Distributor
A distributor makes an AI system available on the EU market without being the provider or importer — typically a reseller or channel partner. Article 24 requires it to verify CE marking and documentation before distributing.
Before making a high-risk system available, the distributor must verify that the CE marking is affixed, that the declaration of conformity and instructions for use accompany the system, and that the provider and importer have met their respective obligations. It must not distribute a system it knows or has reason to consider non-conforming, must ensure storage and transport do not jeopardise conformity, and must take corrective action — including withdrawal or recall — and inform the relevant authorities where a distributed system turns out to be non-conforming.
- Art. 3(7)
- Art. 24
- Art. 25
Distributor: why it matters
Distributor duties are the lightest in the chain, which is exactly why the role gets misassumed. Article 25 escalates a distributor to provider the moment it rebrands a system, changes its intended purpose or substantially modifies it — and a great deal of ordinary channel behaviour, from white-labelling to bundling a system into a differently-purposed offering, does precisely that. The economics of the two roles are not comparable, so the escalation triggers belong in the reseller agreement.
Distributor in practice
A managed service provider resells a vendor's AI-based fraud-detection product to EU banks. Reselling it unchanged under the vendor's brand keeps it a distributor: check the CE marking, pass on the documentation, keep it in stock properly. Repackaging the same product as its own "MSP FraudShield" makes it the provider of a high-risk system, with a technical file, a conformity assessment and an EU database registration to produce.
Distributor: the mistake people make
Assuming that reselling is always low-obligation. Rebranding, repurposing or substantially modifying the system converts a distributor into a provider under Article 25, and the distributor's own duty to withdraw or recall non-conforming systems it has already placed is often overlooked entirely.
Distributor: common questions
- What is the difference between an importer and a distributor?
- An importer is EU-established and places a third-country provider's system on the EU market for the first time. A distributor makes an already-marketed system available further along the supply chain and carries lighter verification duties.
- Does a distributor need its own technical documentation?
- No, provided it stays a distributor. It must verify that the provider's documentation, declaration of conformity and CE marking exist and accompany the system, but it does not draw up an Annex IV file of its own.
- What happens if a distributor rebrands the system?
- It becomes the provider under Article 25 and takes on the full provider obligation set, including a fresh conformity assessment where the modification is substantial.
Distributor: terms that come up alongside it
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