SME manufacturers within the EU are often unsure of their obligations under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Here is a brief overview to clarify.
Your obligations as an SME manufacturer
If, as an SME manufacturer in the EU, you place products such as furniture on the EU market for the first time, you are an operator under the EUDR. However, simplified obligations apply to SMEs. Specifically, you must:
- Collect reference numbers from your suppliers (unless you are importing materials from outside the EU; see below).
- Provide reference numbers to the authorities upon request.
If you purchase raw materials such as MDF or pine wood, these are likely already on the EU market, which means:
- Another company in the supply chain has fulfilled the due diligence obligation and deposited geolocation data in the EU portal.
- Your supplier will provide you with EUDR reference numbers for these materials.
- As an SME, you are not required to verify these reference numbers.
What if you import raw materials from non-EU countries?
If you import materials directly from non-EU countries, your role changes. In this case, you must generate a reference number yourself:
- You must carry out the full due diligence process yourself, including the provision of geolocation data.
- You are responsible for submitting the due diligence statement for these imports and generating new reference numbers.
Important:
- When manufacturing and first placing a product on the EU market: as an SME, you collect and pass on reference numbers.
- When using raw materials already on the EU market: use the reference numbers provided by your suppliers.
- When importing raw materials from outside the EU: carry out the due diligence yourself and generate your own reference numbers.
For further details, see the following legal texts:
FAQs, 2.10: A distinction must be made between the person in the supply chain who imports a relevant product or places it on the EU market for the first time, and persons further down the supply chain. The former concerns the operator who must fulfil the due diligence obligation pursuant to Art. 2(15) EUDR. The definition of placing on the market includes making a relevant commodity product available on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity for the purposes of a) distribution, b) consumption, or c) use in the operator's own business operations (see Art. 2(19) EUDR). The company is the operator and must exercise due diligence and submit a due diligence statement.
FAQs, 3.5.: What obligations do SME operators further down the supply chain have? Operators further down the supply chain are those who transform or resell a product listed in Annex I (after it has already been subject to due diligence). SME operators further down the supply chain retain certain obligations but benefit from simplifications. Specifically, they must collect reference numbers from previous due diligence statements, provided to them by their suppliers. In the case of relevant commodities or products that have not been subject to due diligence, SME operators must exercise full due diligence pursuant to Articles 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
EUDR, Art 4.8: By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, operators that are SMEs ('SME operators') are not required to exercise due diligence for relevant commodities and products that have already been subject to due diligence pursuant to Article 33. In such cases, SME operators must provide the competent authorities with information enabling the identification of the due diligence statements. Where a relevant commodity or product has not been subject to due diligence, SME operators must exercise due diligence pursuant to Articles 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.