Digital product passport
1. The information requirements shall provide that products can only be placed on the market or put into service if a digital product passport is available in accordance with the applicable delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4 and with Articles 10 and 11. The data in the digital product passport shall be accurate, complete and up to date.
2. The requirements related to the digital product passport laid down in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4 shall, as appropriate for the product groups covered, specify the following:
(a)
the data to be included in the digital product passport pursuant to Annex III;
(b)
one or more data carriers to be used;
(c)
the layout in which the data carrier is to be presented and its positioning;
(d)
whether the digital product passport is to be established at model, batch or item level, and the definition of such levels;
(e)
the manner in which the digital product passport is to be made accessible to customers before they are bound by a contract for sale, hire or hire purchase, including in the event of distance selling;
(f)
the actors that are to have access to data in the digital product passport and to what data they are to have access;
(g)
the actors that are to create a digital product passport or update the data in a digital product passport and what data they may introduce or update;
(h)
the detailed arrangements for introducing or updating data;
(i)
the period during which the digital product passport is to remain available, which shall correspond to at least the expected lifetime of a specific product.
3. The requirements referred to in paragraph 2 shall:
(a)
ensure that actors along the value chain can easily access and understand product information relevant to them;
(b)
facilitate the verification of product compliance by competent national authorities; and
(c)
improve the traceability of products along the value chain.
4. When setting the requirements related to the digital product passport, the Commission may exempt product groups from the requirement to have a digital product passport where:
(a)
technical specifications of the digital product passport are not available in relation to the essential requirements included in Articles 10 and 11; or
(b)
other Union law includes a system for the digital provision of information related to a product group which the Commission considers achieves the objectives referred to in paragraph 3, points (a) and (b).
Requirements for the digital product passport
1. A digital product passport shall comply with the following essential requirements:
(a)
it shall be connected through a data carrier to a persistent unique product identifier;
(b)
the data carrier shall be physically present on the product, its packaging or on documentation accompanying the product, as specified in the applicable delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4;
(c)
the data carrier and the unique product identifier shall comply with one or more of the standards referred to in Annex III, second paragraph, or equivalent European or international standards until the references of harmonised standards are published in the Official Journal of the European Union ;
(d)
all data included in the digital product passport shall be based on open standards, developed with an interoperable format, and shall be, as appropriate, machine-readable, structured, searchable, and transferable through an open interoperable data exchange network without vender lock-in, in accordance with the essential requirements set out in this Article and Article 11;
(e)
personal data relating to customers shall not be stored in the digital product passport without their explicit consent in compliance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679;
(f)
the data included in the digital product passport shall refer to the product model, batch or item as specified in the delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4;
(g)
the access to data included in the digital product passport shall be regulated in accordance with the essential requirements set out in this Article and Article 11 and with the specific access rights at product group level as specified in the applicable delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 72 to amend Annex III, first paragraph, point (c), and second paragraph in light of technical and scientific progress by replacing the standards or adding other European or international standards with which the data carriers, the unique operator identifiers and the unique facility identifiers are to comply for the purposes of meeting the conditions set out in this Article.
2. Where other Union law requires or allows the inclusion of specific data in the digital product passport, those data may be included in the digital product passport pursuant to the applicable delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4.
3. The economic operator placing the product on the market shall:
(a)
provide dealers and providers of online marketplaces with a digital copy of the data carrier or the unique product identifier, as relevant, to allow them to make the data carrier or the unique product identifier accessible to potential customers where they cannot physically access the product;
(b)
provide the digital copy referred to in point (a) or a webpage link free of charge promptly and in any event within five working days of receiving a request to do so.
4. The economic operator, when placing the product on the market, shall make available a back-up copy of the digital product passport through a digital product passport service provider.
Technical design and operation of the digital product passport
The technical design and operation of the digital product passport shall comply with the following essential requirements:
(a)
the digital product passport shall be fully interoperable with other digital product passports required by delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4 in relation to the technical, semantic and organisational aspects of end-to-end communication and data transfer;
(b)
customers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, dealers, professional repairers, independent operators, refurbishers, remanufacturers, recyclers, market surveillance authorities and customs authorities, civil society organisations, trade unions and other relevant actors shall have free of charge and easy access to the digital product passport based on their respective access rights set out in the applicable delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4;
(c)
the digital product passport shall be stored by the economic operator responsible for its creation or by digital product passport service providers;
(d)
where a new digital product passport is created for a product that already has a digital product passport, the new digital product passport shall be linked to the original digital product passport or passports;
(e)
the digital product passport shall remain available for the period specified in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4, including after an insolvency, a liquidation or a cessation of activity in the Union of the economic operator responsible for the creation of the digital product passport;
(f)
the rights to introduce, modify or update data in the digital product passport shall be restricted based on the access rights specified in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4;
(g)
data authentication, reliability and integrity shall be ensured;
(h)
digital product passports shall be designed and operated so that a high level of security and privacy is ensured and fraud is avoided.
If the digital product passport is stored pursuant to point (c) of the first subparagraph or otherwise processed by digital product passport service providers, those digital product passport service providers shall not sell, reuse or process such data, in whole or in part, beyond what is necessary for the provision of the relevant storing or processing services, unless specifically agreed with the economic operator placing the product on the market or putting it into service.
The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 72 to supplement this Article by setting out the requirements that digital product passport service providers are to comply with in order to become such providers, and, where appropriate, a certification scheme to verify compliance with such requirements, and by setting out the requirements that those service providers are to comply with when providing digital product passport services.
The Commission may adopt implementing acts setting out procedures to issue and verify the digital credentials of economic operators and other relevant actors that have access rights to data included in the digital product passport. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 73(3).
