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Polish law provides regulations which specify safety requirements for most products, including toys, food, cosmetics, etc. Products which are not covered by specific regulation, e.g. lighters, children cots, furniture or candles, are covered by the Act of 12 December 2003 on general product safety (Journal of Laws No. 229 item 2275 as amended).
The Act creates a series of obligations for the producer. Most importantly, it makes it unlawful to market unsafe products. Products must not pose any hazard to their consumers when they are used both in a typical way (according to their intended use), as well as in any other, possible to predict, way. It is not always possible to eliminate the risk completely. That is why, the Act allows for some degree of risk that does not affect the normal use of the particular product and that does not compromise the high level of requirements relating to the protection of human life and health.
When assessing a product’s safety, the following factors are taken into consideration:
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the product’s characteristics, including its ingredients, package, assembly, installation and maintenance manual,
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the product’s impact on other products,
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the markings, warnings and usage instructions featured on the product,
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categories of consumers facing threat in connection with using the product.
Manufacturers marketing products in Poland are obligated to provide consumers with information in the Polish language which allows them to asses the possible threats and counteract them. Manufacturers’ obligations also include:
- placing their name and address on the product,
- testing product samples, analysing consumer complaints and - if necessary - maintaining their register and informing distributors on the actions undertaken.
Producers and distributors should also be aware that they must notify the President of the OCCP if they have found out that they had marketed dangerous products.
The Act defines a “manufacturer” in very broad terms. This is to avoid problems with products no one wants to take responsibility for. Thus, according to the Act, not only the enterprise which has produced the goods is considered the manufacturer, but any enterprise which acts as the manufacturer, giving the product its own name, trademark, etc. Furthermore, an enterprise repairing or renovating the product can be considered its manufacturer. If the manufacturer operates outside the EU, the responsibility will be borne by its representative or the product’s importer.
A distributor, in turn, is any entity that facilitates the product’s journey from the manufacturer to the consumer. What differentiates a distributor from the manufacturer is the fact that the activity of the former does not affect the product’s qualities related to safety.
The Act applies both to enterprises selling their products and marketing them for free. Therefore, both a seller, or wholesaler, and e.g. a publisher who attaches a gift to his magazine is considered a distributor.
During its safety inspection, the Trade Inspection secures only 3 items of the allegedly dangerous product.
The Act also specifies the requirements that a document must meet to be considered evidence in proceedings regarding general product safety. For example, foreign documents must be translated into Polish.
Enterprises which do not abide by the provisions of the Act are subject to strict sanctions. The sanctions may be administered both for marketing dangerous products and for the failure to fulfil the obligations imposed by the President of the OCCP. An enterprise which has been marketing products already entered in the Register of Dangerous Products may be ordered to pay a fine of up to PLN 100 thousand.
The fines are imposed by the President of the OCCP by way of administrative decision. Their execution is conducted according to the regulations on administrative executory proceedings. Funds obtained from fines constitute an income of the State budget.