- Governing act
- Reg. (EU) 2023/988
- Function
- Article 16 operator
- Established in
- Slovenia, EU
- Activation
- 2 working days
The EU address your products are missing.
If your company sits outside the European Union, every product you place on the EU market needs an economic operator established inside it — named on the packaging, holding the documentation, answering to the authorities. We are that operator, and we are a real company in Ljubljana with a director whose name is on this page.
Specimen of the address block as it appears on packaging.
The requirement
No operator in the Union, no product on the market
Reg. (EU) 2023/988 · Art. 16(1)–(3) · in force since 13 Dec 2024
The General Product Safety Regulation forbids placing a consumer product on the EU market unless an economic operator established in the Union is responsible for it. That operator's name and address must appear with the product. The operator keeps the technical documentation, verifies that the required safety information is present, cooperates with market surveillance authorities and acts when a product turns out to be unsafe.
Marketplaces enforce this on their own account. Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Kaufland, Allegro and bol.com all collect responsible-person data per listing, and an offer without it is suppressed, typically after a 48-hour notice that is too short to find a representative.
How it fits together
Where we sit in the chain
You keep the product, the factory and the commercial decisions.
We hold the documentation, carry the name on the packaging and answer the letters.
They address the operator inside the Union — not your office abroad.
Nothing about your supply chain changes. What changes is that there is now an address in the Union that answers for the product.
The costly misunderstanding
A German VAT number is not an EU establishment
Seen on most non-EU storefronts
A seller registered in Shenzhen, Hong Kong or Delaware shows DE456999802 on its seller profile and concludes the EU box is ticked. It is not. VAT registration gives you the right to pay tax in Germany. It does not create a legal person inside the Union, and a tax number cannot hold your technical file or answer a market surveillance officer.
These are two separate obligations under two separate bodies of law. Your tax agent has solved one of them. We solve the other.
Before you pay anyone
You may not need a responsible person at all
You do not need to appoint one if an economic operator established in the Union already takes responsibility for your products. That is the case if:
- an EU-established importer buys your goods and places them on the EU market, or
- an EU-established fulfilment service provider has agreed in writing to take on the responsible-person obligations, or
- your own company has a subsidiary or branch established in an EU member state.
If one of these applies, tell us and we will say so. We would rather lose a sale than take a fee for an appointment you do not need.
Scope
What we take on — and what we refuse
A responsible person who accepts everything is worth nothing to you, because the first serious incident ends the service for all of its clients at once. Our restrictions are what make the appointment durable.
Included in the appointment
- +Our name and Slovenian address as the EU economic operator, on packaging and in listings
- +Custody of the declaration of conformity and technical file, kept available for ten years
- +Verification that required safety and warning information is present per product family (Art. 16(2) GPSR — with documented evidence of checks available to authorities)
- +Receipt of and response to market-surveillance correspondence, forwarded to you the same day
- +Ensuring accident notification through the Safety Business Gateway where the manufacturer is outside the EU (Art. 20(4) GPSR)
- +Maintenance of the responsible-person entry across your EU marketplace accounts
- +Notification to marketplaces if the appointment ends, so you are never silently unrepresented
- +One mandate covers every EU marketplace and all 27 member states. We will tell you if and when ESPR obligations reach your products.
Categories we do not accept
- −Toys and childcare articles
- −Mains-powered goods and anything with a lithium cell
- −Cosmetics and products applied to the skin
- −Personal protective equipment
- −Machinery, power tools and pressure equipment
- −Medical devices, lasers and radio equipment
We accept low-risk consumer goods: textiles and apparel, non-electrical homeware, furniture and décor, stationery, bags and accessories, sports and leisure articles without powered components.
What counts as one product family
Same materials and same function: one family, whatever the size or colour. Different function, or different materials: a new family. Anything electrical, anything for children, anything protective: always separate — and outside what we accept.
What is coming
The dates that matter
GPSR, Regulation (EU) 2023/988, became applicable. An economic operator established in the Union is required for every consumer product on the EU market.
The €150 customs duty exemption ended. Every consignment under €150 shipped directly to an EU consumer carries a €3 duty per tariff line. Not our service — it changes your landed cost, not your representation.
