The cooperation of authorities in supervising product safety will be regulated by a new law

Prague – Organize official supervision over the safety of sold products has a proposal of a new law, which the government presented for approval to the parliament members. It regulates the rules for the functioning of the national network for warnings about dangerous products. In addition, it includes a fine of up to 50 million crowns for placing a dangerous product on the market. The government approved the bill on July 17, and the parliament members received it almost a month later, on Friday, August 16. The government wants to pass the bill in an accelerated mode during the first reading. However, this process can be blocked by the parliamentary opposition, as allowed by the rules of procedure.

The government justifies the accelerated discussion by the fact that by December 13, the European regulation on general product safety, which the law introduces into the Czech legal system, is to be fully applicable. The government also proposed the effectiveness of the law on this date. The government assures that the draft law does not contain provisions beyond the mandatory adaptation of the European regulation.

Among other things, the draft law establishes at the national level a early warning system called Safety Gate, formerly known as Rapex. Safety Gate enables the rapid exchange of information on measures taken to prevent or limit the placing on the market or use of products that may pose risks to consumers, states the Ministry of Industry. Rapex (Rapid Alert System for Non-Food Products) is the European Commission’s system for the rapid exchange of information on dangerous non-food products in the internal market of the European Union, with the exception of pharmaceutical products.

The government anticipates that the law will have only a limited impact on the budgets of the affected offices. On the other hand, it will bring a higher administrative burden to some companies and online marketplace operators, as they will have to fulfill new obligations. For example, they will need to conduct an internal risk analysis, prepare technical documentation for each product, establish an internal complaints register, and also internal procedures to ensure product safety before placing the product on the market. (August 17)