PPWR Article 45.
The EU-wide authorised representative rule, decoded.

TL;DR

Since 12 August 2026, Article 45 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 requires a producer that makes packaging available in a member state where it is not established, including from another EU country, to appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in that member state. It applies to packaging only (other EPR streams remain under national law), it requires a separate representative per Member State where the producer makes packaging available, and the producer remains responsible.

In France the PPWR rule meets a broader national one. 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.

Where does Article 45 sit in the regulation?

In Chapter VIII on extended producer responsibility of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, which repeals Directive 94/62/EC. It is one of the central pillars of that chapter alongside Articles 43 (definition of the producer), 44 (registration) and 47 (EPR fees).

As a regulation (not a directive), the PPWR has direct effect: it applies in every Member State without national transposition. Member States cannot relax or delay its requirements. They can, however, keep additional national EPR streams on top, which is exactly what France does with electrical equipment, textile, furniture, batteries and the other streams.

Article 45, paraphrased text

The four operative paragraphs of Article 45, in plain English (paraphrased for clarity, refer to the Official Journal for the authoritative wording):

Paraphrase intended for operational understanding, following the paragraph map of the Commission's guidance. Always refer to the Official Journal text for legal interpretation.

Who must appoint a representative under paragraph 1?

Any producer that makes packaging available in a Member State where it is not established. The two criteria are cumulative: no establishment in that Member State, and packaging made available on its market.

“Established” in EU law has been read consistently across regulations (DSA, GPSR) as the place of the registered office or, absent that, the place of effective business operations. “Producer” is defined in the PPWR: for e-commerce sellers shipping cross-border to consumers, it is the seller, since no importer of record breaks the chain. In practice that means direct-to-consumer brands shipping from abroad, Amazon FBA sellers whose seller of record is not established in the country, wholesalers placing packaged goods for resale, and brand owners selling through a fulfilment partner. If a French importer takes title before the goods reach the customer, that importer is the producer instead: see whether a distributor's import removes your obligation.

What does the representative actually do under paragraph 2?

It carries out the producer's EPR formalities in that Member State under a written mandate: registration, declarations, the exchanges with the national scheme and with the authorities. In France that covers:

• Registration: the eco-organisation membership that produces your identifier (IDU) on SYDEREP.
• Declarations of the quantities of packaging placed on the market, by material, on the eco-organisation’s cycle.
• Exchanges with the eco-organisation and its audits, and information to the competent authority on request.
• Archiving of your files.

The eco-contribution itself is computed by the eco-organisation from those declarations. The representative does not take on the producer’s upstream obligations (product design, labelling, recycled content targets). Those remain with the producer.

Does the producer stay responsible under paragraph 3?

Yes. Appointing a representative does not extinguish the producer’s responsibility; the representative performs the EPR obligations in that Member State. In France, the national text defines what the mandate covers:

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 also covers the producer’s packaging range for the Member State concerned: a producer cannot appoint a representative for some SKUs only, which prevents covering only the SKUs flagged by a marketplace.

Does one representative cover several Member States under paragraph 4?

No. A producer selling cross-border to France, Germany and Italy needs three distinct representatives, one per Member State, each working within its national scheme (LUCID in Germany, the Italian packaging register, the French eco-organisations). There is no one-stop shop for representative designation under the PPWR, unlike VAT OSS.

This is the most operationally costly aspect of Article 45 for cross-border sellers: each registration is a separate national procedure with separate fees, separate identifiers and separate declarations. We act as your authorized representative in France only. For other EU Member States, a separate authorized representative established in each country is required, which is outside our scope.

How does Article 45 interact with French law?

In France the national obligation is broader than Article 45. 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.

Article 45 still has three effects on the French market:

• An EU basis for packaging. The representative requirement for packaging rests on an EU regulation as well as on French law, which closes any argument that it is a unilateral national measure.
• Marketplace consistency across the EU. Marketplaces serving several Member States align their EPR verification on one model, which simplifies but also accelerates enforcement.
• Same legal architecture as DSA and GPSR. The authorised representative model also exists in the DSA and the GPSR, but each is a separate role with its own mandate.

