The EcoDDS Ruling and the July 2026 Law: Who the Ruling Still Concerns

On 10 November 2023, the Conseil d’État, France’s highest administrative court, issued decision No. 449213, commonly referred to as the EcoDDS ruling. For two and a half years it framed every French EPR mandate. Today it only concerns producers established in France.

The reason is Law n° 2026-602 of 8 July 2026 (article 5, 2°), which created Article L. 541-10-9-1 of the Code de l’environnement, in force on 10 July 2026. Its effect, in one paragraph: a written mandate under Article L. 541-10-9-1 of the French Environmental Code, created by Law No. 2026-602 of 8 July 2026. Since 10 July 2026, any producer not established in France and subject to EPR must appoint a representative established in France, for every stream. For packaging, Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) adds the same requirement at EU level. If what you need is the new obligation itself rather than the history behind it, read our breakdown of law n° 2026-602 and Article L. 541-10-9-1.

So the landscape splits in two, on a single question: are you established in France?

• No French establishment. Appointing a representative is mandatory, across all EPR streams, under Article L. 541-10-9-1. The EcoDDS ruling does not describe your situation. This is the case of almost everyone reading this page, EU sellers with no French entity included.
• Established in France. Nothing changed for you. EcoDDS still describes your regime: no obligation to appoint anyone, you declare in your own name, and you can outsource the work but not the obligation.

This article keeps the analysis of the ruling because it remains the reference for France-established producers, and because it explains why the 2026 change had to come from a statute.

What did the Conseil d’État actually hold?#

The court annulled Article R. 541-174 of the Code de l’environnement, a regulatory text introduced by décret n° 2020-1455 of 27 November 2020, insofar as it transferred all of the producer’s EPR obligations to the mandataire the producer designated. The Conseil d’État held that the regulatory authority had exceeded its competence: no statutory provision in Article L. 541-10 of the Code de l’environnement or elsewhere authorised such a transfer, and the regulator could not create it by decree.

Read the holding closely, because the distinction is the whole story. The objection was to the level of the norm. Changing who answers for substantive obligations between operators is, in French constitutional law, a matter for the legislator. A decree could not do it. A law could, and in July 2026 Parliament legislated for producers not established in France.

Who does the ruling still concern?#

Producers established in France. For them, two consequences of the ruling still hold.

One, the France-established producer remains the obligated party. Administrative sanctions under Article L. 541-9-5 (covered in our penalties guide) are built around the producer. A France-established company cannot hand its EPR obligations to a service provider; it can outsource the filing work, which is a different thing.

Two, a service provider is not a substitute debtor. An eco-organism cannot pursue a France-established producer’s service provider for unpaid eco-contributions, or for declaration errors that originate in producer data.

What applies if you have no establishment in France?#

Article L. 541-10-9-1, not the EcoDDS ruling. You remain the producer. Under the written mandate required by Article L. 541-10-9-1 of the French Environmental Code, we take charge of and answer for your registration, your identifier, your declarations, the exchanges with the eco-organisation and audits, and the archiving of your files. Your eco-contributions stay invoiced to you and paid by you directly to the eco-organisation.

The mandate covers the streams and the period it names. Earlier years are a separate question: registration is due from your first sale in France, and eco-organisations can claim contributions for earlier years: up to five years at Refashion (the current year and four previous ones), three at Ecomaison, Ecosystem and Valobat, one at Citeo, none at Léko. Identifiers are never backdated. We tell you before signing whether earlier years are at stake.

What should your mandate say?#

Three drafting points, whichever side of the line you are on.

The right legal basis for your situation. With no French establishment, the mandate should rest on Article L. 541-10-9-1 and state the streams, the product perimeter, the start date and the tasks the representative takes charge of. A mandate for a non-established producer that still rests on the pre-2026 reading uses outdated language. If you are established in France, your contract is a service agreement: you declare in your own name, and it should say so.

Clear allocation of producer-side obligations. Upstream obligations, recycled content under PPWR, eco-design, Info-tri and Triman labelling, stay with the producer in both cases. The mandate should say so.

