Due to operational readiness challenges reported by Member States, businesses, and public administrations, EU institutions have taken legislative action to postpone the date of application of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 concerning the making available on the EU market and the export from the European Union of goods and products related to deforestation and forest degradation (EUDR). In November 2025, the Council of the EU adopted a negotiating mandate proposing a further extension of the application date of the regulation for all entities:
– medium and large enterprises from December 30, 2026,
– micro and small enterprises from June 30, 2027
Importantly, the Council's mandate assumes that the obligation to submit a due diligence declaration will rest solely with entities that are the first to introduce a product to the market, which further reduces the regulatory burden.
UPCOMING CHANGES
The Council mandate introduces numerous modifications to the Commission proposal, aimed at further reducing the administrative burden on entrepreneurs, especially micro and small enterprises, and ensuring effective implementation of the Regulation.
In light of the Council's position:
- the submission of the required due diligence declaration and
the related liability shall apply only to entities introducing the product
to the market for the first time; - entities operating further down the supply chain will not be obliged
to submit their own declarations, they will only be obliged to store
and transmit the reference number of the original declaration; - micro and small primary entities are only required to submit a one-time, simplified declaration.
Furthermore, the Council committed the European Commission to conduct a review of the simplification regulation by 30 April 2026 to assess the impact of the EUDR on businesses, particularly micro and small businesses, and the level of administrative obligations imposed. Consequently, the review may lead to further amendments and legislative proposals aimed at streamlining the regulation.
CURRENT ASSUMPTIONS FOR COMMERCIAL ENTITIES
In its current form, EDUR imposes an obligation on traders to determine which goods they offer for sale, from which suppliers they
source them, and whether they contribute to environmental degradation. According to the regulation, suppliers must submit due diligence declarations, which can be relied upon by anyone in the supply chain other than the entity introducing the product. To this end, entities making relevant products available on the market as part of their commercial activities should request the supplier's DDS (Due Diligence Statement) numbers assigned to each batch of the product they make available.
Traders that are not SMEs, in relation to the relevant goods and the relevant products made available on the market, are required to implement and maintain a due diligence system in accordance with Article 12 of the EUDR for each commodity listed in Annex I of the Regulation (i.e. cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soy, timber).
Due diligence in this case will involve obtaining information, documents, and data confirming that a given product does not contribute to deforestation and is legal. Traders should receive this documentation from the supplier of the product introducing it to the market. For each product, traders will be required to collect information confirming the products' compliance with the regulation and archive it for five years. Due diligence declarations will be submitted via an IT system.
A product may not have a DDS if it originates from a country classified as "low-risk." In such cases, the operator must, upon request by the competent authority, provide documentation demonstrating that the risk of circumvention or mixing with products of unknown origin or originating from risk countries is negligible.
EDUR also provides for the obligation to prepare an annual report on activities related to the implementation of the requirements of the regulation and its publication.
The regulation also provides for inspections that will cover both due diligence systems and product compliance. These inspections will be conducted based on a risk analysis, taking into account, among other things, the risk of deforestation in the country of origin, the history of infringements, and other relevant information. Authorities will analyze due diligence declarations using electronic systems to identify entities and products requiring inspection. Inspections may also be conducted on-site, in cooperation with the relevant authorities.
POSSIBLE SNAPSHOT AND PENALTIES
In the event of infringements, the EUDR provides for:
- Fines proportional to the environmental damage, to the value of the goods or products concerned.
- Imposing a significant financial penalty, the amount of which cannot be less than 4% of the total annual turnover of the company achieved in the previous financial year throughout the European Union.
- Seizure of infringing products by the competent authorities, which means that these goods may be permanently seized and withdrawn from circulation to prevent their further use or sale.
- Confiscation of any financial benefits resulting from transactions involving these products. This includes income, revenue, or other profits derived from illegal activities, regardless of the form in which they were obtained.
- Temporary exclusion of an enterprise for a period of up to 12 months from the possibility of:
- applying for public procurement contracts,
- use of public funding funds or programs.
- Introduction of a temporary ban on trade in certain goods, including:
- a ban on introducing them into the European Union market,
- prohibition of making them available on this market,
- a ban on their export outside the EU.
- Publication by the European Commission of information on penalized entities, in particular the publication of their names.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
The law is current as of December 3, 2025.
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