EU Prepares to Simplify Obligations Under the Deforestation Regulation

This blog was originally posted on 18th April, 2025. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.

AUTHORED BY HANNAH JANKNECHT, REGULATORY COMPLIANCE SPECIALIST, COMPLIANCE & RISKS

Introduction

While the EU Commission already proposed far-reaching changes to several sustainability laws as part of its Omnibus Simplification Package in February 2025, it now appears to extend its simplification efforts to the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

In a move to clarify and simplify the scope and content of the EUDR, on 15 April 2025, the Commission proposed a delegated act aiming to change the Regulation, and published updated versions of the accompanying FAQ and guidance documents.

Background

The EUDR came into force on 29 June 2023, and it prohibits the sale in the EU of certain commodities and products that have contributed to deforestation. This includes the seven forest commodities:, cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood, as well as the derived products listed in the Annex to the Regulation. Operators and traders are obliged to ensure that the commodities and products in scope are deforestation-free, produced in accordance with the laws of the country of production and covered by a due diligence statement.

While the due diligence obligations were originally set to apply to large and medium-sized companies by the end of 2024, a decision was made last year to postpone them by 12 months. Large and medium-sized companies are now required to comply with the regulation by 30 December 2025, while small and micro-undertakings have until 30 June 2026 to prepare.

Why is the EU Commission Proposing Changes to the EUDR?

The changes reflect the feedback that the EU Commission received from Member States, international partners, and industry in recent months. Clarifying the scope and content of the EUDR aims to ensure a harmonized implementation of the obligations across the EU Member States and avoid unnecessary administrative costs for economic operators and authorities.

Are There Any Changes to the Products and Commodities Covered by the EUDR?

The draft delegated act, which proposes to amend Annex I of the EUDR, only provides clarifications on which products are not covered by the EUDR, and it does not make any changes to the substance of the product list itself. The act entails clarifications on the following issues, many of which have caused confusion amongst operators in the past:

The proposed amendment specifies that only products made with relevant commodities are included. If a product is listed in Annex I, but it is not made with one of the covered commodities, it is not in scope of the EUDR. This will be clarified by the addition of ‘ex’ in front of several entries.
Waste and second-hand products are not in scope of the EUDR.
Product samples and items for examination/analysis are not in scope of the EUDR.
While packing materials and containers placed on the EU market or exported independently are subject to the EUDR, they are excluded when used to support, protect, or carry another product. This exemption also applies to single-use packing materials and containers clearly suitable for repetitive use, if they are only placed on the market to support, protect or carry another product.
User manuals, leaflets, catalogues, and marketing materials, placed on the EU market or exported as products on their own, fall within the scope of the EUDR, while accessory materials accompanying another product are not in scope of the EUDR.
Items of correspondence (letters, postcards, braille letters and printed matter not liable to import or export duty) do not fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115.

The Commission has also noted in the draft act that products listed under ‘Wood’ in the Annex are not in scope if they are solely made of bamboo, rattan, and other materials of woody nature; however, this seems to contradict what is explained in the recitals to the draft act, which point out that those products are indeed subject to the regulation. It is now up to the Commission to clarify this in the final act.

What Else is New?

In addition to the proposed delegated act, the Commission also introduced simplifications in the guidance and FAQ document that will have a significant impact on how companies prepare for compliance with the EUDR, particularly in relation to the submission of due diligence statements.

Companies are now allowed to reuse existing due diligence statements when goods that were previously placed on the EU market are reimported.

In addition, companies are only asked to submit due diligence statements once a year instead of for every shipment or batch placed on the EU market.

The requirements for larger companies further down the supply chain have also been eased. The updated FAQ document explains the obligations for downstream non-SME operators and non-SME traders in question 3.4. Downstream operators and traders are required to ascertain that due diligence has been carried out further up in the supply chain. This can simply be done by collecting the reference numbers and verification numbers of due diligence statements submitted upstream and verifying the validity of the reference numbers. Downstream operators and traders do not have to collect any of the information required by Article 9 EUDR.

Further clarifications have also been added for company groups (question 3.13 in the FAQ document). To determine whether a company is an SME, the company must refer to the balance sheet thresholds set out in Directive 2013/24/EC. With regards to the SME status of a company, the size of the individual legal entity, and not the size of the group, is decisive. In addition, company groups now have the option to mandate an authorized group representative to submit the due diligence statements on behalf of all members of the group.

What’s Next?

Companies have the option to submit comments on the proposed delegated act until 13 May 2025.

Companies can furthermore expect to see the benchmarking system published no later than 30 June 2025. This will indicate which countries and regions are classified as low, standard or high risk of deforestation under the EUDR. For products and commodities from countries classified as low risk, a simplified due diligence procedure applies.

In addition to the updated FAQ and guidance documents, the EU continues to provide guidance on the EUDR Information System, which became operational on 4 December 2024. Additional dates for virtual training sessions on the EUDR Information System were added for April and May.

Even though the EU Commission has now made its own move to simplify the EUDR obligations, it is possible that Member State governments will propose further changes in the future. The recently published German coalition agreement pointed out that the new German government, which is expected to be finalized soon, aims to ‘advocate at the European level for the immediate relief of the forestry sector in Germany by introducing a zero-risk variant when applying the EU regulation for deforestation-free products.’

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