EU Deforestation Regulation enforcement FAQ

Member States designate competent authorities to check whether operators and traders comply with the EUDR. For an in-scope product, the practical enforcement file should show that the product is deforestation-free, was produced in accordance with relevant legislation in the country of production, and is covered by the required due diligence statement or simplified declaration.

For operators, enforcement readiness starts before placing on the EU market or exporting: exercise due diligence, submit the required statement through the information system when due diligence shows no or negligible risk, keep the due diligence statement record for five years, and pass the reference number or declaration identifier down the supply chain where required.

A competent authority request should be answered with the underlying due diligence file, not just the due diligence statement reference. The file should connect the product to the commodity, country and place of production, supplier, risk assessment outcome, mitigation steps where needed, and the final no-risk or negligible-risk conclusion.

Downstream operators and traders have a separate evidence burden. They must collect and keep the supply-chain information required by Article 5, including supplier details and relevant due diligence statement reference numbers or declaration identifiers, and provide that information to competent authorities upon request.

Treat the request as a product-specific evidence exercise. Freeze changes to the relevant evidence file, identify the affected due diligence statement or declaration identifier, and assemble the records that prove the product met Article 3 before it was placed, made available, or exported.

If new information suggests a product already placed or made available may be at risk of non-compliance, downstream operators and traders should not wait for a formal penalty process. The grounded obligation is to inform competent authorities and downstream recipients; for export cases, the downstream operator informs the competent authority of the Member State that is the country of production.

The safe public answer is that consequences are set through the EUDR and Member State enforcement rules, and they should not be reduced to a generic national fine number. The Regulation requires Member States to lay down penalties for infringements, while competent authority checks can also drive corrective handling of the affected products and evidence gaps.

For internal planning, separate the grounded consequences from unverified local figures: preserve the authority correspondence, identify whether the issue is missing evidence, unresolved risk, an incorrect due diligence statement, or product non-compliance, and keep any penalty assessment tied to the Member State rule that actually applies.