Operator roles and producer responsibility

• How is producer responsibility for branded packaging determined if a wholesaler purchases products for its central warehouse and imports the packaging into different Nordic countries? Is the wholesaler subject to producer responsibility for this packaging as the Importer, even if the brand also has its own imports into the country?

  In this case, producer responsibility lies with the Importer (Distributor) established in the Nordic country where the packaging enters the waste management system. The wholesaler is therefore subject to producer responsibility for the packaging.
  

• Is the brand owner or the actual manufacturer responsible for the packaging of medical devices manufactured for a brand? Does it affect producer responsibility if the details of the actual manufacturer, i.e. the factory, are also shown on the packaging?

  The company that determines the characteristics of the packaging or packaged product is considered the PPWR Manufacturer. The Manufacturer is generally the brand owner that has the products manufactured under its own trademark or logo. The Manufacturer of the packaging or packaged product is not necessarily its physical manufacturer.

  Even if the details of the physical manufacturer are also shown on the packaging, the brand owner is still considered the PPWR Manufacturer and is also responsible for the compliance of the packaging

• Are materials received and sent before 12 August 2026 reported as in previous years, and those from 12 August 2026 onwards according to the new Regulation? For example, a Finnish company previously reported the packaging of raw materials purchased from Estonia itself, but would this now be reported by the Estonian company registering in Finland?

  If you are the End User of the raw material, producer responsibility for this packaging transfers to the Estonian Distance Seller from 12 August 2026. The Distance Seller must join the producer responsibility system in Finland.

  However, you must still report the amounts of this packaging placed on the market between 1 January and 11 August 2026 in accordance with the previous definition of Producer.

• What does a micro-enterprise need to report in domestic trade when it places transport and sales packaging intended for consumers on the market? The packaging has been purchased in Finland.

  If the packaging is not branded for your company, you are not subject to producer responsibility for the transport packaging. Instead, producer responsibility lies with the actual manufacturer of the packaging. For unbranded sales packaging, the company that packs the product is subject to producer responsibility.

  If the packaging is branded and you have ordered it under your own trademark from a Finnish Supplier, as a micro-enterprise you are not subject to producer responsibility for the packaging. Please note that under PPWR, a micro-enterprise is a company that employs fewer than 10 people and has an annual turnover or annual balance sheet total of no more than EUR 2 million.

• We import products into Finland and resell them to Sweden, where a Distributor sells them onwards. Who is subject to producer responsibility for this packaging?

  The Swedish Distributor is subject to producer responsibility and reports the packaging to the Swedish producer responsibility system. Assuming that the packaging is sent to the Distributor in Sweden exactly as it arrived, and no packaging material is left in Finland.

• How is producer responsibility determined if, as an Importer, we sell products from a Manufacturer within the EU to an End User for example in Estonia? The products are delivered directly from the Manufacturer to the customer without entering Finland. Does our company need to register in Estonia? The product is not branded.

  You must register in Estonia as a Distance Seller and report the packaging volumes to the Estonian producer responsibility system. The physical delivery route of the goods does not matter. Even if the packaging never passes through your premises in Finland, you are the owner of the goods when they cross the border and are therefore subject to producer responsibility for the packaging. The recipient of the packaging is the End User and cannot be subject to producer responsibility.

• Who is subject to producer responsibility for plastic strapping used to secure bundles of magazines for transport and handling? Does the same interpretation as for stretch film apply in this case?

  If the plastic strapping is intended only for packaging, producer responsibility for it as transport packaging lies with the actual manufacturer or Importer.

• If a project-based company has, for example, a project for another company in Sweden every three years and sends three wooden transport packages from Finland to Sweden as part of the project, does the company need to register in Sweden because of these three packages?

  PPWR does not set a minimum threshold for packaging volumes. Under PPWR, even a small amount of packaging therefore requires the company to join a producer responsibility system. 

Authorised Representative

• If a company has offices in different EU countries, is it best for them to act as each other’s Authorised Representatives, or does the representative need to be an external party?

  If the company has a business ID and an office in the destination country, and the packaging is sent to its own subsidiary or a similar entity before the products are resold in the destination country, the subsidiary is subject to producer responsibility in that country. The sender is not subject to producer responsibility as a Distance Seller.

  If it is a case of distance selling and you need an Authorised Representative in the destination country, the company’s local entities can generally act as Authorised Representatives. This requires them to be separate legal entities and the company appointed as the Authorised Representative to be established in the Member State in question. PPWR does not require the Authorised Representative to be an independent external service provider.

• Does the sender need to have an Authorised Representative in Sweden if the company sends samples in packaging branded by a courier company to a laboratory for testing, for example in Sweden?

  PPWR and the Commission’s guidelines do not provide a specific exemption for samples sent to a laboratory, for example. Providing packaging or a packaged product free of charge also constitutes making it available on the market under PPWR.

