Consumer products
Consumer products are strictly regulated in Poland, particularly by the General Product Safety Act of 12 December 2003. Particular categories of products covered by the EU’s “new approach” directives are subject to separate and more detailed regulation under the Conformity Assessment System Act of 30 August 2002 and executive regulations. The Polish regulations for the most part implement EU provisions.
Regulation of the introduction of a product onto the market depends on the product category. The proper category is determined using definitions set forth in specific laws. In general, a consumer product may be introduced onto the market upon fulfilment of certain requirements concerning production, quality, and presentation. In a few cases it is necessary to obtain market authorisation for a product or register the product in a database.
Supervision of production and sale of consumer products is conducted by (among other bodies) the trade inspectorate, which is entitled to inspect businesses engaged in production and trade. The trade inspectorate may issue post-inspection instructions and administrative decisions ordering businesses to bring their activities into compliance with the law. It is also entitled to take actions eliminating risks related to the appearance of hazardous products on the market. In this respect, inspectors may order producers and distributors to take specific actions, e.g. to place additional warnings on a product, withdraw a product from a retail network, recall products from consumers, or provide information on a public threat. These decisions may be appealed to a second-instance administrative authority and further reviewed through the administrative courts (appeal to the province administrative courts and cassation appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court).