Information flow and security. The producer provides accurate volume, material and SKU data; the representative transmits it faithfully and flags inconsistencies. Most disputes between producers and representatives have been about data quality on the producer side and timing on the representative side. Our mandate also provides for a refundable security deposit equal to one year of your estimated eco-contributions, at least the eco-organisation's minimum billing, paid once by separate transfer to a dedicated account, never invoiced. It covers sums left unpaid under the mandate and is returned within sixty days of the end of the mandate, once the last contributions are paid.

Who answers for what?#

The honest answer to “who pays the fine?” is not the same on both sides of the line.

For a producer established in France, the answer is settled. The EPR obligations are yours, the sanctions regime of Article L. 541-9-5 is built around the producer, and no service contract changes that.

For a producer with no French establishment, the representative takes charge of and answers for the tasks of the mandate listed above. Three things stay certain:

• The mandate covers the streams and the period it names. Periods before it took effect, and streams left outside it, are not covered.
• You remain the producer. Product data, material composition, volumes and upstream obligations are yours, and a declaration is only as good as the figures behind it.
• Customs, market surveillance and product-conformity matters sit outside the EPR mandate entirely.

We are an EPR representative, not a law firm. Where the law is clear we say so, and where a consequence is still being worked out in practice we say that too.

What should you do in practice if you have no French establishment?#

One, read what the mandate actually covers. The scope clause is the most important paragraph in the contract: which streams, from which date, for which product perimeter, and which tasks.

Two, get the mandate template before signing. A representative that cannot show you a current template, updated for the regime in force since 10 July 2026, is either careless or has not kept up. Either way, a flag.

Three, keep clean records on the producer side. Producer-side documentation (registration certificates, product catalog with material composition, sales records by market) is what survives an audit. The representative holds copies; you hold the originals.

For the operational side of choosing and onboarding a representative, see our pricing page and our onboarding form.

FAQ#

What did the EcoDDS ruling decide?#

On 10 November 2023 (decision n° 449213), the Conseil d’État annulled Article R. 541-174 of the Code de l’environnement, introduced by décret n° 2020-1455, insofar as it transferred all of a producer’s EPR obligations to the mandataire it designated. The court held that only a law, not a decree, could organise such a transfer. Today the ruling only concerns producers established in France.

Does the EcoDDS ruling apply to a producer with no establishment in France?#

No. Since 10 July 2026, a producer with no establishment in France falls under Article L. 541-10-9-1 of the Code de l’environnement, created by law n° 2026-602 of 8 July 2026: it must appoint a representative established in France by written mandate, for every stream. You remain the producer. Under that mandate, the representative takes charge of and answers for your registration, your identifier, your declarations, the exchanges with the eco-organisation and audits, and the archiving of your files.

Should I review a mandate signed before July 2026?#

If you have no French establishment, yes. A mandate drafted before law n° 2026-602 does not rest on Article L. 541-10-9-1, and it should now state that legal basis, the streams covered, the start date and the tasks the representative takes charge of. If you are established in France, nothing changed: you declare in your own name and can outsource the preparation of your declarations as a service, while the obligations stay yours.

A mandate built for the law in force#

Our mandate rests on Article L. 541-10-9-1 when you have no French establishment, with an explicit scope, the tasks we take charge of, a clean allocation of the upstream obligations that stay with you, and standard data-flow clauses. Representative fees start from €190/year excl. VAT (eco-organism flat-rate regimes); everything else is confirmed in a fixed written quote within one business day, see /pricing. To receive the current template with your quote, request a written quote.

Sources & references#

• Loi n° 2026-602 du 8 juillet 2026, article 5, 2°, créant l’article L. 541-10-9-1 du Code de l’environnement (JO du 9 juillet 2026, NOR TECX2407166L), Légifrance, in force 10 July 2026.
• Conseil d’État, 10 novembre 2023, n° 449213 (EcoDDS), Actu-Environnement, Decision text and headnote.
• Cabinet Altes, Eco-organismes : le Conseil d’État annule partiellement le décret, Specialist analysis of the 2023 ruling.
• Article L. 541-10 du Code de l’environnement, Légifrance
• Article R. 541-174 du Code de l’environnement (annulé par l’arrêt EcoDDS), Légifrance
• Article L. 541-9-5 du Code de l’environnement (sanctions REP), Légifrance