| Who is obligated and thresholds | The producer is the manufacturer, importer or distributor that first makes packaging available in a Member State, whatever the selling technique and whatever the company's size. Distance sellers established in another Member State or a third country are producers when they first make packaging or packaged products available directly to end users in a Member State (Article 3(1), point (15)(c) and (d)). Companies that unpack packaged products without being end users, including logistics companies that repackage goods, can be producers (Article 3(1), point (15)(e)). |
|---|---|
| Exemptions | Packaging or packaged products exported outside the EU, where they are expected to become waste, no longer trigger the producer's EPR obligations under the PPWR. There is no exemption from the producer role based on company size; the only narrow relief concerns micro-enterprise brand owners in the manufacturer role, where their packaging supplier in the same Member State counts as the manufacturer (Article 3(1), point (13)(b)). VAT registration alone does not amount to establishment for EPR purposes. |
| Registration (steps and registry) | A producer must register with the relevant national authorities as specified in Article 44, in the Member State where it first makes the packaging available. For online sales, offering a product to an end user counts as making it available in the end user's Member State, so the distance seller is the producer there. A non-EU manufacturer with only a branch in the EU must set up an EU subsidiary or appoint an authorised representative (Article 3(1), point (19)) if the Member State concerned requires it. |
| Reporting obligations and deadlines | Under Article 44(10), producers (individual fulfilment), producer responsibility organisations (collective fulfilment) or re-use system operators submit the Annex IX, Part B, point 3 information to the competent authority each year, covering the preceding calendar year. Packaging waste management operators must give producers or the producer responsibility organisation, every year, the information needed for the Article 44(10) reporting. |
| PROs and compliance schemes | EPR obligations can be fulfilled individually by the producer or collectively through a producer responsibility organisation. Where a producer responsibility organisation fulfils EPR collectively, it carries the annual Article 44(10) submission to the competent authority. |
Under Article 3(1), point (15) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR), a 'producer' is any manufacturer, importer or distributor that meets one of the listed conditions on first making available, irrespective of the selling technique used, including distance contracts.
The producer is the economic operator that first makes the packaging available in the Member State. This holds regardless of whether the packaging is later made available again in the same Member State, and regardless of the size of the economic operator.
The producer must pay the costs of collecting and recovering packaging waste (Article 45(1)). It must also register and report to the national authorities under Article 44, and pay the EPR fee in the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste.
Sellers established in another Member State or in a third country are producers under Article 3(1), point (15)(c) and (d). This applies when they first make packaging, or packaged products, available directly to end users on the territory of another Member State.
For online sales, offering a product directly to an end user counts as making it available in the end user's Member State. The distance seller is therefore the producer there, and online platforms must check EPR compliance.
Under Article 3(1), point (15)(e), a company established in a Member State that unpacks packaged products without being an end user is a producer, unless another person is the producer under points (a) to (d).
Logistics companies that receive imported packaged goods and unpack or repack them into smaller quantities are not end users. If they repackage the product, they are the producer of the transport packaging, even without owning the goods.
A non-EU manufacturer with only a branch in the EU must either set up an EU subsidiary or appoint an authorised representative (Article 3(1), point (19)), if the Member State where it first makes packaging available requires this.
The PPWR does not explicitly extend EPR obligations to entities that only hold a VAT registration or have a permanent establishment without legal personality. Member States cannot add requirements that undermine the harmonised notion of producer and importer.
A micro-enterprise employs fewer than 10 persons and has annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million. Where a micro-enterprise's packaging supplier is established in the same Member State, the supplier takes on the manufacturer's obligations.
If packaging or packaged products are exported outside the EU, where they are expected to become waste, the PPWR's EPR obligations no longer apply to the producer.
Packaging or packaged products exported outside the EU, where they are expected to become waste, no longer trigger the producer's extended producer responsibility obligations under the PPWR.
If boxes are exported to a third country, there is no producer in any Member State, because the boxes are not expected to become waste in the EU.
The PPWR does not exempt producers by company size. The producer is the economic operator that first makes the packaging available in the Member State, whether or not it later makes it available again in that same Member State.
Micro-enterprise brand owners have a narrow exemption in the manufacturer role, not in the producer role. If a micro-enterprise has packaging or a packaged product made under its own name or trademark and its packaging supplier is in the same Member State, the supplier counts as the manufacturer (Article 3(1), point (13)(b)).
The micro-enterprise exemption depends on who is the micro-enterprise. It applies where the brand owner is a micro-enterprise and the container manufacturer is not. It does not apply where only the container manufacturer is a micro-enterprise and the packaged-product manufacturer is not.
