KontorBund
EN
EnglishEN DeutschDE
Join us
KontorBund

The Library

Everything we've worked out, written so you can use it.

Plain language, no jargon, no paywall and no email gate. If a guide here saves you a €900 consultation, it has done its job — whether or not you ever join. Every piece carries the date it was last checked, because this area changes monthly and an undated guide is worse than none.

27country desks, one for every member state
10explainers, and for the first time none in draft
5countries with no published route in — said so, not hidden
€0and no email address asked for

Guides, explainers and notes

The pieces that answer a question rather than a country. As of 8 September 2026 every one of them is written — the shelf that used to be half draft is full, and each carries the date it was last checked.

Live on Discord

Does any of this actually apply to me?

The five questions that decide it: where you're established, where your buyers are, whether you sell through a marketplace, what your packaging weighs, and whether anyone downstream is already covering you. Answer them in order and most people find their situation is simpler than they feared.

Start hereIn #questions →
Live on Discord

The deadline list

A rolling list of what falls due where, kept current rather than written once and abandoned. Pinned, dated, and corrected in public when we get something wrong.

ReferenceIn #deadlines →
Read itChecked 14 Aug 2026

Manufacturer or producer?

PPWR gives you two roles and people keep merging them. Producer is the EPR role, decided per country by who first places packaging on a market. Manufacturer is the conformity role, decided EU-wide by whose name is on the packaging — including the micro-enterprise exception that may push it onto your supplier.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 14 Aug 2026

What counts as packaging?

A concrete list for makers. The carton, the tape, the filler, the card an earring is mounted on, the pouch, the belly band — and what doesn't count, like the thank-you card that packages nothing. Plus two edge cases we haven't settled.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 8 Sep 2026

GPSR in plain language

The General Product Safety Regulation is the reason most sellers left, and it is widely misread. It does not say "appoint a representative" — it says a product may not be on the market unless someone established in the EU is responsible for it. If that is already you, you appoint nobody.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 8 Sep 2026

EPR and PPWR: who pays for the packaging

Extended Producer Responsibility makes whoever puts packaging on a market pay for collecting and recycling it. A shop shipping 60 kg of cardboard into Italy owes about €2.70 of actual recycling contribution. The registration, the scheme minimum and the representative are the bill — and they are identical at 40 kg and 40 tonnes.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 22 Aug 2026

What an authorised representative is — and isn't

An authorised representative is a company established in a member state that accepts specific legal duties on your behalf. They are not a mailbox, they are not a formality, and their fee is the single biggest line in most small sellers' compliance bill. Which is exactly why we buy it together. Plus the other "authorised representative" the Regulation quietly means something different by.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 23 Aug 2026

How to register with DPA for packaging

The actual Dansk Producentansvar portal flow, step by step — what to have ready, how a foreign company signs in without MitID, and why submitting the form isn't the same as being registered. Deliberately just the registration step; the representative, scheme membership and reporting live on the Denmark desk.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 8 Sep 2026

Where registration can be delegated — and where it can't

The single most misunderstood point on this file — and the reason is that Art. 44 has two delegation routes, not one, defaulting opposite ways. Your scheme may register you unless a state says otherwise; your representative may only if a state says so. Germany shut both. Austria made the representative the only route you are allowed to use. Eleven states have published no answer at all.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 8 Sep 2026

Myth vs fact

Sixteen things small sellers keep being told that aren't true — or are half true in the way that matters. Your supplier's compliance doesn't cover your box in another country. The customer is not the importer on a direct sale. Recycled packaging is still packaging. Including two we got wrong ourselves. Adapted, with permission and with citations added, from a community guide by DippyNikki.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 8 Sep 2026

The words, in plain English

A glossary. Producer, manufacturer, placing on the market, making available, distance contract, PRO, dual system — terms that look like ordinary English and are not. Including the three different jobs called some version of "authorised representative", each with the article that defines it.

ExplainerFull explainer →
Read itChecked 8 Sep 2026

When the marketplace asks for your number

Etsy, Amazon and eBay verify registration numbers because Art. 45(4) PPWR requires them to, before they may let you sell at all — and fulfilment providers must run the same check and suspend you if it fails. The number they want is for the country the customer is in. Plus the thing nobody asks for: a platform can lawfully pay your EPR fees under written mandate.