PPWR applies. Non-EU sellers need a packaging EPR representative established in each member state where they sell; Amazon now checks EPR numbers in every EU country. We do not provide EPR representation — it must be a company in each country — and we will name a provider that does.
For products placed on the market from 9 December 2026, the authorised representative of a non-EU manufacturer is liable alongside it for defective products (Directive (EU) 2024/2853, Art. 8), as transposed by each Member State.
The first mandatory Digital Product Passport applies to batteries under ESPR, with further product groups to follow.
We tell you which of these touch your products, and we say so when none of them do.
Pricing
Priced per year. Counted by product family, not by listing.
Starter
€690 first year
€390 each year after
1 to 5 product families. For a seller with a focused catalogue entering the EU market.
Standard
€1,190 first year
€790 each year after
Up to 15 product families. Adds a quarterly check that our details are showing correctly on your covered listings. Can be paid in two instalments.
Extended
€1,990 first year
€1,490 each year after
Up to 40 product families. Adds the quarterly listing check and a half-yearly review of your documentation — expiring test reports, changed factories, new materials. Can be paid in two instalments.
Every plan includes everything in the scope above, the documents listed under Deliverables, and our answers to authorities, customs and marketplaces about your covered products — with no limit on the time we spend. We acknowledge every such request within one working day and forward it to you the same day.
Why the first year costs more. The first year includes our onboarding review: we check the file for every product family, prepare your labelling pack and marketplace submission pack, and give you a checklist of what you hold and what expires. After that the work is keeping it current, and the price drops.
An additional product family costs €59 a year. When extra families would cost more than the next plan, we move you to it. Above 40 families we price on your catalogue.
A request is included; an incident is separate work. If a request turns into corrective action, a withdrawal, a recall or a Safety Gate case, we keep performing our legal duties without interruption and give you a written quote for the work beyond them before we start.
Paid once a year in advance, in euro, by bank transfer within 14 days of our payment request · We do not take cards · Prices exclude VAT; no Slovenian VAT is charged to businesses outside the EU · Cancel with 30 days' notice — we notify the marketplaces so nothing is left misrepresented
Why families and not SKUs.
A product family shares materials, intended use and test reports, and differs only in size or colour. One family is usually five to twenty listings. Five families therefore cover anywhere from twenty-five to a hundred listings — a catalogue a per-SKU price would charge for item by item.
Founding clients
Our first ten clients pay 30% less in their first year — €483, €833 or €1,393 — and renew at 10% below the list price for as long as they stay with us. The offer closes when ten clients have signed, and we will say so on this page.
List prices may change once our liability insurance is placed. The price in your signed mandate does not change during its term.
If we refuse, you pay nothing
We check your categories and screen your company before we ask for payment, so most refusals happen before you pay anything. If the full review of your file then shows that we cannot represent a product responsibly, we refund the whole first-year payment. If we accept some product families and not others, you pay only for the plan the accepted families need.
We never renew you silently, and we never drop you silently
Your appointment renews automatically, so your listings never point at a representative who has stopped acting. Your invoice does not. We write to you 60 and 30 days before the renewal date with the price for the next year, and ask for payment after you confirm. If you do not reply, we send the payment request on the renewal date, and you then have 30 days either to pay or to end the appointment at no charge. Throughout that time we remain your responsible person. If neither happens, we end the appointment formally and tell the marketplaces.
Compared with a one-time fee
Five product types with a provider who charges once per product type: about €2,000–2,500 at list prices, paid up front. With us: €690 in the first year and €390 in each year after — €1,470 over three years, with every answer to an authority included.
For a single product you will sell for years, a provider that charges once may cost you less. We will tell you so.
