EU Batteries Regulation due diligence threshold FAQ

Article 47 says Chapter VII does not apply to economic operators that had net turnover below EUR 40 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year, provided they are not part of a parent-subsidiary group whose consolidated turnover exceeds EUR 40 million.

Article 47 also excludes economic operators, for Chapter VII purposes, in relation to batteries that have been prepared for re-use, prepared for repurposing, repurposed, or remanufactured, if those batteries had already been placed on the market or put into service before those operations.

Once Chapter VII applies, Article 48 focuses on economic operators that place batteries on the market or put them into service. Those operators must set up and implement battery due diligence policies covering the Article 49 management-system duties, Article 50 risk-management duties, and Article 52 disclosure duties.

The raw-material list for Chapter VII is in Annex X: cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, nickel, and chemical compounds based on those materials when they are necessary for manufacturing battery active materials.

Keep enough evidence to show why Chapter VII was treated as in scope or out of scope. For the Article 47 turnover route, that means the operator's net turnover for the relevant financial year and whether it is part of a consolidated parent-subsidiary group above EUR 40 million.

For the battery-specific exclusion, keep records showing the battery had already been placed on the market or put into service before preparation for re-use, preparation for repurposing, repurposing, or remanufacturing. If Chapter VII applies, the evidence file then needs to shift from threshold proof to policy, supply-chain, verification, audit, and disclosure records.

If Chapter VII applies, the operator's battery due diligence policy must be verified by a notified body and periodically audited. Article 51 says third-party verification covers the activities, processes, and systems used to meet Articles 49, 50, and 52, and results in a verification report; an approval decision is issued when the policy fulfils the relevant duties.

Article 52 then creates the disclosure route: make verification, approval, audit, and recognised-scheme evidence available to authorities on request; provide relevant due diligence information to immediate downstream purchasers while respecting confidentiality; and publish an annual internet-accessible report on the battery due diligence policy. If covered raw materials in the battery are from recycled sources, Article 52 requires public disclosure of that conclusion in reasonable detail.