Filed under EU Deforestation Regulation Explained: Scope, Requirements and Compliance
Plot record: legal status and review details
- Jurisdiction
- European Union
- Status
- In force; main obligations apply according to Article 38
- Application
- 30 December 2026 generally; 30 June 2027 only where Article 38(3) applies; specified Annex I additions from 30 December 2027
- Relevant provisions
- Articles 2(16) to (19), 3, 5
Review this page when:
- EUDR amendments
- Commission guidance or FAQ revision
- Article 38 application dates
- Annex I amendments
Commercial supply, including free supply
Making available on the market means any supply of a relevant product for distribution, consumption or use on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether payment is made or the supply is free. This is the Article 2(18) definition. It reaches beyond the first introduction of goods and can cover subsequent supplies through wholesalers, distributors and retailers.
The practical question is whether a covered product is being supplied commercially for the EU market. An invoice is useful evidence of a supply, but charging a price is not essential. Businesses should therefore examine samples, promotional distribution and other free transfers rather than assuming that only revenue-generating sales require consideration.
How it differs from first placement
Placing on the market is the first making available of the relevant commodity or product on the EU market. Making available is the broader category that also includes later commercial supplies. The relationship is important because it separates the first market event from distribution further along the chain.
For example, covered coffee introduced by an importer can pass to a distributor and then a retailer. Those later businesses make the product available even though they are not repeating the original market introduction. The placing-on-the-market explanation examines the initial event. Avoid using the two phrases interchangeably in policies assigning legal responsibility.
Determine the product before the transaction
The making-available definition concerns relevant products. A business first checks Annex I and the relationship to a relevant commodity, then evaluates the commercial supply. A retailer selling an item outside the applicable Annex I scope does not create an EUDR obligation merely because the item has an environmental association with wood or agriculture.
Conversely, an unchanged relevant product does not leave scope because it has already been bought once in Europe. The subsequent commercial transaction remains legally significant. Product data and the scope decision should stay attached to the stock record so purchasing and selling teams do not make inconsistent assumptions about the same item.
Distribution roles under the revised regulation
A trader is a person in the supply chain, other than an operator or downstream operator, that makes relevant products available in a commercial activity. A downstream operator has a distinct definition relating to relevant products made using products already covered by statements or simplified declarations. Both roles have duties under current Article 5.
These businesses collect and keep specified supplier and business-customer information. Where their supplier is an operator, that includes the associated due diligence statement references or declaration identifiers. Article 5 does not impose the same blanket fresh-statement requirement on every later seller. The actual role should guide the controls rather than an outdated assumption that all supply-chain actors repeat full operator due diligence.
Free transfers need an assessment too
A company distributing promotional goods can be making them available commercially even if recipients pay nothing. The legal definition expressly includes free supply. That does not mean every personal gift is a business transaction; the commercial-activity element remains necessary and should be assessed on the actual facts.
Consider a distributor sending samples of a covered product to prospective business customers. Calling the shipment a sample does not itself settle the EUDR treatment. Record the product, purpose, recipient and supply circumstances. Procurement and marketing teams should share a process for checking such flows, since the normal invoicing controls may not capture them.
Business use and corporate structures
Article 2(19) includes use in the operator's, downstream operator's or trader's own business within commercial activity. The absence of an external retail sale is therefore not a general exemption. A company procuring relevant goods for its operations should examine the market-entry and supply circumstances.
Group structures also need care. A transfer between separate group companies may involve different legal persons even if a single brand appears on the packaging. An internal departmental movement and a supply between separate companies are not automatically the same legal event. Map the legal entities, contract, product and market flow before assigning the role.
Information must remain available for checks
Article 5 requires the specified information to be kept for at least five years from the relevant placement, making available or export. A trader should be able to connect its incoming product to the supplier and its outgoing product to the business customer. A general list of approved suppliers does not establish who supplied a particular batch.
Record retention should preserve the association among stock movements, supplier identity, product identity and relevant identifiers. If systems change, archive the relationships as well as the individual documents. Otherwise a business may retain thousands of files while being unable to explain which file supports the goods an authority is examining.
New concerns can change the position
Making available is subject to Article 3's cumulative prohibition. Article 5 also addresses relevant new information and substantiated concerns indicating possible non-compliance. Businesses need a way to escalate such information rather than continuing distribution solely because an upstream reference number exists.
Assign responsibility for checking incoming concerns against affected batches and for identifying downstream recipients. A supplier email describing an origin mistake should reach the compliance decision-maker, not remain in a buyer's inbox. The EUDR overview explains the wider responsibilities. The controlling sources are Articles 2(16) to 2(19), 3 and 5 of the consolidated regulation, which should inform the company's distribution controls.
Primary sources on the record
Articles 2(16) to (19), 3, 5. This entry was checked against the consolidated text dated 18 September 2026. Consolidated texts are documentation tools; the authentic acts are those published in the Official Journal.
Check the current sources and the guidance of the relevant competent authority for your situation. This page is not legal advice or a compliance determination.