The changes do not apply only to packaging manufacturers. They also affect EU-based businesses importing products in packaging, whether the goods arrive in cartons, plastic film, retail packs or multipacks, on pallets, wrapped in stretch film or secured with transport packaging.
Packaging regulation: what changes from 12 August 2026
Any importer placing packaged goods on the EU market, not only a packaging manufacturer, will need to comply with the applicable requirements of Regulation (EU) 2025/40.
The rules apply to EU-established businesses that place packaging from a non-EU country on the market. This can include cartons, films, pallets, transport packaging and packaging supplied with individual products.
Importers will need to ensure that the manufacturer has completed the relevant conformity assessment, prepared the required technical documentation and applied any markings required at that stage.
They should verify the type and material of the packaging, check the supplier’s documentation and, where packaging is intended to come into contact with food, establish whether it complies with the regulation’s limits on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Where essential packaging information is unavailable, businesses may need to suspend sales, hold goods in storage or impose an internal commercial hold until compliance can be established.
Failure to carry out the necessary checks can expose importers to significant administrative and commercial risks, particularly in sectors such as fast-moving consumer goods, e-commerce, food and electronics.
The regulation does not change Combined Nomenclature classification, customs valuation or rules of origin. Nor does it introduce a separate packaging declaration that must accompany the customs declaration.
Nevertheless, the import process provides an important compliance checkpoint. Companies should be able to identify the goods being imported, the packaging used, the country from which it originates, the supplier and whether the packaging may legally be placed on the EU market.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 goes beyond packaging design and composition. It introduces documentation, identification and compliance requirements, as well as obligations connected with extended producer responsibility.
Who counts as an importer under the new rules?
For the purposes of the regulation, an importer is an EU-established person or business that places packaging from a non-EU country on the EU market.
In practice, this may include businesses importing goods that are already packaged, because the packaging is placed on the market together with the product.
Importers may place only compliant packaging on the market. Before doing so, they must establish that the manufacturer has carried out the relevant conformity assessment, compiled the required technical documentation, applied the necessary markings and supplied the relevant documents.
Where an importer has reason to believe that packaging does not comply with the regulation, it must not place that packaging on the market until the non-compliance has been corrected.
What to check before customs clearance
Before a shipment clears customs, importers should conduct an initial assessment of its packaging. The review should cover not only the product itself but every layer of packaging in which the goods enter the European Union.
Key areas include:
Types of packaging in the shipment
Identify retail packaging, multipacks, transport packaging, e-commerce packaging, pallets, films, wrapping, tapes, fillers, labels and any other elements used to protect, present or transport the product.
Packaging materials
The importer should hold information on the materials used, such as paper, cardboard, plastic, wood, metal, glass or multi-material structures. This information may be needed for assessments relating to recyclability, recycled content, marking and reporting.
Food contact
From 12 August 2026, food-contact packaging containing PFAS at or above the limits specified in the regulation may not be placed on the market. Importers of food, food-service packaging, containers, cups and coated paper packaging should therefore scrutinise supplier documentation particularly closely.
Supplier documentation
As a minimum, the importer should seek information on the packaging’s material composition, weight and type, together with confirmation of compliance, relevant test results or substance declarations and, where required, the technical documentation and EU declaration of conformity.
What to monitor during customs clearance
During customs clearance, an in-house customs team or customs broker should flag shipments that may present packaging compliance risks.
The purpose is not to transfer responsibility from environmental or compliance teams, but to create a practical control point during the import process.
In many organisations, import documents describe the goods in detail but provide little information about their packaging. Once the new rules apply, this may be insufficient for internal compliance purposes.
Particular attention may be required for food-contact packaging, plastics, multi-material packaging, e-commerce packaging, transport packaging, reusable formats and packaging carrying environmental claims such as “recyclable” or “biodegradable”.
Where an importer does not hold adequate packaging data, it should consider delaying the placement of the goods on the market until the documentation is complete.
Before release for free circulation, temporary storage or another appropriate customs procedure may be available, depending on the circumstances. Where goods have already been released, an internal commercial hold or the suspension of sales may be more appropriate than releasing the products for distribution.
The importer’s responsibility does not end with the customs declaration
For imported goods, release for free circulation is an important operational checkpoint. Businesses should use it to confirm, as far as possible, that the packaged product can lawfully be placed on the EU market.
If goods are released and the packaging is subsequently found not to comply with the regulation, the importer may face administrative, commercial and organisational consequences.
A lack of preparation may make it difficult to demonstrate compliance, provide documentation to inspectors, sell the product, work with distributors or meet extended producer responsibility obligations.
This is likely to be particularly important for fast-moving consumer goods, e-commerce, food, cosmetics, household chemicals, electronics, textiles and other product categories imported at scale from outside the European Union.
When must importers be ready?
The regulation generally applies from 12 August 2026.
From that date, importers should have a procedure for assessing the packaging associated with imported goods, hold the necessary packaging data and be able to demonstrate that appropriate checks have been carried out.
Some detailed requirements, including certain provisions on recyclability, labelling, recycled content and packaging minimisation, will apply at a later date. Importers should nevertheless have a functioning compliance process in place from 12 August 2026.
Summary
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 is not solely an environmental measure. For importers, it creates a compliance and documentation challenge that must be incorporated into import procedures.
The remaining preparation period is limited, and the legal and operational consequences of being unprepared may be significant.
