1. This Regulation lays down rules prohibiting economic operators from placing and making available on the Union market or exporting from the Union market products made with forced labour in order to improve the functioning of the internal market, while contributing to the fight against forced labour.
2. This Regulation does not cover the withdrawal of products which have reached end users in the Union market.
3. This Regulation does not create additional due diligence obligations for economic operators other than those already provided for in Union or national law.
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:
(1)
‘forced labour’ means forced or compulsory labour as defined in Article 2 of ILO Convention No 29, including forced child labour;
(2)
‘forced labour imposed by state authorities’ means the use of forced labour as described in Article 1 of ILO Convention No 105;
(3)
‘due diligence in relation to forced labour’ means efforts by economic operators to implement mandatory requirements, voluntary guidelines, recommendations or practices to identify, prevent, mitigate or bring to an end the use of forced labour with respect to products that are to be placed or to be made available on the Union market or to be exported;
(4)
‘making available on the market’ means any supply of a product for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;
(5)
‘placing on the market’ means the first making available of a product on the Union market;
(6)
‘product’ means any item that can be valued in money and is capable, as such, of being the subject of commercial transactions, whether it is extracted, harvested, produced or manufactured;
(7)
‘product made with forced labour’ means a product for which forced labour has been used in whole or in part at any stage of its extraction, harvest, production or manufacture, including in the working or processing related to a product at any stage of its supply chain;
(8)
‘supply chain’ means the system of activities, processes and actors involved at all stages upstream of a product being made available on the market, namely the extraction, harvesting, production and manufacturing of a product in whole or in part, including in the working or processing related to the product at any of those stages;
(9)
‘economic operator’ means any natural or legal person or association of persons placing or making available products on the Union market or exporting products;
(10)
‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person who manufactures a product or has a product designed or manufactured, and markets that product under its name or trademark;
(11)
‘producer’ means the producer of agricultural products as referred to in Article 38(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, or the producer of raw materials;
(12)
‘product supplier’ means any natural or legal person or association of persons in the supply chain who extracts, harvests, produces or manufactures a product in whole or in part, or intervenes in the working or processing related to a product at any stage of its supply chain, as a manufacturer or in any other capacity;
(13)
‘end user’ means any natural or legal person residing or established in the Union to whom a product has been made available either as a consumer outside of any trade, business, craft or profession or as a professional end user in the course of its industrial or professional activities;
(14)
‘importer’ means any natural or legal person or association of persons established within the Union who places a product from a third country on the Union market;
(15)
‘exporter’ means an exporter as defined in Article 1, point (19), of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 ( 26 ) ;
(16)
‘substantiated concern’ means a reasonable indication based on objective, factual and verifiable information for the Commission or competent authorities to suspect that it is likely that a product was made with forced labour;
(17)
‘lead competent authority’ means the authority responsible, pursuant to Article 15, for assessing submissions of information, conducting investigations, and taking decisions, namely a Member State competent authority or the Commission;
(18)
‘customs authorities’ means customs authorities as defined in Article 5, point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;
(19)
‘products entering the Union market’ means products from third countries intended to be placed on the Union market or intended for private use or consumption within the customs territory of the Union and to be placed under the customs procedure ‘release for free circulation’;
(20)
‘products leaving the Union market’ means products to be placed under the customs procedure ‘export’;
(21)
‘release for free circulation’ means the procedure laid down in Article 201 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;
(22)
‘export’ means the procedure laid down in Article 269 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.
Economic operators shall not place or make available on the Union market products that are made with forced labour, nor shall they export such products.
Products offered for sale online or through other means of distance sales shall be deemed to be made available on the market if the offer is targeted at end users in the Union. An offer for sale shall be considered to be targeted at end users in the Union if the relevant economic operator directs, by any means, its activities to a Member State.
1. Each Member State shall designate one or more competent authorities to be responsible for carrying out the obligations set out in this Regulation. Member State competent authorities and the Commission shall work in close cooperation and be responsible for ensuring the effective and uniform implementation of this Regulation throughout the Union.
2. Where a Member State has designated more than one competent authority, it shall clearly demarcate their respective duties and establish communication and coordination mechanisms that enable those authorities to collaborate closely and exercise their duties effectively.
3. No later than 14 December 2025, Member States shall, through the information and communication system referred to in Article 7(1), provide the Commission and the other Member States with the following information:
(a)
the names, addresses and contact details of the competent authority or authorities; and
(b)
the areas of competence of the competent authority or authorities.
Member States shall regularly update the information set out in points (a) and (b).
4. The Commission shall make the list of competent authorities publicly available on the Forced Labour Single Portal referred to in Article 12 and shall regularly update that list, based on the updates received from Member States.
5. Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities exercise their powers impartially, transparently and with due respect for the obligations of professional secrecy. Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities have the necessary powers, expertise, and resources to carry out investigations, including sufficient budgetary resources.
6. Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities coordinate closely and exchange information with the relevant national authorities, such as labour inspection authorities and judicial and law enforcement authorities, including those responsible for the fight against trafficking in human beings, and the authorities designated by Member States under Directive (EU) 2019/1937.
7. Member States shall confer on their competent authorities the power to impose penalties in accordance with Article 37, either directly, in cooperation with other authorities, or by way of an application to the competent judicial authorities.