Separate services
| Service | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free listing check | Three listings from any EU marketplace, checked by a person, report in one working day | Free |
| Listing & Label Check | Up to ten listings and their labelling, written report in two working days | €49, credited against your plan |
| EU Readiness Audit | For companies not ready to sign yet: your whole catalogue up to 20 families, with a written plan | €490, half credited against the first year if you sign within 30 days |
| Documentation Review | One product family beyond your plan, or one with a difficult file | €299 |
| Expedite | Shipment held at customs: a signed appointment within 24 hours of a complete file that passes our review | €390 on top of the plan |
| Incident work | Corrective action, withdrawal, recall or a Safety Gate case — quoted and agreed before we start | from €750 per case |
| Advisory | Questions outside your covered products | €120 per hour |
Translation, courier and laboratory costs are passed on at cost, and we tell you in advance wherever we can.
One mandate
All 27 member states, every marketplace
The appointment attaches to your products and your company, not to a sales channel. Adding a marketplace does not require a new mandate or a new fee.
Process
From documents to a live appointment
Two working days from a complete set of documents. Twenty-four hours when a shipment is held at customs — our Expedite service, €390 on top of the plan, on a complete file that passes our review.
The technical file we keep for ten years.
Free listing check
Send us three listings. A person checks what a customer and an authority actually see, and you get the report whether or not you become a client.
Category and company screening
You send the product list grouped into families. We check the categories against what we accept and screen your company. Free, one working day.
Payment and full review
You pay the first year. We review the file for every family and tell you exactly what is missing before anything is signed.
Signed appointment — or a full refund
A written mandate and a certificate for every accepted family. If we cannot represent a product responsibly, we say so and return the money.
You publish our details
We issue the text for your packaging and the fields for your marketplace accounts, and stay with you until the marketplace accepts them.
Deliverables
What you actually get
In the first year
A written review of the file for each product family: what is present, what is missing, and what has to change before we sign.
The exact address block and warning text for your packaging and listings, with placement guidance for each family.
The fields and documents to enter us as responsible person in Seller Central and your other marketplace accounts. We stay with you until the marketplace accepts them.
For each family: what you hold, what expires and when, what to keep ready for an authority.
Every year
The appointment agreement naming Altex Group d.o.o. as your Article 16 operator, with indemnity and termination terms in both directions.
A dated PDF with a reference number, listing the product families covered and the period of validity. Show it to a marketplace, a customs broker or a buyer.
A page anyone can open to confirm the appointment is real and current. Your certificate carries the link.
One email a month: what we hold, what is missing, what expires. No dashboard to log into.
Sixty and thirty days before your renewal date, with the price for the next year.
No compliance score, no progress bars. Documents that do something.
Appointment as EU Responsible Person
Regulation (EU) 2023/988, Article 16
- Reference
- AG-RP-[YYYY]-[NNNN]
- Issued to
- [ Client company, registration number, country ]
- Product families
- [ list ]
- Valid from / until
- [ date ] / [ date ]
Responsible person
ALTEX GROUP, informacijske dejavnosti, d.o.o.
Dunajska cesta 159, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Registration number 9379185000
info@altex.si
Verify this appointment at altex.si/verify/AG-RP-[YYYY]-[NNNN]
Signed for and on behalf of Altex Group d.o.o.
Konstantin Filin, Director
This certificate evidences a private appointment; it is not a product certification or approval
Start here
Free listing check, three listings, one working day
Send us three ASINs or listing links from any EU marketplace. We check what a customer and an authority actually see on those pages: whether an EU operator is displayed, whether the details resolve to a real establishment, and whether the products sit in categories that attract scrutiny.
The report is written by a person who opens your listings, not generated from a template. You get it whether or not you become a client.
Accountability
You will know whose name is on your packaging
When an authority writes, a person reads the letter.
Your responsible person is not an anonymous platform. The mandate is signed by Konstantin Filin, director of Altex Group d.o.o., at a registered address in Ljubljana. When an authority writes, a person reads the letter and answers it — and you are told the same day.
Ask any provider you are comparing us with for the name of the person who will sign your mandate. It is a fair question, and the answer tells you what you are buying.
For partners
Refer sellers who need an EU operator
If you already work with sellers outside the Union, you meet this problem before we do. Refer them to us: we contract with the seller directly, review the documents, answer the authorities, and pay you a share of what the client pays us.
VAT agents and tax representatives
You registered their German VAT. The operator obligation is the next question they will ask you.
