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Non-compliance

What non-compliance with the Digital Product Passport costs

The EU does not set one flat fine for a missing Digital Product Passport. ESPR requires each member state to lay down penalties that are 'effective, proportionate and dissuasive', and it hands market-surveillance and customs authorities real enforcement powers. So the practical cost of non-compliance is rarely a single fine — it is losing access to the market.

The real risk: a product without a compliant, registered passport can be detained at the EU border, withdrawn or recalled from the market, and excluded from public tenders — on top of member-state fines. Lost market access, not the fine, is usually the bigger number.

Who sets the penalties

ESPR leaves the penalties themselves to each EU member state, with one instruction: they must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. In practice that can mean fines, confiscation of the revenue earned from the non-compliant product, and time-limited exclusion from public tenders and public funding. Because it is national, the exact figure varies country to country — there is no single EU-wide number.

The enforcement that bites first

Long before a fine, the operational powers apply. National market-surveillance authorities can order corrective action and restrict, withdraw or recall a product from sale. Customs can detain a shipment at the EU border — the registry's proof of registration is the document that clears goods, so a missing or invalid passport means the goods do not move. For batteries from 18 February 2027, no passport means no sale.

The costs beyond the fine

The line items add up fast: recall and re-labelling logistics, shipments stuck at the border, lost tenders (green public procurement increasingly requires the passport data), and reputational damage — which for a brand already dealing with a recall or safety issue can be existential. The passport is cheaper than any one of these.

How to stay on the right side

Build the passport from the documents you already hold, seal it with a qualified eIDAS seal, register it, and keep it reachable for the product's 15-year lifetime. That is the whole job — and it is what PassPer does end to end. Start with the free readiness check to see which regulations and deadlines apply to you.

Frequently asked questions

What is the fine for not having a Digital Product Passport?
There is no single EU-wide fine. ESPR requires each member state to set penalties that are effective, proportionate and dissuasive — which can include fines, confiscation of the product's revenue, and exclusion from public procurement.
Can my products be stopped at the EU border?
Yes. Customs authorities can detain shipments, and once a product group's obligation applies, goods without a valid registered passport (and its proof of registration) will not clear.
Who enforces the Digital Product Passport?
National market-surveillance authorities — who can withdraw or recall products — and customs authorities at the border.
Is non-compliance worse than a fine?
Often, yes. Market withdrawal, detained shipments and lost tenders usually cost more than the fine itself — the penalty is losing access to the market.

Related

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