Digital product passport
1. Before placing a detergent or end-user surfactant on the market, the manufacturer shall create a digital product passport for that product. The digital product passport shall meet the requirements set out in this Article and Article 22.
2. The digital product passport shall:
(a)
correspond to a specific model of detergent or end-user surfactant;
(b)
state that compliance of the detergent or end-user surfactant with this Regulation has been demonstrated;
(c)
contain at least the data set out in Part A of Annex VI;
(d)
be accurate, complete and up-to-date;
(e)
be available in the language or languages required by the Member State in which the detergent or end-user surfactant is made available on the market;
(f)
be accessible to consumers or other end-users, market surveillance authorities, customs authorities, the Commission and other economic operators in accordance with the access rights laid down pursuant to paragraph 10, point (d);
(g)
be available for a period of 10 years from the date on which the detergent or end-user surfactant is placed on the market, including in cases of insolvency, liquidation or cessation of activity in the Union of the economic operator that created the digital product passport;
(h)
be connected through a data carrier to a persistent unique product identifier; and
(i)
fulfil the specific and technical requirements laid down pursuant to paragraph 10.
3. In addition to the data set out in Part A of Annex VI, the digital product passport may contain the data set out in Part B of that Annex.
4. The data carrier referred to in paragraph 2, point (h), shall be:
(a)
printed or otherwise physically present on the label or the packaging of the detergent or end-user surfactant, or on the documents accompanying the detergent or end-user surfactant if transported in bulk, in accordance with the Commission implementing act referred to in paragraph 10;
(b)
indelible;
(c)
positioned in such a way to be processed automatically by digital devices;
(d)
present on the refill station, for detergents and end-user surfactants made available on the market through refill;
(e)
accompanied by the statement ‘Please scan for more comprehensive information on the product’ or by a similar statement; and
(f)
visible to the consumer or other end-users before any purchase and to market surveillance authorities, including, where applicable, in cases where the detergent or end-user surfactant is made available on the market through distance sales.
5. Where other Union law requires information on the detergent or end-user surfactant to be available via a data carrier, a single data carrier shall be used to provide the information required under this Regulation and other Union law.
6. Where other Union law applying to detergents and end-user surfactants requires a digital product passport, a single digital product passport shall be created for detergents and end-user surfactants, containing the data required under this Regulation as well as any other data required for the digital product passport by other Union law.
7. By way of derogation from paragraph 2, point (a), where other Union law requires that the digital product passport correspond to a batch or an item level, the digital product passport for the purposes of this Regulation may be issued to that level.
8. Economic operators may, in addition to the data referred to in paragraphs 5 and 6, make other information accessible through the data carrier referred to in paragraph 5. In such cases, those data shall be clearly separated from the data required under this Regulation and, where relevant, under other Union law.
9. By creating the digital product passport, the manufacturer shall assume the responsibility for the compliance of the detergent or end-user surfactant with this Regulation.
10. The Commission shall adopt an implementing act determining the basic technical requirements related to the digital product passport for detergents and end-user surfactants. The date of application of such implementing act shall not be earlier than 18 months from its entry into force, except in duly justified cases relating to the whole implementing act or to certain provisions thereof, or except in the event of partial repeal or amendment of the implementing act, where an earlier date of application may be set. Those technical requirements shall include at least the following:
(a)
one or more data carriers to be used;
(b)
the layout in which the data carrier is to be presented and its positioning;
(c)
the technical elements of the digital product passport for which defined European or international standards are to be used;
(d)
the actors that are to have access to the data in the digital product passport and to what data they are to have access;
(e)
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; and
(f)
the detailed arrangements for introducing or updating data referred to in point (e).
The implementing act referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 32(2).
11. The actors that update data in the digital product passport shall be responsible for the accuracy of the data they provide, except in cases where they act on behalf of the manufacturer.
