EU packaging rules are changing: what importers need in place

From 12 August 2026, companies bringing goods into the European Union will be subject to a new legal framework under Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste.

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 goes beyond packaging design and composition. It introduces documentation, identification and compliance requirements, as well as obligations connected with extended producer responsibility.

The changes do not apply only to packaging manufacturers. They also affect EU-based businesses importing products in packaging, whether the goods arrive in cartons, plastic film, retail packs or multipacks, on pallets, wrapped in stretch film or secured with transport packaging.

For the purposes of the regulation, an importer is an EU-established person or business that places packaging from a non-EU country on the EU market. In practice, this may include businesses importing goods that are already packaged, because the packaging is placed on the market together with the product.

Importers will need to ensure that the manufacturer has completed the relevant conformity assessment, prepared the required technical documentation and applied any markings required at that stage.

Failure to carry out the necessary checks can expose importers to significant administrative and commercial risks, particularly in sectors such as fast-moving consumer goods, e-commerce, food and electronics.

Before a shipment clears customs, importers should conduct an initial assessment of its packaging. The review should cover not only the product itself but every layer of packaging in which the goods enter the European Union.

Source: trans.info