ExplainerFull explainer →
14 August 2026Checked 14 Aug 2026

The suspension that didn't happen

If you followed the news you may be waiting for the representative obligation to be cancelled. It won't be. The Environmental Omnibus would have suspended it until 2035 for EU-established producers — the Council dropped that from its mandate on 24 June 2026. The rule that took effect on 12 August is live.

NotesRead the note →
22 August 2026Checked 22 Aug 2026

The Commission's PPWR FAQ, KH-01-26-068-EN-N

What that catalogue number actually is: DG ENV's own Q&A on the PPWR, second edition since March, 69 pages we've now read end to end — plus its own disclaimer that it isn't binding law, the one place it uses "authorised representative" to mean two different things, and where we've caught it wrong.

NotesRead the note →

All twenty-seven country desks

Not twenty-seven versions of the same page. The differences are the whole point — who may register you, what number actually relieves you of something, how often you file, and whether there is a published way in at all. Sort it, filter it, or read the one you ship to.

AustriaAT A foreign seller may not register alone, so the representative is the whole route — and the flat-rate Kleinabgeber limbs are two numbers, not one. Representative owed1 Jan 2023 Small-quantity reliefFlat rate to 1,500 kg + 1,500 kg ReportingAnnual — none at all on the flat rate Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked14 Aug BelgiumBE The country where 12 August changed who the producer is: Belgian importers largely stopped being it and their foreign suppliers started. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone — reporting applies regardless ReportingAnnual — your scheme sets the date Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug BulgariaBG A free register you may not be able to get into: NISO runs on a qualified electronic signature and no foreign-producer route is published. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingMonthly by the 15th, plus annual Route for a foreign sellerNot published Checked15 Aug CroatiaHR Croatia required a representative before the EU did, naming third-country sellers expressly, so exposure starts well before 12 August 2026. Representative owed2023 ordinance Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingMonthly by the 20th — and paid monthly Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug CyprusCY One scheme, one deadline, a modest fee — and one unanswered question: which register entry a foreign producer actually needs. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingAnnual, end of February Route for a foreign sellerNot published Checked15 Aug CzechiaCZ Home of the most misquoted number in EU packaging: the 300 kg exemption is two tests rather than one, and cannot disapply an EU regulation. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 — earlier for single-use plastics Small-quantity relief300 kg — national layer only ReportingQuarterly Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug DenmarkDK Register fourteen days before your first shipment, and miss a report and you are not fined — you are inactivated, and may no longer sell. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 — EU-established only Small-quantity relief8 t — a shorter form, not an exemption ReportingAnnual, window 1 Jan – 31 May Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug EstoniaEE § 12(7) turns on your seat not being in Estonia, so EU and non-EU sellers are equally inside it — and the mandate must be filed to be complete. Representative owed§ 12(7), pre-PPWR Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingAnnual by 31 March; audit by 1 Sep over 20 t Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug FinlandFI No minimum sales limit, B2B counts, Åland is a different jurisdiction — and the deadline lands on 31 January while you're still closing the books. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone — no minimum sales limit ReportingAnnual by 31 January Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug FranceFR A French mandataire became compulsory a month early, with no transition period — and France then makes you publish your IDU on your own website. Representative owed10 Jul 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone — Citeo's €80 flat rate under 10,000 units ReportingAnnual by 28 February Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked14 Aug GermanyDE The only country so far that wants both halves: register in LUCID personally, and appoint a representative for everything else. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone — the duty starts at the first parcel ReportingAnnual, plus the completeness declaration Route for a foreign sellerPublished — you register yourself Checked14 Aug GreeceGR Clear about who you are, vague about how: a register in Greek, an unpublished tariff, and a rule that can shift responsibility onto the marketplace. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingContractual — no single public date Route for a foreign sellerPartly published Checked15 Aug HungaryHU The most machined system in the set: one concession company, no choice of scheme, and an eight-digit KF code on every line. Representative owedDecree 80/2023 Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingQuarterly by the 20th, invoice due in 15 days Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug IrelandIE The clearest case of a certain duty with an unpublished procedure. The national test is generous; the PPWR has no threshold at all. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity relief10 t and €1m — Repak only, not the PPWR ReportingNot published for foreign sellers Route for a foreign sellerNot published Checked15 Aug ItalyIT Italy already makes you label the packaging under a national duty live now, not in 2028 — and prices plastic from €40 to €790 a tonne. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefDepends on your platform's CONAI arrangement ReportingQuarterly in year one, then by volume Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug LatviaLV Where EPR and tax are the same conversation: joining a scheme is how you get exempted from the Natural Resources Tax — or pay it at double. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity relief300 kg — above it, joining a scheme is mandatory ReportingQuarterly by the 20th Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug LithuaniaLT A mature system built for Lithuanian companies. The duty is not in doubt. The door is — no complete route for a foreign seller has been published. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity relief0.5 t — pollution tax only, conditional ReportingQuarterly journals plus annual Route for a foreign sellerNot published Checked15 Aug LuxembourgLU The easiest market in the Union to comply in and the easiest to skip by accident. One organisation, a €50 minimum, one deadline. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingAnnual by 28 February Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug MaltaMT Better prepared than most: ERA runs numbered forms and already publishes a written-mandate form. An approved auditor certifies what you report. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity relief100 kg — a simplified form, not an exemption ReportingNot printed — take it from ERA Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked15 Aug NetherlandsNL The most generous threshold in the Union, with a carve-out inside it: single-use plastics and deposit containers are in from the first item. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity relief50,000 kg — genuine relief ReportingAnnual — nothing to file below the threshold Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked17 Aug PolandPL The barrier isn't the fee, it's the login: BDO access normally needs someone who can authenticate through Poland's national system. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity relief1,000 kg — de minimis, claimed in writing every year ReportingAnnual by 15 March Route for a foreign sellerPartly published — the login Checked17 Aug PortugalPT SILiAmb already carries an authorised-representative classification and APA says it is mandatory where applicable — the route exists and is named. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone of any kind ReportingTwo declarations in one round, by 31 March Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked17 Aug RomaniaRO The only desk where our advice is to stop until the structure is confirmed in writing. Clear obligations, no published foreign-producer route. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 Small-quantity reliefNone found ReportingMonthly by the 25th Route for a foreign sellerNot published Checked17 Aug SlovakiaSK The most-repeated claim in European packaging compliance is half right, and the half matters. Here's the line, with the sections. Representative owed§ 27(4)(b), pre-PPWR Small-quantity relief100 kg — drops the Slovak rep, not the EU one ReportingAnnual by 28 February Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked17 Aug SloveniaSI If your comparison table still lists a 15,000 kg threshold it is five years stale. Plus a second regime run by the tax authority. Representative owedPre-PPWR Small-quantity reliefNone — 15,000 kg was abolished in 2021 ReportingTake it from your DROE contract Route for a foreign sellerPublished — your representative registers you Checked17 Aug SpainES Your ENV number goes on your invoices — and if you appoint no representative, the first Spanish distributor may become subsidiarily responsible. Representative owedArt. 17.2, RD 1055/2022 Small-quantity reliefNone — 15 t is a shorter form only ReportingAnnual, before 31 March Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked17 Aug SwedenSE The most transparent system in the set and one of the least forgiving. The register is public, so non-compliance here is easy to see. Representative owed12 Aug 2026 — national rule not final Small-quantity relief1 t — removes a SEK 1,250 fee, nothing else ReportingAnnual by 31 March, or your PRO's earlier date Route for a foreign sellerPublished Checked17 Aug

