safety risk at hand and conclu - sions of the risk assessment, the jurisdictions where the product was put on the market, the period in which it was sold, details of the supply chain (including the numbers sold) and the corrective measures taken to prevent or limit the risk. In order to inform consumers about a product safety recall, economic operators have to prepare a recall notice containing all the mandatory elements listed in the GPSR. A recommended template is provided (Safety Gate: the EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products). Amongst others, the “Product safety recall” notice needs to include a clear descrip - tion of: • the hazard associated with the recalled product, avoiding any elements that may decrease consum - ers’ perception of risk, such as by using terms and expressions such as “voluntary”, “precautionary”, “discretionary”, “in rare situations” or “in specific situations” or by indicating that there have been no reported accidents; and • the remedies available to consumers, including the choice between at least two of the following remedies: repair, replacement or refund. 1.5 Penalties for Breach of Product Safety Obligations The authorities have recourse to various interven - tions in case of non-compliance. These depend on the type of violation (serious, medium or light), the consequences of the violation, the conduct of the offender and all other facts and circumstances of the situation. In general, the more serious the violation in terms of product safety, or in case of repeat violations, the heavier the penalty. Interventions, which are non- exhaustively summarised in the Annex of the General
ries, other damage to the body, illness and chronic health effects. The notification shall include the type and identification number of the product as well as the circumstances of the accident if known. The manu - facturer (or the responsible person) shall notify, upon request, the competent authorities of any other rel - evant information. Importers and distributors are required to inform the manufacturer of accidents they become aware of involving products supplied by them without undue delay. Providers of online marketplaces are required to noti - fy without undue delay through the Safety Business Gateway of any accident of which they have been informed, resulting in a serious risk or actual dam - age to the health or safety of a consumer, caused by a product made available on their online market - place and inform the manufacturer thereof. In addition, they need to inform the relevant traders and economic operators without delay about the information they have received regarding accidents or safety issues, where they have knowledge that those traders offered the product in question through their interfaces. Time Limit The term “immediately” is understood to mean act - ing without undue delay. According to the Guidelines of the Commission Decision of 14 December 2004 (2004/905/EC) – which has since been repealed by the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2024/1761 of 21 June 2024 – it refers to taking action as soon as relevant information becomes available. In all cases, this action must occur within ten days of the manu - facturer or distributor obtaining reportable informa - tion indicating a dangerous product’s presence, even if investigations are still ongoing. When there is a seri - ous risk, companies are required to inform the authori - ties immediately and in no case later than three days after they have obtained notifiable information. In an emergency situation, such as when immediate action is taken by a company, the company should inform the authorities immediately and by the most expedi - ent means.
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