Background

Nearly six billion small consignments with a value of less than €150 enter the European Union's single market annually from third countries. A significant number of these shipments fail to comply with legal requirements regarding product safety, labelling, or consumer information; required import VAT and environmental levies are often not fulfilled either.

The inspection rate for products from third countries at the EU's external borders was 0.0065 percent in 2025, according to a recent report by the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union of the European Commission. This makes comprehensive checks of every shipment nearly impossible.

In Germany, market surveillance responsibilities are highly fragmented. Reforms required at the European level have been partially initiated, but they will likely only show effects mid-term. According to the DIHK and HDE policy paper, strengthening enforcement of existing laws should be prioritised in the short term.

Ten Proposals for Policymakers

1. Focus on market surveillance and customs control

Federal States should establish specialised teams and consolidate inspections based on suppliers, platforms, or product categories. Strengthening customs' personnel and technical resources is also advisable; a planned European customs data platform could offer risk-based management in the medium term.

2. Centralised and user-friendly reporting structures for product safety violations

An easily accessible digital reporting platform should accept, prioritise, and forward reports concerning product safety law violations to the responsible authorities. The existing Information and Communication System for Market Surveillance (ICSMS) is hardly known to businesses and only partially low-threshold accessible, according to DIHK and HDE.

3. Strengthen cross-border law enforcement within the EU

The tools of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation (CPC Regulation) should be utilised more bindingly and promptly. The associations also advocate for tighter processing deadlines and an improved personnel and technical setup of authorities.

4. Expand controls in fulfilment centres

Authorities should specifically include warehouses within the EU in market surveillance activities. Goods can be checked collectively there and, in the case of violations, removed from circulation before being dispatched to consumers.

5. Enforce EPR, labelling, and accessibility obligations

Requirements for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), registration and labelling duties, and future accessibility requirements should be systematically monitored and enforced. Checks should also include whether due fees have been paid.

6. Expand and systematically utilise digital market surveillance

Automated methods like web crawlers could review online offers for labelling, safety information, and EU representatives' details. Authorities should also use their existing powers to remove unsafe products and identical re-listings.

7. Consistently enforce IOSS obligations and expand usage

The Import One-Stop Shop (IOSS) should be standardised. Staff and technical support are recommended to evaluate the available information.

8. Strengthen and legally secure test purchases as a key tool

Clear rules for undercover identities and practical payment solutions could enable authorities to conduct more test purchases. The associations also propose a reimbursement mechanism, for example, through platforms or payment service providers.

9. Improve the use and quality of Safety Gate notifications

To enhance the effectiveness of the European Rapid Alert System and identify risky products more quickly, related notifications must be complete, precise, and timely. Suitable framework conditions need to be established for this.

10. Drive consistent enforcement of the Digital Services Act

Procedures against very large online platforms should be conducted promptly and definitively. For persistent violations, effective and proportionate sanctions should be applied; temporary access restrictions could be considered as a last resort under strict proportionality checks.

Download

The full policy paper is available here in a non-accessible version: 

(only available in German).