Published — there is a documented way in Partly — the duty is clear, one step isn't Not published — we could not find the door

Keeper wanted — all 27

Every desk needs a keeper

All twenty-seven country desks are published and not one of them has a keeper. Each is a draft assembled from official sources and marked with what we could not verify. If you ship to a country and know its register, you can improve that desk faster than we can — and each one lists exactly what we are missing.

OpenBecome a keeper →

Nothing matches that yet. Try a broader word, or .

How we write

Four rules, so you can tell how much to trust a page.

Everything carries a date

If a guide doesn't say when it was last checked, don't trust it — including ours. Every entry is re-checked quarterly by whoever keeps it.

Primary sources or nothing

We link the actual regulation or the actual national register. Not a vendor blog summarising a vendor blog.

"Here's what I did", not "here's what you must do"

Shared experience is enormously useful and it is not legal advice. We're careful about the difference, and so should you be.

Corrections in public

When we get something wrong we fix it in the open and say what changed. Quietly editing a page is how bad information survives.

Help us write it

You already know things other sellers need.

If you've registered somewhere, been through a marketplace verification, or simply found out the hard way what a country actually wants — that's a guide nobody else can write. Bring it to the Discord and we'll turn it into one, with your name on it or without, whichever you prefer.

Come and write with us Join the founding members