PPWR FAQ from the Commission: what to sort out now

Published on 11 November 2026

The European Commission’s PPWR FAQ is its view, not law, on how Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste works in practice. As a Dutch lawyer at MAAK Advocaten N.V. in Amsterdam, I start with one question: are you the manufacturer? If your name or trademark is on the packaged product, you usually are.

This article covers what the FAQ says on roles, scope and transition. For the regulation as a whole, see our PPWR overview for companies selling into the Netherlands.

How far can you rely on the Commission’s PPWR FAQ?

Only as a guide. The FAQ (second edition, updated in August 2026) says that it “reflects the views only of the authors”, and the final word on what an EU regulation means rests with the Court of Justice, which rules when national courts refer questions to it (Article 267 TFEU; Commission FAQ).

We have not found a Court of Justice judgment on the PPWR, so the FAQ shows how authorities may read the rules but is not law you can invoke. The Commission also published a guidance document (Commission Notice, Official Journal of 10 June 2026). Where this article relies on the FAQ alone, it says so.

Are you the manufacturer under the PPWR?

If packaging or a packaged product is designed or made under your own name or trademark, you are the manufacturer, whichever other trademark also appears on it (Article 3(1), point 13(a)).

Your position	Role under the PPWR	Article
Packaging or packaged product made under your name or trademark, also by a contract manufacturer	Manufacturer: conformity assessment, technical documentation, EU declaration of conformity	Art. 3(1) point 13; Art. 15, 39
EU-established; you place third-country packaging or packaged products on the market	Importer: checks the manufacturer’s work before placing on the market	Art. 3(1) point 17; Art. 18
You pass packaging on without being manufacturer or importer	Distributor: due care; checks producer registration, label and manufacturer details	Art. 3(1) point 18; Art. 19
You first make packaged products available in a Member State, or sell directly to end users in another	Producer: registration, reporting, EPR	Art. 3(1) point 15; Art. 44, 45

If you are a brand owner outside the EU, you are the manufacturer of packaging made under your name or trademark, and your Dutch buyer is usually the importer. The Commission adds that you are also the manufacturer when you simply choose a standard pack without changes (FAQ section II, question 6). An importer or distributor that sells under its own name or trademark, or modifies packaging in a way that could affect compliance, becomes manufacturer (Article 21). For a micro-enterprise brand owner whose supplier is in the same Member State, the supplier is the manufacturer (Article 3(1), point 13(b); Article 15(12) words the supplier condition as “in the Union”, so check the exact scope).

By drawing up the EU declaration of conformity, the manufacturer assumes responsibility for compliance (Article 39(4)). An authorised representative can take over tasks, but not Article 15(1) or the drawing up of the technical documentation (Article 17). According to the FAQ, the manufacturer’s responsibility “cannot be transferred by means of contractual arrangements” (FAQ section X, question 9). Whether you cross into Article 21 depends on what you change and what your contract with the importer says.

Who is the producer when you sell packaged goods into the Netherlands?

The producer carries extended producer responsibility (EPR): registration, reporting and paying for packaging waste. You are the producer in the Netherlands if you first make packaged products available there, from within the Netherlands or directly to Dutch end users from abroad (Article 3(1), point 15).

The producer is not always who you expect. In the Commission’s examples, a company selling unbranded boxes to a business in another Member State is typically not the producer there; the business that fills them is (FAQ section II, question 9).

A producer must register in each Member State where it first makes packaging available, and may not do so before it, or its EPR authorised representative, is registered (Article 44(2) and (4)). Online platforms must obtain the registration number and a self-certification from producers selling to consumers, and producers must give the same information to their fulfilment providers, who assess it with best efforts (Article 45(4) and (6) to (8)).

Article 45(3) requires a producer that sells packaging or packaged products directly to end users in a Member State other than the one where it is established (Article 3(1), point 15(c) and (d)) to appoint an EPR authorised representative there by written mandate. The same paragraph adds that Member States may require producers established in third countries to appoint one. How these two sentences work together for a seller outside the EU is not clear from the text, and we found no Dutch rule on it. In December 2025 the Commission proposed to suspend the obligation to appoint a representative for direct sales to consumers in other Member States; according to its page on packaging waste the European Parliament and the Council are examining that proposal. A proposal is not law, so check the position before you start selling to Dutch consumers. The Dutch Packaging Management Decree already counts a foreign seller selling directly to Dutch consumers by distance contract as a “producent of importeur” (Article 1, point g).

In practice I begin by writing down, per packaging, what you place on the market under your name and who holds the data. Then we agree in the contract that your producer supplies what you need, because responsibility stays with you.

Have a Dutch buyer or platform asked you for a declaration or a registration number and are you unsure which role is yours? Put your situation to me through my page as product law partner in the Netherlands.

What has applied since 12 August 2026, and what comes later?

The PPWR applies from 12 August 2026 (Article 71). Where an article names no later date, that date applies. The FAQ adds that this includes the conformity assessment and Article 15(5) and (6) on identification and the manufacturer’s name and address (FAQ section XV, question 1; section X, questions 2 and 7); the assessment follows the start date of the requirement it tests.