Freight forwarders and 3PL warehouses
Your clients' goods are stopped at the border when no EU operator can be identified.
Testing laboratories
You issue the reports. Someone in the Union has to hold them.
Marketplace agencies
You manage the listings that get suppressed. Fix the cause, not the symptom.
Sourcing agents and export consultants
Your clients are about to sell in Europe. The operator is the question they have not asked yet.
20% of what the client pays us in the first year, 10% for as long as they stay with us, paid quarterly. Accepting a client is always our decision, and we tell you why when we decline.
Before you ask
Do you test products or issue certificates?
No. We are not a laboratory and not a notified body. We hold and verify the documentation you supply, and we refuse products whose documentation does not hold up.
We already have an EU warehouse. Is that enough?
A fulfilment centre is not automatically your economic operator, and neither is the marketplace. The obligation attaches to a legal person who accepts it in writing. If your fulfilment provider has accepted it in writing, you do not need us.
What happens if an authority writes to you about our product?
We acknowledge it, forward it to you the same day, and coordinate the response. We do not agree to corrective action on your behalf without your instruction, unless an authority's deadline makes that impossible — then we act and tell you immediately.
Which marketplaces does one appointment cover?
All of them. The appointment is per product family and per company, not per channel — Amazon EU, eBay, Etsy, Kaufland, Allegro, bol.com and your own shop are covered by the same mandate, in all 27 member states.
Are you connected to the European Commission?
No. We are a private company performing a role the regulation assigns to private operators. Anyone claiming official status is misleading you.
How quickly can the appointment start?
Two working days from a complete set of documents. If your shipment is held at customs, twenty-four hours with our Expedite service (€390 on top of the plan), provided the file is complete and passes our review. Incomplete files take longer, and we will tell you exactly what is missing.
Why do you refuse whole product categories?
Because a responsible person carries real obligations for every product it represents. We take on what we can stand behind. A provider that accepts everything is telling you something about how seriously it takes the role.
Why don't you sell lifetime representation for a one-time fee?
Because the obligation does not end when the invoice is paid. A responsible person must hold the technical file and answer authorities for ten years after the last unit is sold, and from 9 December 2026 is liable to consumers for defective products over the same period. A provider paid once in year one has no income in year four, when the authority writes — and no reserve behind the liability. If you are considering a one-time provider, ask what its terms say about ceasing business, and what happens to your listings if it does.
Can I pay monthly, or by card?
No. You pay once a year in advance, by bank transfer, in euro. On Standard and Extended you can split the year into two equal payments six months apart, at no extra cost. We do not take cards: the work we do for you is mostly done in the first weeks, and a monthly price would only hide that.
Why don't you call your document a certificate of compliance?
Because the GPSR does not provide for one. Nobody can certify a product against the General Product Safety Regulation — there is no scheme, no notified body and no register. What we issue is an Appointment Certificate: proof that a named EU company has accepted the responsible-person role for named product families, with a public verification page behind it. Anyone selling you a "GPSR certificate" for your product is selling you a PDF with their logo on it. What an authority asks for is a technical file and an economic operator who answers.
Do I need to register my own web shop in the Safety Gate?
No. Article 22 of the GPSR requires providers of online marketplaces — intermediaries that let other businesses sell to consumers — to register in the Safety Gate portal and nominate a single contact point. A shop selling its own brand to consumers is not an online marketplace within that definition and has nothing to register. You do need a responsible person, and your listings need to show who it is. If someone has offered to register your shop in the Safety Gate for a fee, ask them which provision requires it.
The entity behind the service
Who signs the appointment
Dunajska cesta 159, Ljubljana.
- Legal entity
- ALTEX GROUP, informacijske dejavnosti, d.o.o.
- Registered office
- Dunajska cesta 159, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Registration number
- 9379185000
- Registered since
- 24 April 2023
- Director
- Konstantin Filin
- Correspondence
- info@altex.si
- Supervisory authority for product safety in Slovenia
- Tržni inšpektorat Republike Slovenije
The text that goes on your packaging and in your listings
EU Responsible Person: Altex Group d.o.o. Dunajska cesta 159, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia info@altex.si