Which EU countries require an EPR authorised representative?
How a patchwork of national rules became one EU-wide requirement for cross-border e-commerce.
Since 12 August 2026, appointing an EPR authorised representative has been mandatory across the entire EU for online sellers who make packaging available in a member state where they are not established. This harmonised requirement is enforced under Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging, and it replaced a patchwork of national rules: some countries, such as Austria and Spain, had required a local representative for years, while others, such as Germany, had treated it as optional.
The Harmonised EU Position Under PPWR
For years, e-commerce merchants selling internationally within the European Union have struggled with a fragmented compliance landscape. Determining who needs to register for epr is a critical first step, but local rules on whether a foreign seller must appoint a local legal representative have varied widely by country.
This regulatory patchwork has now ended. Under Article 45(3) of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), a unified European rule took effect on 12 August 2026. Since that date, any producer making packaging available directly to end-users in a member state where they are not established must appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in that specific country. These requirements are part of a broader regulatory timeline outlined in the EPR registration rules for the EU in 2026.
"A producer ... shall appoint, by written mandate, an authorised representative for the extended producer responsibility in each Member State where the producer makes packaging or packaged products available for the first time, other than the Member State where the producer is established." — Article 45(3), Regulation (EU) 2025/40
In practice the obligation is EU law but the process stays local: there is no single EU register, so you still appoint the representative and file through each country's existing national scheme. Member States may also require producers established in third countries to appoint a representative in the same way.
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Spain: Mandatory Representation for B2C Sellers
Spain has already implemented a strict mandate for foreign businesses selling directly to Spanish households. Under Spanish law, non-established companies that place packaged goods on the market are considered "producers" and must comply with the local extended producer responsibility framework.
According to the rules set up under the Spanish MITECO packaging register, any company based outside Spain that conducts first-time commercialisation directly to Spanish end-users must designate an authorised representative. This representative is legally responsible for completing the producer inscription in the section for packaging (sección envases) and submitting the mandatory annual declarations.
Austria: Compulsory Representatives for Distance Selling
Austria took a decisive step to eliminate free-riding in cross-border e-commerce by introducing a strict representation mandate. Under § 16b of the Austrian Packaging Ordinance (Verpackungsverordnung), foreign mail-order and distance sellers (Versandhändler) who do not have a seat or business establishment in Austria must appoint an authorised representative.
This representative must be a natural or legal person based in Austria, holding a domestic service address, who assumes full administrative and financial liability for the foreign seller's packaging. This requirement has been fully mandatory under the Austrian Packaging Ordinance since 1 January 2023. Cross-border B2C distance sellers must ensure they have a valid, notarised mandate in place with their Austrian representative to avoid severe fines and sales bans.
Germany: from optional to mandatory
Germany is the clearest example of how much changed on 12 August 2026. Until then, appointing a representative was optional there: under § 35(2) of the old German Packaging Act (VerpackG), a producer without a registered branch in Germany could appoint an authorised representative but was not obliged to.
That law has been replaced. Germany's new Packaging Law Implementation Act (Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz, VerpackDG), in force since 12 August 2026, transposes Article 45(3) of the PPWR directly: under § 5(2) VerpackDG a producer without an establishment in Germany must now appoint an authorised representative before making packaging available to German end-users. The one duty a representative still cannot take on is the registration itself, which under § 6 VerpackDG remains the producer's own non-delegable task, so the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister (ZSVR) still lets foreign merchants register directly and free of charge in the LUCID system. The ZSVR guidance on authorising a representative sets out exactly which duties can be delegated.
National Rules at a Glance
The following table shows how these three key national regimes looked, and how the unified PPWR rule has sat on top of them since 12 August 2026.
| Country | Representative Requirement | National Legal Basis | Local Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Mandatory for foreign B2C distance sellers | § 16b Verpackungsverordnung 2014 (BGBl. II Nr. 184/2014) | Required since 1 January 2023 for cross-border B2C mail-order and distance sales. |
| Spain | Mandatory for foreign B2C direct sellers | Art. 17.2 (representative) + Arts. 15–16 (register & reporting), Royal Decree 1055/2022 | Mandatory for all non-resident companies selling directly to Spanish end-users. |
| Germany | Mandatory since 12 August 2026 (was optional) | § 5(2) Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz (VerpackDG); Art. 45(3) PPWR | Now mandatory for non-established producers; LUCID registration (§ 6) stays the producer's own duty. |
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Sources:
- Article 45(3), Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on the appointment of an EPR authorised representative
- European Commission FAQs on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation
- § 16b of Austria's Verpackungsverordnung 2014 (RIS consolidated text)
- Article 17.2 of Spain's Real Decreto 1055/2022 on the authorised representative (BOE consolidated text)
- § 5(2) of Germany's Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz (VerpackDG), BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 207
- The German Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR) guidance on authorising a representative
- The Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition (MITECO) producer registration procedure
Frequently asked questions
- What is an EPR authorised representative?
- An authorised representative is a local natural or legal person appointed by a non-resident producer to handle all their extended producer responsibility obligations in that country.
- Is appointing an authorised representative mandatory across the EU?
- Yes. Since 12 August 2026 it has been mandatory across all EU member states for cross-border B2C distance sellers under Article 45(3) of the PPWR.
- Which countries required a representative even before the PPWR?
- Austria (since 1 January 2023, under § 16b of its Packaging Ordinance) and Spain (under Royal Decree 1055/2022) already required non-established B2C sellers to appoint a local representative before the PPWR made it universal.
- Is appointing a representative still optional in Germany?
- No. Germany's new Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG), in force since 12 August 2026, makes an authorised representative mandatory for non-established producers under § 5(2), replacing the old optional regime. The producer must still complete the LUCID registration itself under § 6, which is free of charge.
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