Distance selling and producer responsibility abroad

With the growth of e-commerce, more and more Finnish companies are selling their products directly to consumers in other EU countries. But did you know that as a distance seller, you may also have producer responsibility in the destination country?

What is distance selling?
Distance selling refers to a situation where a company sells products directly to an end-user located in another country – usually through an online store. For example, if a Finnish company delivers packaged products to a German consumer, this constitutes distance selling to Germany.

Producer responsibility crosses borders
Producer responsibility is not limited to Finland. If you sell products abroad via distance selling, you are often required to register with the producer responsibility system of the destination country – whether it concerns packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, or tyres. In many countries, distance sellers carry the same obligations as local manufacturers or importers. In practice, this means you must also arrange waste management and reporting for your products in the destination country.

Failure to meet these responsibilities can lead to sanctions
Failure to comply with producer responsibility abroad can lead to:

• Fines or administrative penalties

• A ban on marketing in the destination country

• Reputational damage and weakened customer relationships

How to proceed in practice?

• Identify the countries where you deliver products via distance selling

• Investigate the producer responsibility systems in those countries (e.g. packaging, WEEE, batteries)

• Register with the local systems if required – or use international partners who can assist with registration

• Keep records of delivered quantities and report regularly to the authorities

Sumi helps to manage producer responsibility internationally too
At Sumi, we help companies to identify and fulfil their producer responsibility obligations - also in cross-border distance selling. If you are not sure whether your business is covered, contact us. We are happy to help!

Here's how it works:
The company will select one contact person in the Nordic countries to handle the entire Nordic producer responsibility, which means that from the beginning of 2026, the company will be able to handle all inquiries and reporting related to producer responsibility with one contact person - for those countries where the company has a valid agreement with a producer association that is a member of Nordic PRO Solutions.

Why choose Nordic PRO Solutions?

• One contract, up to four countries: services cover Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark
• One point of contact: coordinates communication, reminds you of deadlines and provides expert support
• Clarity and efficiency: save your company time and effort by centrally managing producer responsibility

Efficiency and cost savings
Sumi is responsible for the Finnish market and offers its own customers the basic services of other Nordic PRO Solutions producer communities in the other Nordic countries free of charge.

Basic services include:

• Start-up support and orientation
• Start-up and monitoring of the reporting process
• Start-up support and initiation of the process of starting up and running the project

Who is this service suitable for?

• Companies with producer responsibility obligations in at least two Nordic countries.
• Organisations that want to centralise reporting and reduce administrative burden

How to proceed?
Contact your country's producer responsibility expert who will map the situation and help you move forward with the process. Services start immediately after the contract is signed and, if necessary, you can extend the cooperation with country-specific service packages, such as : training, reduction calculations and other green transition tools.

Finland (Sumi Oy): janne.teliranta@sumi.fi 
Sweden (TMR): nadja.volant@tmr.se 
Sweden (El-Kretsen): therese.holmlund@el-kretsen.se 
Norway (Norsirk): hege@norsirk.no 
Denmark (Retur: jgb@retur.dk