A micro-enterprise, under Recommendation 2003/361/EC, employs fewer than 10 persons, and its annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed 2 million.
Small businesses that fill transport, primary production or service packaging at the point of sale are not exempt. To limit their administrative burden, the producer is the manufacturer, distributor or importer of that packaging that first makes it available from within the Member State's territory.
A company that unpacks packaged products without being an end user is a producer under Article 3(1), point (15)(e), unless another person is the producer under points (a) to (d).
The PPWR does not explicitly extend EPR obligations to entities that are only VAT-registered or that have a permanent establishment without legal personality. VAT registration alone does not amount to 'establishment' for EPR purposes.
Logistics companies that unpack or repack imported packaged goods are not treated as end users. If they repackage the product, they are the producer of the transport packaging, even without owning the goods.
A producer must register in the national producer register of each Member State where it first makes packaging or packaged products available, or where it unpacks packaged products without being an end user (Article 44 PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40).
Registration is tied to the Member State where the packaging or packaged product is first made available on its territory.
The producer is the economic operator (manufacturer, importer or distributor) that makes packaging or packaged products available for the first time on the territory of the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste. This is defined in Article 3(1), point (15).
For online sales, offering a product directly to an end user counts as making it available in the end user's Member State. The distance seller is then the producer, and online platforms must check EPR compliance.
Under Article 44(10), producers (individual fulfilment), producer responsibility organisations (collective fulfilment) or re-use system operators must submit the information in Part B, point 3, of Annex IX to the competent authority each year, covering the preceding calendar year.
Where public authorities organise packaging waste management under national law, Member States may provide that those authorities submit the Annex IX, Part B, point 3 information instead.
If fees have been paid in one Member State and a distributor then first makes the packaging available in another Member State, the fees must be reimbursed.
A non-EU manufacturer with only a branch in the EU must either set up an EU subsidiary or appoint an authorised representative (Article 3(1), point (19)), if the Member State where it first makes packaging available requires this.
VAT registration alone does not make a company established for EPR purposes. Member States cannot impose extra requirements that undermine the harmonised notion of producer and importer under the PPWR.
Packaging waste management operators report through the electronic registry or registries under Article 35(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC (Article 23(1) PPWR). This is an operator reporting channel, not a producer registration step.
A producer must register and report to the relevant national authorities as set out in Article 44 of the PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40). It must also pay the EPR fee in the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste.
Under Article 44(10), the following must submit the information in Part B, point 3, of Annex IX to the competent authority: producers fulfilling EPR individually, the producer responsibility organisation where EPR is fulfilled collectively, and re-use system operators where re-use systems fulfil the EPR obligations.
The Article 44(10) submission is annual and covers each preceding calendar year.
Where national law makes public authorities responsible for organising packaging waste management, Member States may provide that those authorities submit the Annex IX, Part B, point 3 information instead.
Under Article 23(1), packaging waste management operators must give the competent authorities, every year, the packaging waste information listed in Table 3 of Annex XII. Information on packaging made available for the first time on the Member State's territory is excluded.
Operators submit the Article 23(1) information through the electronic registry or registries provided for in Article 35(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC.
Packaging waste management operators must also give producers (individual fulfilment) or the producer responsibility organisation (collective fulfilment), every year, all the information needed to meet the Article 44(10) reporting duties.
Where public authorities organise packaging waste management, Member States may, under national law, require operators to give those authorities the information needed for Article 44(10) annually. They may also require other means that supplement the electronic registry or registries.
In distance sales the distance seller is the producer, and online platforms must check EPR compliance.
If packaging or packaged products are exported outside the EU, where they are expected to become waste, the PPWR's EPR obligations no longer apply to the producer.
Under Article 45 of the PPWR, producers carry extended producer responsibility under the schemes set up in line with Articles 8 and 8a of Directive 2008/98/EC. This covers packaging they make available for the first time on a Member State's territory, and packaging they unpack without being end users.
Under Article 45(1) of the PPWR, the producer must pay the costs of collecting and recovering packaging waste in the relevant Member State.
A producer must register and report to the relevant national authorities as set out in Article 44 of the PPWR. It must also pay the EPR fee in the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste.
The PPWR allows EPR obligations to be met in two ways: individually by the producer, or collectively through a producer responsibility organisation entrusted with carrying them out.
Under Article 23(1) of the PPWR, packaging waste management operators must give the producer responsibility organisation, in cases of collective fulfilment, the information it needs to meet its Article 44(10) reporting duties. The operators must provide this on an annual basis.