Obligation	From	Article
In force	11 February 2025	Art. 71, first paragraph
Applies; Directive 94/62/EC repealed (exceptions)	12 August 2026	Art. 70(1), 71
PFAS limits for food-contact packaging	12 August 2026	Art. 5(5)
Recyclability by design (grades A to C); the recycled-at-scale condition follows from 1 January 2035 or later	1 January 2030 or 24 months after the delegated acts, if later	Art. 6(2), (3), (4)
Minimum recycled content in plastic packaging	1 January 2030 or three years after the implementing act, if later	Art. 7(1), (8)
Empty-space limit (50 %) for grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging	1 January 2030 or three years after the implementing act, if later	Art. 24(1), (2)
Banned packaging formats; re-use targets for transport packaging	1 January 2030	Art. 25(1), 29(1)
National penalty rules laid down and notified	12 February 2027	Art. 68(1), (3)

We found two delegated decisions, on pallet wrappings and straps and on crystal glass packaging, and no implementing act on labels or the producer register, although the regulation provides for them; whether such acts exist is not established. Which dates matter for you depends on your packaging type, its material and whether it touches food.

Can stock placed on the market before 12 August 2026 stay on sale?

According to the Commission’s FAQ, yes: packaging placed on the market before 12 August 2026 can remain on the market even if it does not comply with the PPWR (FAQ section X, question 5). That is the Commission’s reading, not an express transitional rule in the regulation.

Article 70 repeals the old directive, with exceptions, and contains no rule on goods already placed on the market. The FAQ gives no reasons for its answer. A reading that would support it combines the application date (Article 71), the rule that packaging may only be placed on the market if it complies (Article 4(1)) and the definition of placing on the market as the first making available (Article 3(1), point 10); that is our reading, not one the FAQ states. The FAQ also says that packaging produced but not yet placed on the market by 12 August 2026 need not be destroyed, remanufactured or relabelled, and that an accompanying document can carry the identification and the name and address required by Article 15(5) and (6). For other requirements, such as the PFAS limits in Article 5(5), it does not say what applies to such stock when it is first placed on the market after 12 August. Article 15(8) refers to packaging placed on the market “from the date of entry into force” (11 February 2025) and requires corrective measures where it is not in conformity; we found no source that explains how that fits the FAQ’s reading, so treat it as open.

I would use it as direction, not as certainty. Record which lots were placed on the market before 12 August and on what date, keep the evidence, and make sure new lots are complete from that date.

How does the PPWR work in the Netherlands?

The PPWR is an EU regulation and applies in the Netherlands directly. According to RVO, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, national laws may still add rules on implementation, enforcement and organisation. We found no Dutch act or bill implementing the PPWR.

The Dutch framework still in force is the Besluit beheer verpakkingen 2014 (Packaging Management Decree 2014), based on the Wet milieubeheer (Environmental Management Act). In the text we read on 11 November 2026 it still refers to Directive 94/62/EC and does not mention Regulation 2025/40. EPR runs through a waste management contribution agreement declared generally binding under Article 15.36 Wet milieubeheer from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2027, requested by, among others, Stichting Afvalfonds Verpakkingen (Staatscourant 2022, 35473). RVO says Verpact handles extended producer responsibility in the Netherlands. What follows after 2027 is not established.

The government calls the ILT (the Dutch environment and transport inspectorate) the designated supervisor for deposit systems (Kamerstuk 28694-163; see also 28694-162). Which Dutch body supervises the PPWR as a whole, and which Dutch penalties apply, we could not establish; Member States must lay down penalty rules by 12 February 2027 (Article 68).

For formal failings such as a missing declaration, the Member State must first require you to end the non-compliance, and only if it persists may it prohibit, withdraw or recall the packaging (Article 62(1) and (2)). The FAQ agrees that enforcement “should not disrupt trade flows” (FAQ section XVI, question 1). On a reasoned request, manufacturers, importers and authorised representatives must provide documents within 10 days (Articles 15(10), 18(8), 17(2)(d)).

What do you do when a buyer or authority asks for your declaration of conformity?

First find out exactly what is asked, for which packaging and by when. Then:

1. put the deadline in the diary (10 days for documents requested by an authority);
2. ask your supplier in writing for the documents it owes you (Article 16(1); in the FAQ’s view it cannot refuse);
3. have your technical side check what is missing;
4. prepare the reply.

I start with the supplier relationship, not a formal demand: a supplier that does not deliver today may still be your key partner tomorrow, so I look for an agreement first and a formal notice only after that. With an authority I first want the facts, then I prepare the answer and make contact. Which Dutch authority is competent for your packaging, I check before I promise anything.

What can you arrange yourself, and where do you need a technical adviser?

Much of the work is practical, not legal:

• list the packaging you place on the market under your name or trademark;
• give each type an identification number and your name and postal address (Article 15(5) and (6));
• have a laboratory or certification scheme carry out the conformity assessment and, for food-contact packaging, PFAS testing (FAQ section X, question 9; Article 5(5)).

