can I act as both importer and distributor for the same product under GPSR

Can the same party be both importer and distributor

Yes, it can, but not for the same transaction at the same time: GPSR assigns the roles of importer and distributor based on what a party actually does with a product, not on a fixed title that someone gives themselves. Anyone who places a product from outside the EU on the European market for the first time is an importer for that transaction. If that same company subsequently also sells products that have already been imported by another business and placed on the EU market, then it is a distributor for those products. One company can therefore act as an importer for one part of its range and as a distributor for another part — it depends on the product and the transaction, not on the company as a whole.

What is not possible is to wear both hats for one and the same product at the same time. A product is placed on the EU market for the first time once, and the party that does so is the importer for that product. Anyone who subsequently trades it further — a wholesaler, a webshop that purchases from that importer — is a distributor for that unit. This distinction is more than just a label: it determines which obligations apply. Anyone who wrongly assumes they are a distributor when they are actually in the role of importer will miss obligations that do rest on them. The precise distinction between these roles is set out on the page on which role you hold as a manufacturer, importer or distributor.

Where this follows from: Article 3 and Articles 9 to 12

Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2023/988 defines manufacturer, importer and distributor as separate roles, linked to a specific transaction with a specific product: manufacturing, placing it on the EU market for the first time from a third country, or trading it further. Articles 9 to 12 then set out which obligations apply to each role — and those obligations differ significantly. An importer must, among other things, check whether the manufacturer has met its obligations and whether the required documentation and markings are present; a distributor has under Article 12 a lighter, more supervisory task and does not need to prepare its own risk analysis or technical documentation. This makes it important to establish per product which transaction has taken place, rather than assuming one fixed role for the entire company. Anyone who purchases from a non-EU supplier and also places their own brand or logo on the product falls outside this distinction and is considered a manufacturer — this follows from the rule described on the page on when applying your own brand to a purchased product leads to manufacturer status. What a distributor must and must not do is further explained on the page about that.