  If a Finnish company sends a sample directly to a Swedish laboratory that uses the sample for testing and does not make it available on the market again in the same form, the laboratory is considered the End User. The Finnish sender is therefore the Producer in Sweden under PPWR and is subject to producer responsibility for the packaging.

  The courier company’s branding does not affect producer responsibility in cross-border distance selling. The Distance Seller is subject to producer responsibility for all packaging in the shipment. A Distance Seller must appoint an Authorised Representative in each country where it supplies packaging or packaged products directly to End Users through distance selling.

Packaging compliance and EU DoC

• Do the required packaging material documents need to be in place by 12 August 2026 at the latest?

  All packaging placed on the EU market from 12 August 2026 onwards requires technical documentation and an EU DoC covering heavy metals and PFAS compounds. Other requirements will apply gradually in different years, and the packaging documentation must be updated accordingly.
  

• Is a statement from the actual manufacturer of the packaging sufficient to demonstrate compliance, or does the PPWR Manufacturer need to carry out its own testing if test reports or certificates of analysis for the packaging are not provided?

  PPWR does not generally require the PPWR Manufacturer to carry out its own laboratory testing if compliance can be reliably demonstrated based on documentation obtained from the supply chain. Packaging and packaging material suppliers are required to provide the Manufacturer with the information and documentation needed to demonstrate compliance.

  However, a general statement from the Supplier that the packaging complies with PPWR is not sufficient. The statement and the supporting information must be specific enough for the PPWR Manufacturer to demonstrate that the packaging in question meets the applicable requirements and to prepare the technical documentation.

  If the documentation available from the Supplier does not provide sufficient evidence that the requirements are met, the Manufacturer must obtain additional evidence, which may also include testing if necessary.

• Do the pictograms need to be on the packaging if the product is delivered from the factory to the customer after 12 August 2028? Or are the pictograms added to packaging manufactured for stock after 12 August 2028, even if the product was sold to the customer earlier?

  Packaging manufactured in the EU or imported into the EU before the labelling requirement takes effect may be without the new pictograms and may continue to be made available on the market for three years after the labelling requirement takes effect. What matters is when the packaging was manufactured or imported into the EU, not when the finished product is shipped.

  The date is not necessarily 12 August 2028: under Article 12(1), the requirement will apply from 12 August 2028 or 24 months after the implementing act enters into force, whichever is later.

• How must packaging be traceable? Does each batch of packaging need its own tracking code or other identifier, for example printed on plastic packaging, or can a company use the same QR code for all its packaging?

  The wording in PPWR, “type, batch or serial number or other element allowing its identification”, means that the identifier can also be specific to the packaging type. PPWR does not therefore require each production batch to have its own identifier, provided that the characteristics of the packaging do not change between batches.

  A QR code can be used, but each packaging type must have its own QR code. A single code for all of the company’s packaging is not sufficient.

• Are hang tags, labels and stickers attached to products covered by PPWR, and is documentation required for them?

   For example, hanging price tags on textiles and the strings or similar items used to attach them are covered by PPWR. 

• How is packaging compliance determined in the following case? A factory imports components from outside the EU into Finland for use in its own production. The unbranded transport packaging of the components is unpacked and recycled at the factory.

  When the factory imports components from outside the EU, it is considered an Importer under PPWR. Before placing them on the market, it must ensure that the foreign component Manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment for the packaging and prepared the technical documentation.

  From the perspective of producer responsibility, the Finnish factory is most likely the End User. However, this depends on whether the component is resold in the same form in which it was received. If the factory is the End User, the producer responsibility obligations would lie with the foreign component Manufacturer acting as a Distance Seller.

Roles and responsibilities related to the Declaration of Conformity  

• Is the manufacturer of transport packaging materials always considered the Manufacturer and therefore responsible for preparing the EU DoC, or is the manufacturer of transport packaging considered a supplier?

  Transport packaging is considered a separate packaging type for which the actual Manufacturer prepares the EU Declaration of Conformity, unless the transport packaging is clearly branded (see also European Commission FAQ, Chapter VX, Question 12).  If the manufacturer of transport packaging acts as a supplier, it must provide the Manufacturer with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate that the packaging and packaging materials comply with PPWR.

• Who is responsible for ensuring compliance with packaging for products sold directly to end users through distance selling from outside the EU? Does it make a difference whether the end user is a business or a consumer?

  If the distance seller is an online marketplace or online store established in a third country, it is responsible for ensuring that packaging and packaged products placed on the EU market comply with applicable EU legislation. From a market surveillance perspective, it makes no difference whether the end user is a business or a consumer.

