EU Deforestation Regulation simplified due diligence FAQ

Article 13 changes two steps in the operator's due diligence process. The operator may omit Article 10 risk assessment and Article 11 risk mitigation only after assessing supply-chain complexity, circumvention risk, and the risk of mixing with products of unknown origin or origin in standard- or high-risk countries or parts. The operator must ascertain that all relevant commodities and products were produced in a low-risk country or part.

The controlling country list is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1093, as updated if the Commission later revises it. Sweden is a low-risk country on the current list; the United States and China are also listed low risk. Belarus, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Myanmar, and the Russian Federation are high risk. Unlisted countries, including Brazil, Indonesia, and Malaysia, remain standard risk. A low-risk classification concerns the Article 3(a) deforestation-free condition and does not itself prove legality under Article 3(b) or satisfy product-level traceability.

Article 13 simplified due diligence and the Article 4a regime for a micro or small primary operator serve different purposes. Article 13 determines whether Articles 10 and 11 can be omitted. Article 4a generally requires a micro or small primary operator to submit a one-time simplified declaration; where all Annex III information is available in another system or database under Union or Member State law, the Member State instead makes that information available in the Article 33 system. An operator using Article 13 still submits a due diligence statement unless it separately qualifies for Article 4a.

Article 13 does not supersede Article 9. The operator still collects and keeps the relevant product description, quantity, country of production, production date or time range, supplier and customer details, and the required geolocation of all plots of land or cattle establishments. It also needs adequately conclusive and verifiable information showing that the product is deforestation-free and was produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production.

Before placing or exporting, the operator must also satisfy Article 4. Unless it separately qualifies as a micro or small primary operator under Article 4a, it submits a due diligence statement through the Article 33 information system. Submitting the statement does not shift responsibility to a supplier, authorised representative, or authority.

Downstream operators and traders do not use Article 13 to replace their Article 5 duties. They must hold the specified supplier and business-recipient information before their transaction, including statement reference numbers or declaration identifiers when their supplier is an operator, and retain it for at least five years.

Simplified due diligence is unavailable if any relevant commodity or product in the assessed chain was not produced in a low-risk country or part, the operator cannot establish production there, or the documented risk of circumvention or mixing is more than negligible. A low-risk supplier address, warehouse, port, processing country, or invoicing country cannot cure missing production evidence.

Article 13 also has a live reversion trigger. If relevant information, including a substantiated concern, points to non-compliance or circumvention, the operator must perform Articles 10 and 11 and immediately communicate the information to the competent authority.

When Article 13 is unavailable, use the ordinary route: collect Article 9 information, perform the Article 10 risk assessment, and, if the risk is not negligible, adopt adequate and proportionate Article 11 mitigation. The operator cannot place or export until the assessment shows no or only a negligible risk.

Recheck Article 13 whenever the Commission updates the country list or the product's origin, supplier chain, processing route, or mixing controls change. The record should identify the version of the implementing act used and connect each relevant input to the low-risk production area.

Keep the complete due diligence documentation for at least five years. That file should contain Article 9 information, the Article 13 complexity and circumvention or mixing assessment, supporting segregation and traceability evidence, the statement record or applicable declaration identifier, and any later review. The operator must be able to provide the Article 13 documentation to the competent authority on request.