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OCCP's competence in the field of general product safety
The Competence of the President of the OCCP in General Product Safety
The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection initiates administrative proceedings after receiving information from the Trade Inspectorate, which controls products in terms of their compliance with safety requirements. Signals received also from other sources – e.g. the consumers or surveillance authorities in other EU Member States – also constitute a basis for taking action.
If the President of the OCCP finds out that a product is dangerous to life and health of the users, he may – by virtue of a decision – impose specific obligations on its manufacturer or distributor, e.g. prohibit the release of the product on the market or impose a decision to:
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label the product with warnings against dangers resulting from the product
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warn the consumers, e.g. by publishing press announcements
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eliminate the danger
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withdraw the product from the market
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recover the product from consumers.
Recovery of a product from the consumers means that the undertaking must repurchase the product from the users for the price paid by the users regardless of the wear and damage. Consumer having a purchase receipt may issue such claim to the distributor from which the consumer bought the product and if the consumer does not have such receipt – directly from the manufacturer.
Products considered by the President of the OCCP as non-compliant with safety requirements are registered in the Register of Dangerous Products. Undertakings releasing products listed in the register on the market may be punished by the President of the OCCP with a fine up to PLN 100 thousand.
The President of the OCCP may also inform the public about products dangerous to consumers at his own initiative.