  According to the Market Surveillance Regulation, products offered for sale online or through other forms of distance selling are considered to be made available on the market if the offer is targeted at end users in the Union. An offer is considered to be directed at end users in the Union if the relevant economic operator (for example, a Chinese online store) directs its activities to a Member State.

  If a Finnish economic operator supplies products or packaging packed in a third country directly to an end user through distance selling, it is considered the Importer and is subject to importer obligations under PPWR. The Importer must ensure that the Manufacturer established in the third country has fulfilled applicable packaging compliance requirements before the packaging is placed on the market in the EU.

• Who is responsible for the EU DoC for a pallet – the pallet manufacturer or the user? If a company manufactures corner protectors used as components of transport packaging, must the manufacturer of the corner protectors provide an EU DoC? Must each corner protector carry an identifier if it is to be used after 12 August 2026?

  Pallets and corner protectors are considered separate packaging types when used as transport packaging. The actual Manufacturers prepare the EU DoCs for these packaging types, unless the transport packaging is clearly branded (see also European Commission FAQ, Chapter VX, Question 12). If the manufacturer of transport packaging acts as a supplier, it must provide the Manufacturer with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate that the packaging and packaging materials comply with PPWR.

  According to Article 15(5) of PPWR, Manufacturers must ensure that packaging bears a type, batch or serial number, or another identifier that enables it to be identified. The Declaration of Conformity is prepared for a packaging type. As transport packaging is considered a separate packaging type, each transport package should therefore carry an identifier.

• Is the following interpretation regarding imports into the EU correct: "The importer is responsible for ensuring compliance of all imported packaging, not only packaging that reaches the customer." In practice, this would mean that due diligence statements for packaging would be required from suppliers for all imports into the EU.

  PPWR does not require a due diligence statement. Based on the information provided in the question, it is not possible to give a definitive answer.

  Under PPWR, an Importer is a natural or legal person established in the Union who places packaging from a third country on the market. Obligations of the Importer are set out in Article 18 of the Regulation.

   

• Is a product considered to be placed on the market only after it has been delivered to a retailer's or distributor's warehouse? If a product has already been manufactured but remains in the manufacturer's own warehouse on 12 August 2026, is an EU DoC required?

  A product is placed on the market when it is supplied for the first time on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge, for distribution, consumption or use. Such supply includes any offer for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market that may result in actual delivery of a product that has already been manufactured. Placing on the market requires an offer or agreement (written or verbal) between two or more natural or legal persons concerning the transfer of ownership, possession or any other right relating to the product after the manufacturing stage. Transfer does not necessarily require physical handover of the product.

  In the case described in the question, placing on the market takes place when the company, for example, sells the packaged product to a retail chain. A product held in the manufacturer's warehouse may not yet have been placed on the market unless it has been "supplied" as described above. However, if ownership of the product has been transferred after the manufacturing stage from the manufacturer to, for example, a retail chain, the product has been placed on the market even if it remains in the manufacturer's warehouse. Transfer of ownership therefore does not necessarily require physical delivery of the product.

   

• Must an EU DoC be prepared for packaging that is already in the country and already on store shelves? The products have been available on the market for a long time and were imported before 12 August 2026. Or does the EU DoC requirement apply only to new products and packaging placed on the market for the first time on or after 12 August 2026? Must an EU DoC be prepared for new batches even if the product and packaging remain unchanged?

  Placing on the market is assessed individually for each product and package, not at product type or packaging type level. This also applies to packaged products and packaging manufactured in serial production.

  If transport packaging, service packaging, primary production packaging or any other packaging or packaged product has not yet been manufactured, it cannot have been placed on the market. New batches placed on the market on or after 12 August 2026 must therefore be covered by an EU DoC, even if the product and packaging are identical to those placed on the market before that date.

• If a packaged product has both sales packaging and transport packaging, are two EU Declarations of Conformity required – one for sales packaging and one for transport packaging?

  An EU DoC under PPWR is not supplied together with packaging or a packaged product. An exception applies where other EU legislation applicable to the packaged product specifically requires an EU DoC to accompany the product.

  If you are the Manufacturer of both the packaged product and clearly branded transport packaging, a separate EU DoC is required for each packaging type. If the manufacturer of transport packaging acts as a supplier, it must provide the Manufacturer with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate that the packaging and packaging materials comply with PPWR. If you purchase generic transport packaging from another company, the actual Manufacturer of the transport packaging prepares the EU DoC for that packaging.

   

• Must an EU DoC also be prepared for transport packaging used in e-commerce?

  Yes

Content of the Declaration of Conformity 

• What is the unique identifier referred to in the requirements? Can the unique identification number of a packaged product, such as an EAN code, be used for this purpose?

  An EAN code is not necessarily a sufficient identifier, at least not on its own.