Unique identifiers
1. The unique operator identifiers referred to in Annex III, first paragraph, points (g) and (h), and the unique facility identifiers referred to in Annex III, first paragraph, point (i), shall comply with the standards referred to in Annex III, first paragraph, point (c), and second paragraph, or equivalent European or international standards, until the references of harmonised standards are published in the Official Journal of the European Union .
2. Where a unique operator identifier referred to in Annex III, first paragraph, point (h), is not yet available, the economic operator that creates or updates the digital product passport shall request a unique operator identifier on behalf of the relevant actor and shall provide that actor with full details of the unique operator identifier once issued.
Before issuing a request as referred to in the first subparagraph, the economic operator that creates or updates the digital product passport shall seek confirmation from that relevant actor that no unique operator identifier exists.
3. Where a unique facility identifier referred to in Annex III, first paragraph, point (i), is not yet available, the economic operator that creates or updates the digital product passport shall request a unique facility identifier on behalf of the actor responsible for the relevant location or building and shall provide that actor with full details of the unique facility identifier once issued.
Before issuing a request as referred to in the first subparagraph, the economic operator that creates or updates the digital product passport shall seek confirmation from the relevant actor that no unique facility identifier exists.
4. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 72 to supplement this Regulation by establishing rules and procedures related to the life cycle management of unique identifiers and of data carriers. In particular, those delegated acts shall:
(a)
establish rules for organisations wishing to become an issuing agency for unique identifiers and data carriers; and
(b)
establish rules for economic operators wishing to create their own unique identifiers and data carriers without relying on an issuing agency for unique identifiers and data carriers.
5. The delegated acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 4 shall set out:
(a)
the criteria to become an issuing agency for unique identifiers and data carriers;
(b)
the role of an issuing agency for unique identifiers and data carriers;
(c)
the rules to ensure that unique identifiers and data carriers are reliable, verifiable and unique globally;
(d)
the rules on creating, maintaining, updating, and withdrawing unique identifiers and data carriers;
(e)
the rules related to data management.
6. When establishing the rules and procedures as referred to in paragraph 4, the Commission shall:
(a)
seek to ensure interoperability between different approaches;
(b)
take into account relevant existing technical solutions and standards;
(c)
ensure that the rules and procedures established remain, to the largest extent possible, technologically neutral.
Digital product passport registry
1. By 19 July 2026, the Commission shall set up a digital registry (the ‘registry’) which stores in a secure manner at least the unique identifiers.
In the case of products intended to be placed under the customs procedure ‘release for free circulation’, the registry shall store the commodity code.
The registry shall store the unique identifiers for batteries as referred to in Article 77(3) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 61 ) .
The Commission shall manage the registry and shall ensure that the data stored in the registry are processed securely and in compliance with Union law, including applicable rules on the protection of personal data.
2. The Commission shall, in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4, specify any other data which, in addition to being included in the digital product passport, are to be stored in the registry, taking into account at least the following criteria:
(a)
the need to allow for the verification of the authenticity of the digital product passport;
(b)
the relevance of information for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of market surveillance checks and customs controls;
(c)
the need to avoid a disproportionate administrative burden for economic operators and customs authorities.
3. In relation to its responsibility to set up and manage the registry and the processing of any personal data that might result from that activity, the Commission shall be regarded as controller as defined in Article 3, point (8), of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.
4. The economic operator placing the product on the market or putting it into service shall upload, in the registry, the data referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.
5. Upon the uploading by the economic operator of the data referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in the registry, the registry shall automatically communicate to that economic operator a unique registration identifier associated with the unique identifiers uploaded in the registry for a specific product in accordance with paragraph 4. That communication by the registry shall not be deemed to be proof of compliance with this Regulation or other Union law.
The Commission shall adopt an implementing act specifying the implementation arrangements for the registry, including for the communication of the unique registration identifier referred to in the first subparagraph.
That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 73(3).
6. The Commission, competent national authorities and customs authorities shall have access to the registry for the purposes of carrying out their duties pursuant to Union law.
Web portal for data in the digital product passport
The Commission shall set up and manage a publicly accessible web portal allowing stakeholders to search for and compare data included in digital product passports. The web portal shall be designed to guarantee that stakeholders can search for and compare the data in a manner that is consistent with their respective access rights specified in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4.
Customs controls relating to the digital product passport
1. Any person intending to place a product covered by a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4 under the customs procedure ‘release for free circulation’ shall provide or make available to customs authorities the unique registration identifier of that product referred to in Article 13(5).
The first subparagraph of this paragraph shall apply from the moment the registry is operational.
2. Customs authorities may release a product for free circulation only after having verified as a minimum that the unique registration identifier referred to in Article 13(5) and the commodity code provided or made available to them correspond to the data stored in the registry.
The verification referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall take place electronically and automatically via the interconnection referred to in paragraph 3. It shall apply from the moment that interconnection is operational.
The release for free circulation shall not be deemed to be proof of compliance with this Regulation or other Union law.
3. The Commission shall interconnect the registry with the EU Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange System (EU CSW-CERTEX), thus enabling the automated exchange of information with the national customs systems through the EU Single Window Environment for Customs established by Regulation (EU) 2022/2399.
That interconnection shall be operational within four years of the date of entry into force of the implementing act referred to in Article 13(5).
4. The Commission and the customs authorities may retrieve and use the data included in the digital product passport and the registry for carrying out their duties pursuant to Union law, including risk management, customs controls and release for free circulation in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.
5. This Article is without prejudice to Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and Chapter VII of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and any other Union law.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