A German LUCID number or a Spanish registration does not travel: French EPR is national and organised by stream, so you register in France, per stream, whatever you hold elsewhere. Our France versus Germany EPR comparison lays out the differences, and EPR France for EU companies covers sellers established elsewhere in the Union.

Has the Omnibus proposal postponed the representative obligation?

The European Commission's environmental Omnibus proposal is still in the legislative procedure and has no legal effect. The French obligation of Article L. 541-10-9-1 applies today. Latest state of play: what the Omnibus changes, and what it does not, in France.

When did Article 45 start to apply?

On 12 August 2026, the general date of application of the PPWR, with no transitional grace period for the representative obligation.

• 22 January 2025, PPWR published in the Official Journal.
• 11 February 2025, entry into force, 20 days after publication.
• 12 August 2026, date of application of most provisions, including Article 45. Marketplaces in every Member State can now ask foreign sellers for proof of representation, as French marketplaces already did.
• 2027 and beyond, reuse targets, recycled content thresholds and the harmonised label phase in over the following years: see the PPWR timeline 2026 to 2040.

What does Article 45 change for foreign sellers in practice?

Selling packaged goods into an EU country without local representation is no longer an option, and the cost multiplies per Member State. Three consequences:

• Direct EU sales without local representation are no longer viable for packaging. Cross-border D2C from a non-EU warehouse, Pan-European FBA from a non-EU origin, or drop-shipping to EU consumers all trigger Article 45 in the destination Member State. There is no volume threshold that exempts you in France: small-producer regimes at the eco-organisations set the pricing tier, not whether you register.
• The compliance cost is per Member State. Plan for representative fees, eco-organisation membership and eco-contribution in each market. For France, our fee starts at €190/year excl. VAT per stream, fixed in a written quote within one business day; estimate the eco-contributions with our simulator.
• Enforcement comes through marketplaces first. Amazon, Cdiscount, Otto, eBay, ManoMano and others check EPR registration before listing. Non-compliance shows up as listing deactivation before any fine, but the fine regime in each Member State remains available to the administration: in France, up to EUR 30,000 and EUR 7,500 per unit or tonne under Article L. 541-9-5 (see our penalties guide).

For the broader context, our PPWR 2026 compliance hub covers every PPWR date, and the 2026 compliance checklist consolidates the operational steps. If you want us to handle the French file (mandate, eco-organisation memberships across your streams, identifiers, declarations), our fee is a fixed annual amount per stream (from €190/year excl. VAT, written quote within one business day) and the onboarding form takes three minutes.

What does Article 45 mean for EPR providers, VAT firms and 3PLs?

Partner coverage. Most EPR providers operate in one or two Member States, while their clients now need a locally established representative in every country they ship packaging to, so cross-border service depends on referral between national specialists.

Three realities shape that: marketplaces enforce against each national register (Amazon Germany checks LUCID, Amazon France checks the French identifier), declarations and contributions are computed per national scheme, and “established” means a registered legal seat in the Member State, not necessarily staff there. For the French leg, our partner program (in development) is open to EU EPR providers, VAT compliance firms, 3PLs and e-commerce agencies; each producer you introduce signs its own mandate with us.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, Official Journal L, 22 January 2025.
• Loi n° 2020-105 of 10 February 2020 (AGEC), French EPR framework.
• Code de l’environnement, Article L. 541-10, definition of the producer.
• Loi n° 2026-602 of 8 July 2026, creating Article L. 541-10-9-1 of the Code de l’environnement, applicable since 10 July 2026: compulsory France-established representative for producers not established in France, every stream.
• Code de l’environnement, Article L. 541-9-5 (sanctions) and Article L. 541-9-4 (Info-tri sanction).
• Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (DSA) and Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR), parallel representative concepts.