Allegro's Local Responsible Operator: What to Enter

You open the new listing form on Allegro, scroll down to the GPSR section, and see a field: "Responsible operator in the EU / responsible person". If you bring goods in from China and sell them yourself, you probably have no idea what to put there. And without that field, the listing gets hidden and stops selling. This is a direct result of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), which since 13 December 2024 requires a specific operator established in the European Union to be responsible for every product.

This article explains what a "local responsible operator" is on Allegro, when that operator is you, and what to enter in the form so your listing goes live.

Key takeaways

• GPSR (Article 16) bans placing on the market a product for which there's no responsible operator established in the EU.

• Allegro enforces this through the GPSR form — without naming an operator, the listing gets hidden.

• When importing directly from China, that operator is usually you, as importer.

• The responsible operator must have a genuine EU address and be reachable by market surveillance authorities.

What is a responsible operator under GPSR

GPSR introduces a principle: no product may be made available to EU consumers unless there's an economic operator established in the Union standing behind it, responsible for its safety and reachable by authorities. This is meant to prevent a situation where a product comes from China and, if something goes wrong, there's no one to hold accountable.

The "local operator" in Allegro's language is exactly this EU operator. It can only be one of four roles.

Who can be the responsible operator

Role	Who this is	When it applies to you
EU manufacturer	A producer established in the Union	When you manufacture in the EU yourself
Importer	You bring goods in from outside the EU	Importing from China — the most common case
Authorised representative	An EU operator with written authorisation from the manufacturer	When a manufacturer (e.g. from China) has appointed you or another operator
Fulfilment service provider	Stores/packs/ships from the EU	When you use an EU warehouse and there's no other operator

In practice, an Allegro seller importing from China almost always enters themselves as the importer. That's the simplest and safest option.

What to enter in Allegro's GPSR form

Allegro's GPSR form requires the responsible operator's details. If you're the importer, you enter:

• your full company name (matching CEIDG/KRS records),

• your registered address in Poland (an EU country),

• contact details (email, phone) — the authority must be able to reach you at this address,

• where applicable — the manufacturer's details and the responsible person.

This same data must match the label on the product. How to prepare it is covered in Labelling a product from China under GPSR.

When you can NOT name the Chinese manufacturer as the operator

This is the most common mistake. A seller enters the name of a factory in Shenzhen or an AliExpress seller, and then wonders why the listing is still hidden. GPSR requires an establishment in the EU. An operator outside the Union doesn't meet this requirement — no matter how good its certificates are.

If there's no intermediary from the EU between you, the only realistic solution is for you to step into the importer role. More on the mechanism: Importer as manufacturer — when you take on the duties.

Duties that come with the operator role

Naming yourself in the form isn't a formality — it's a declaration that you're taking on responsibility. As the responsible operator you must:

• hold technical documentation and keep it for 10 years,

• ensure the product is safe (risk assessment),

• include identification data and warnings,

• respond to reports and cooperate with authorities (e.g. for a Safety Gate entry),

• ensure traceability — know who you bought from and who you sold to.

What happens without a responsible operator

• Allegro hides the listing (immediate loss of sales),

• a recall order for the product,

• an entry in Safety Gate, visible across the whole EU,

• a presumption that you are the manufacturer, with all its duties.

Frequently asked questions

Can I be the responsible operator as a sole trader?

Yes. GPSR refers to an economic operator established in the EU — a sole trader business (CEIDG) in Poland meets this condition. You enter your company details and address as the importer.

Do I need a separate responsible person, or is the company enough?

For most consumer products, naming the responsible operator (the company) with contact details is enough. A "responsible person" in the strict sense appears in some sector-specific regulations — for classic importing from China, the key is naming the importer company with an EU address.

What if I'm selling a product someone else already imported into the EU?

If the product was placed on the EU market by another importer, that importer is the responsible operator — you enter their details in the form. You're then the distributor. However, you must have confirmation of who the importer was.

Must the responsible operator's details match on the listing and on the product?

Yes. The details in Allegro's GPSR form, in the listing description, and on the product label must be consistent. Discrepancies are a red flag for an inspector and grounds to question traceability.