  Identification of the product alone is not sufficient. Packaging must be traceable by type, batch, serial number or another identifier. The European Commission clearly states in its FAQ (Chapter XV, Questions 3 and 7) that packaging itself must be identifiable by type, batch or serial number, or by another identifier.

  Traceability of the product alone is generally not the purpose of the packaging identifier requirement

• How should recyclability be demonstrated in practice from August 2026 onwards, and what should the EU DoC state regarding recyclability?

  The European Commission has provided further clarification in Section 6 of its guidance. According to the guidance, the requirement applies from 12 August 2026 onwards.

  The Commission has further clarified that Manufacturers are not required to demonstrate conformity assessment for recyclability or include information on recyclability in the EU Declaration of Conformity before the delegated act establishing Design for Recycling (DfR) criteria enters into force. Manufacturers may use the existing recyclability standard EN 13430:2004 developed under the Packaging Directive.

  
  

   

• Are PFAS determinations required only for packaging that comes into direct contact with food?

  According to the Commission's interpretation set out in Section 5 of its guidance: "Food contact packaging is packaging which is intended to be brought into contact with food or is already in contact with food and was intended for that purpose, as per the scope of EU food legislation." Based on this, food contact material can be interpreted through Framework Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and would appear to cover situations beyond direct contact with food.

  The Commission has stated that it will further clarify this interpretation in future updates to its guidance. No timetable has been provided for a possible update.

   

• Is it sufficient for the EU DoC to obtain technical material specifications from a supplier (for example, for paperboard and plastic materials)? Must material claims be verified through laboratory testing, for example if a plastic bag is claimed to be made of PP plastic?

  The Manufacturer must carry out a conformity assessment for packaging, prepare technical documentation and, based on these, draw up an EU DoC in accordance with the procedure set out in Annex VII of PPWR. Required elements of technical documentation are listed in Annex VII, including test reports. 

• If an EU DoC is required for each packaging type, can packaging of the same type sourced from three different manufacturers be covered by a single Declaration of Conformity, even if sizes differ and materials vary slightly?

  European Commission FAQ, Chapter XV, Question 11 provides further clarification on this matter. If the materials differ, even slightly, separate EU DoCs may be required. The question does not specify which materials are used or what is meant by differences in materials. However, as a general rule, packaging made from different materials requires separate EU DoCs, as properties relevant to PPWR requirements may change when materials change.  

• How should a "packaging type" be defined for transport packaging when packaging consists, for example, of a pallet, edge protectors and shrink wrap? In other words, for which combination should an EU DoC be prepared?

  Transport packaging is considered a separate packaging type for which the actual Manufacturer prepares the EU DoC, unless the transport packaging is clearly branded (see also European Commission FAQ, Chapter VX, Question 12). If the manufacturer of transport packaging acts as a supplier, it must provide the Manufacturer with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate that the packaging and packaging materials comply with PPWR.  

• In relation to transport packaging, this answer appears to suggest that an EU DoC may be prepared for individual packaging components: "12) Does transport packaging also require a conformity assessment and a declaration of conformity? There is no exemption for transport packaging. Indeed, completely different packaging types, such as pallets, pallet collars, wrappings and straps, must undergo separate assessments and must have separate declarations of conformity."

  An EU DoC is prepared for each packaging type. Transport packaging consists of separate packaging types for which the actual Manufacturers prepare EU DoCs. If the manufacturer of transport packaging acts as a supplier, it must provide the Manufacturer with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate that the packaging and packaging materials comply with PPWR.  

Providing documentation  

• Does PPWR require Declarations of Conformity to be provided to customers, or only to authorities and only upon request?

  PPWR does not contain any requirement for "certificates of conformity". Compliance of packaging is demonstrated through an EU Declaration of Conformity (EU DoC). The EU Declaration of Conformity must also be provided to a customer if the customer requires documentation for preparing its own declaration. This may be the case where the customer is the Manufacturer of the packaged product and you are the supplier of the packaging. An EU DoC does not need to be provided to a distributor. Economic operators must provide documentation to authorities upon request. Documentation must be retained for five years (single-use packaging) or ten years (reusable packaging) after packaging or the packaged product has been placed on the market.  

• Customers are requesting various technical documents related to PPWR. As a manufacturer, are we required to provide them and, if so, which documents?

  If you are a supplier of packaging or packaging materials, you are required to provide the Manufacturer of the packaged product or packaging with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance of the packaging. This includes information relating to substances in packaging, minimum recycled content and recyclability of packaging (see Articles 5–12). It should be noted that PPWR requirements enter into force with different transitional periods.

  Preparation of technical documentation and the EU DoC is the responsibility of the Manufacturer of the packaging or packaged product. If you manufacture unbranded transport packaging, service packaging or primary production packaging, you must prepare technical documentation and an EU DoC for those packaging types.