Import Regulations

Product Contact Point

During the past decades, many trade barriers within the European Union have been removed with the goal of forming a Common European Market. However, national rules still apply, especially in cases where products from other EU Member States might affect public safety, health and the environment.

In order to improve the free movement of goods within the Single European Market, the Product Contact Points in Germany provide economic operators from other EU Member States with legally binding information on products for which there are still no uniform regulations within the European Union.

Depending on the nature of the product, the German Product Contact Point is either located at the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung - BLE) or at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und Prüfung). These institutions can be accessed at www.product-contact-point.de.

The national Product Contact Points were introduced in 2009 by EC Regulation EG 764/2008.