12. The economic operator placing the detergent or end-user surfactant on the market shall:
(a)
provide distributors 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 who 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; and
(c)
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 all of the following requirements:
(a)
the digital product passport is fully interoperable with other digital product passports required by other Union law in relation to the technical, semantic and organisational aspects of end-to-end communication and data transfer;
(b)
all data included in the digital product passport is based on open standards, developed with an interoperable format, and is, as appropriate, machine readable, structured, searchable and transferable through an open interoperable data exchange network without vendor lock-in;
(c)
consumers or other end-users, economic operators, competent national authorities, customs authorities, the Commission and other relevant actors have access, on the basis of their respective access rights in accordance with Union law, to the digital product passport free of charge;
(d)
consumers and other end-users are not required to register or provide a password to access the digital product passport;
(e)
the digital product passport is stored by the economic operator responsible for its creation or by digital product passport service providers;
(f)
where a new digital product passport is created for a detergent or an end-user surfactant that already has one or more digital product passports, the new digital product passport is linked to those original digital product passports;
(g)
where the digital product passport is stored pursuant to point (e) of this Article or otherwise processed by digital product passport service providers pursuant to Article 21(12), point (c), those digital product passport service providers do 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 detergent or end-user surfactant on the market;
(h)
economic operators do not track, analyse or use any usage information other than as absolutely necessary for the purposes of providing the information on the digital product passport online; in particular, personal data related to the consumer or other end-user of the detergent or end-user surfactant is not stored in the digital product passport without its explicit consent given in compliance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 22 ) ;
(i)
data authentication, reliability and integrity are ensured;
(j)
digital product passports are designed and operated so that a high level of security and privacy is ensured and fraud is avoided.
Data carriers and unique identifiers
1. The data carrier, the unique product identifiers and the unique operator identifiersrequired pursuant to this Regulation shall comply with the standards applicable to data carriers, unique product identifiers and unique operator identifiers pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1781.
2. Where a unique operator identifier is not yet available, Article 12(2) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 shall apply to economic operators that create or update a digital product passport under this Regulation. Any rules and procedures for the lifecycle management of unique identifiers and data carriers set out in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 shall also apply in respect of unique identifiers and data carriers under this Regulation.
3. Where a detergent or surfactant is subject to an obligation to provide for a digital product passport under a delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 or under other Union law, the unique product identifier, the unique operator identifier and the unique registration identifier referred to in Article 24(2), first subparagraph, of this Regulation shall be the same.
4. Any procedures for the issuing and verification of the digital credentials of economic operators and other relevant actors that have access rights to data included in the digital product passport, and which are established by implementing acts adopted pursuant to Article 11, fourth subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, shall also be applicable for the purposes of this Regulation.
5. Any requirements that digital product passport service providers are to comply with in order to become such providers, and, where appropriate, in order to provide such services, set out in delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 11, third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 shall also be applicable for the purposes of this Regulation.
Digital product passport registry
1. Before placing a detergent or end-user surfactant on the market, the relevant economic operator shall upload, in the registry established under Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, the unique product identifier and the unique operator identifier for that detergent or end-user surfactant.
In the case of detergents or end-user surfactants intended to be placed under the customs procedure ‘release for free circulation’, the registry shall store the commodity code of that detergent or end-user surfactant.
2. Upon the uploading by the economic operator of the data referred to in paragraph 1 in the registry, the registry shall automatically communicate to that economic operator a unique registration identifier associated with the identifiers uploaded in the registry for a specific detergent or end-user surfactant (‘unique registration identifier’). That communication by the registry shall not be deemed to be proof of compliance with this Regulation or other Union law.
The Commission may adopt an implementing act specifying the implementation arrangements for the registry, including for the communication of the unique registration identifier. That implementing act shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 32(2).
3. The Commission, competent national authorities and customs authorities shall have access to the registry for the purpose of carrying out their duties pursuant to this Regulation.
Customs controls relating to the digital product passport
1. Detergents and end-user surfactants entering the Union market shall be subject to verifications and other measures laid down in this Article.
2. Any person intending to place a detergent or end-user surfactant under the customs procedure ‘release for free circulation’ shall provide or make available to customs authorities the unique registration identifier.
3. Customs authorities may release a detergent or end-user surfactant for free circulation only after having verified as a minimum that the unique registration identifier and the commodity code provided or made available to them corresponds to the data stored in the registry. The release for free circulation shall not be deemed to be proof of compliance with this Regulation or any other Union law.
4. The verification referred to in paragraph 3 shall take place electronically and automatically via the interconnection between the registry and the EU Customs Single Window Certificates Exchange System and shall apply from 23 September 2029 or from the date that interconnection is operational, whichever is later.
5. Customs authorities and the Commission may retrieve and use the data on the detergent or end-user surfactant 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.
6. The verifications and other measures laid down in this Article shall be carried out on the basis of the list of commodity codes and product description set out in Annex VII.
7. This Article is without prejudice to any other Union legal acts, in particular Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and Chapter VII of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