Where re-use systems are fulfilling the EPR obligations, Article 44(10) places the annual reporting duty on the re-use system operators.
Where national law makes public authorities responsible for organising packaging waste management, Member States may provide that those authorities submit the Annex IX, Part B, point 3 information themselves.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (the PPWR) applies from 12 August 2026, which falls inside the last 12 months. It entered into force earlier, on 11 February 2025.
The producer carries the extended producer responsibility under Article 45(1). It must register and report to the national authorities as set out in Article 44, and pay the EPR fee in the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste.
Article 12(6) requires the Commission to adopt implementing acts by 12 August 2026. These must set a harmonised label and specifications for the labelling requirements and formats, including digital formats.
The Commission is preparing an implementing act on harmonised packaging labels, including for reusable packaging, which was scheduled for 12 August 2026; as of that date it had not been adopted.
The PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) entered into force on 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026. From 12 August 2026, packaging placed on the market, including reusable packaging, must meet its requirements.
A seller established in a third country is a 'producer' under Article 3(1), point (15)(c) and (d) of the PPWR if it first makes packaging, or packaged products, available directly to end users on the territory of a Member State. This applies irrespective of the selling technique, including distance contracts.
For online sales, offering a product directly to an end user counts as making it available in the Member State where the end user is located. That Member State is therefore where the seller's EPR obligations arise.
A web shop that sells packaged goods to an end user in another Member State is the producer and must meet the EPR obligations in that Member State. The Commission's fruit example illustrates this.
Under Article 3(1), point (23), an 'end user' is a person residing in the EU who receives the product as a consumer or professional user and does not make it further available in the form supplied. Sales to such a person trigger distance-selling producer status.
A producer must register and report to the relevant national authorities under Article 44 and pay the EPR fee in the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste. Article 45(1) makes the producer responsible for the costs of collecting and recovering packaging waste there.
The Commission's guidance states that the distance seller is the producer and that online platforms must check EPR compliance. The passages give no further detail on the extent of marketplace liability.
For online platforms, the initial offering of a product is treated as making it available for the purposes of the producer definition.
A non-EU manufacturer that has only a branch in the EU must either set up an EU subsidiary or appoint an authorised representative (Article 3(1), point (19)). The authorised representative is needed only if the Member State where the packaging is first made available requires one.
A branch cannot qualify as an 'importer' under Article 3(1), point (17), because it has no separate legal personality. Being 'established' means being a person incorporated in the EU, with a registered address in a Member State.
VAT registration or a permanent establishment without legal personality does not by itself amount to establishment for EPR purposes. Member States cannot impose additional requirements that undermine the harmonised notions of producer and importer.
An authorised representative appointed under Article 17 by written mandate may draft the EU declaration of conformity for the manufacturer. The manufacturer nonetheless remains solely legally responsible for the packaging's compliance with the sustainability and labelling requirements.
Yes. Offering a product directly to an end user counts as making it available in that end user's Member State, so the distance seller is the producer there. The seller must register and report under Article 44 and pay the EPR fee in the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste. Online platforms are not yet required to check EPR registration. Once the new harmonised national registers are in place, sellers must give a national registration number to the platform before using its service.
The producer role does not depend on turnover, but the PPWR gives small producers placing less than 10 tonnes of packaging per year some flexibilities and exemptions, such as lighter documentation and fewer inspections. Where a micro-enterprise brand owner's packaging supplier is located in the same Member State, the supplier is the manufacturer under Article 3(1)(13)(b). This does not remove the micro-enterprise's own EPR registration and reporting duties as producer. A micro-enterprise employs fewer than 10 persons and has annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding 2 million. This relief does not apply where only the container manufacturer is a micro-enterprise and the packaged-product manufacturer is not.
Where EPR is fulfilled collectively, Article 44(10) makes the producer responsibility organisation responsible for submitting the Annex IX, Part B, point 3 information to the competent authority. The submission is annual and covers the preceding calendar year.
It must either set up an EU subsidiary or appoint an authorised representative under Article 3(1), point (19), if the Member State where it first makes packaging available requires this. A branch cannot qualify as an importer under Article 3(1), point (17), because it has no separate legal personality.
If the packaging or packaged products are exported outside the EU, where they are expected to become waste, the PPWR's EPR obligations no longer apply to the producer. For example, when boxes are exported to a third country, there is no producer in any Member State, because the boxes are not expected to become waste in the EU.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 entered into force on 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026.
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This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. It summarises the official legal texts listed above as of the "last verified" date; obligations may have changed since. Check the official sources or consult a qualified professional before making compliance decisions.
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