Assessment and testing belong with your engineers or a testing body; legal advice starts with the contracts that tie these steps together.

When do you need a Dutch lawyer for the PPWR?

You need a Dutch lawyer when you must fix roles, documents and liability with a Dutch partner in a contract, or when a Dutch authority asks for documents or acts (Articles 15 to 21, 62).

Your situation	What is at stake	Why a lawyer	What we do first
Your Dutch importer wants to refuse consignments or have conformity guaranteed	The importer checks before placing on the market (Art. 18(2)); responsibility stays with the manufacturer (Art. 39(4); FAQ X.9)	An adviser says what the file needs; a lawyer fixes who supplies it and who bears the cost	Review the supply or distribution agreement; propose information and indemnity (vrijwaring) terms
You appoint an authorised representative	What the mandate contains: tasks, retention for 5 or 10 years, the 10-day rule, termination (Art. 17(2))	A mandate is a contract	Draft and negotiate the mandate
A Dutch authority asks for documents	10 days (Art. 15(10), 18(8)); first an order to end the non-compliance (Art. 62)	What you write must hold up later; the Dutch procedure for the PPWR is not established	Review documents, secure the deadline, prepare the reply
Dispute over a rejected consignment	Recourse, competent court, governing law	Proceedings before Dutch courts at first instance and on appeal	Demand letter, defence or recourse, summary proceedings (kort geding)

Example: a non-EU brand owner with a Dutch importer

Suppose a company outside the EU sells garden products in printed cartons under its own brand through one Dutch importer. The importer asks for an EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation.

The brand owner is the manufacturer (Article 3(1), point 13(a)); the importer must check before placing the goods on the market (Article 18(2)); the carton supplier must give the brand owner the information (Article 16(1)). Who pays for missing documentation is for the contracts to say.

This is a hypothetical example for illustration, not a description of a MAAK Advocaten case.

How does MAAK Advocaten work on PPWR matters?

MAAK Advocaten acts for manufacturers outside the EU, Dutch importers and distributors and online sellers: contracts and mandates under Dutch law, contact with a Dutch authority and, if a dispute cannot be settled, proceedings at first instance and on appeal. On who signs the declaration, see EU declaration of conformity: who signs and who is liable; on mandates, the EU authorised representative in the Netherlands.

In the first days we review the documents, secure the deadlines, write to the supplier and, if needed, consider summary proceedings.

My first question is what you want to achieve: certainty that your consignments are not stopped, with as little extra paperwork as possible. Then we agree in the contract who supplies the documents, who bears the cost and what happens if a consignment is refused.

Frequently asked questions about the Commission’s PPWR FAQ

Is the Commission’s PPWR FAQ legally binding?

No. The FAQ says it reflects the views only of its authors. The Court of Justice of the European Union has the final word on what the regulation means, and national courts can, or in some cases must, ask it through preliminary rulings (Article 267 TFEU). Treat the FAQ as the Commission’s position on how the rules should be read.

Does the PPWR already apply, or only from 2030?

It applies from 12 August 2026 (Article 71). Several requirements start later: banned formats and re-use targets on 1 January 2030, and recyclability, recycled content and empty-space limits on 1 January 2030 or later. Where an article names no later date, 12 August 2026 applies.

Am I the manufacturer if a contract manufacturer makes my packaging?

Usually yes, if the packaging or packaged product is made under your name or trademark (Article 3(1), point 13(a)). The Commission says this also applies when you choose a standard pack without changes. A micro-enterprise rule can shift the role to the supplier.

Can I keep selling stock placed on the market before 12 August 2026?

According to the Commission’s FAQ, yes, even if it does not comply with the PPWR. That reading is not an express transitional rule in the regulation, so keep proof of the date each lot was first placed on the market.

Who supervises the PPWR in the Netherlands?

We could not establish which Dutch body supervises the PPWR as a whole. The ILT is designated for deposit systems. Member States must lay down penalty rules by 12 February 2027 (Article 68), so check the current position before you act.

When should I call a Dutch lawyer about the PPWR?

Call before you sign a declaration, indemnity or mandate, and before you reply to a Dutch authority. MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam reviews these documents for companies selling packaged products into the Netherlands and acts for them towards Dutch counterparties and authorities.

Legal framework and sources

• Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste, CELEX 32025R0040; Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15 to 21, 24, 25, 29, 39, 44, 45, 62, 68, 70 and 71, as published in OJ L, 22.1.2025
• Commission, Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR): Frequently Asked Questions, second edition, and Commission Notice, Guidance document for Regulation (EU) 2025/40; Commission page on packaging waste
• Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/429 and Delegated Decision (EU) 2026/1948
• Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 267
• Wet milieubeheer, Article 15.36; Besluit beheer verpakkingen 2014, Article 1
• Staatscourant 2022, 35473 (generally binding declaration of the packaging waste contribution agreement); Kamerstuk 28694-162 and Kamerstuk 28694-163; RVO, packaging requirements under the PPWR

Do you sell packaged products into the Netherlands and is it unclear whether you are the manufacturer, the producer or neither? Put your situation to me through my page as product law partner in the Netherlands. — Martin Krüger