Timelines

The  Regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 9 June 2023. It entered into force on 29 June 2023. However, the applicability of certain Articles listed in paragraph 2 of Article 38 will enter into application on 30 December 2024 (18 months transition) and on 30 June 2025 (24 months transition) for micro- and small enterprises.

Will the products placed on the Union market between the entry into force of the Regulation and its date(s) of applicability have to comply with the requirements of the Regulation?

The entry into application for large and medium enterprise operators and traders is foreseen 18 months after the entry into force of the Regulation (on 30 December 2024). This means that operators and traders do not have to comply with the requirements for products placed on the Union market before that date. For  small- and micro undertakings this period is extended (24 months after the entry into force of the Regulation - on 30 June 2025).

Who bears the burden of proof that the relevant commodity or relevant product which an  operator wants to place on the market or export was produced before entry into force and the Regulation does not apply?

The Regulation is applicable as stipulated in Article 1 (1) unless the conditions of  Article 1 (2) are met. The operator bears the burden of proof for this exception and must be able to provide relevant information as reasonable proof that the conditions of Article 1(2) are met. While in this case the operator is not obliged to submit a due diligence statement, the operator should save necessary documents proving non-applicability of the Regulation and its obligations.

What are the obligations for operators and non-SME traders when they place on the market or export a relevant product which is made out of a relevant product or a relevant commodity that was placed on the market during the transitional period (i.e. in the period between the entry into force of the regulation on the 30/6/2023 and the entry into application of the regulation  on the 30/12/2024)?  

This situation may be best explained with few concrete scenarios. 

1. A relevant commodity (e.g. natural rubber – CN code 4001) is placed on the market during the transitional period, hence not necessarily geolocalised, and is then used to produce a relevant derived product (e.g. new tyres – CN code 4011), which is then placed on the market (or exported) after 30 December 2024. 

If a commodity is placed on the market during the transitional period, i.e. before the entry into application of the EUDR, when placing on the market a derived product the obligation of the operator (and of non-SME traders) will be limited to gathering adequately conclusive and verifiable evidence to prove that the relevant commodity (rubber) used to produce such relevant product (tyres) was placed on the market before the entry into application. This is without prejudice to article 37.2 with regard to timber and timber products.

If the commodity is placed on the market or exported after the transitional period, i.e. after 30/12/2024, the operator (and the non-SME traders) will be subject to the standard obligations of this regulation. Equally, for parts of relevant products that have been produced with commodities placed on the market after 30/12/2024, the operator (and the non-SME traders) will be subject to the standard obligations of this regulation. 

2. A relevant product (e.g. cocoa butter – CN code 1804) is placed on the market during the transitional period, hence not necessarily geolocalised, but is then used to produce another relevant derived product (e.g. chocolate – CN code 1806) which is placed on the market (or exported) by a downstream operator after 30 December 2024.  

In this case, the obligation of the operator (and of non-SME traders) placing on the market or exporting a derived product (chocolate), will be limited to gathering adequately conclusive and verifiable evidence to prove that relevant derived product (cocoa butter) was placed on the market before the entry into application. For parts of the final relevant product that have been produced with other relevant products placed on the market after 30/12/2024, the operator (and the non-SME traders) shall be subject to the standard obligations of this regulation. This is without prejudice to article 37.2, with regard to timber and timber products.

3. ​​​​​​​An operator places on the market a relevant commodity or a product in the transitional period, which is then ‘made available’ on the market by one or more non-SME traders after 30 December 2024.

In this scenario, the obligations of the non-SME trader will be limited to gathering adequately conclusive and verifiable evidence to prove that such relevant commodity, or relevant product, was placed on the market before the entry into application. This is without prejudice to article 37.2, with regard to timber and timber products.