Every week, an Indian exporter asks us the same question: our buyer in Germany says we must register for packaging EPR in Europe. Is that true?
The honest answer: maybe, and often not.
What the law actually says
Under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40, Article 3(1)(15), the producer is whoever first makes packaging available on the territory of a member state. That is a legal test, not a default. Who carries it depends on how your deal is structured: your incoterms, who imports the goods, and whose name sits on the customs declaration.
When it is not you
If you sell DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) into a member state and you act as the importer of record, producer status likely attaches to you. But if you sell FOB or CIF and your EU buyer or their distributor imports the goods, the producer is usually them, not you. We routinely see exporters being sold registrations they never owed.
When it is you
Selling through your own EU entity, selling direct to consumers online, or listing on a marketplace as the seller of record can all make you the producer. Marketplaces increasingly demand registration numbers regardless, because regulators hold them responsible for third-party sellers.
What to do instead of guessing
- Map your sales channels and incoterms per market
- Run the Article 3(1)(15) test for each member state you ship to
- Register only where you actually owe it, with an authorised representative where required
- Put the allocation of the obligation in writing, inside your buyer contracts
The cost of getting it wrong
Registering everywhere wastes money every year, forever. Registering nowhere risks held consignments and failed buyer audits. The answer is not more paperwork. It is the right paperwork.
We run this producer status test in a 20-minute call. You leave knowing exactly which registrations you owe, and which you can refuse.