What do I do with stock of products that is already there when the rules come into force?
No general rule: the regulation determines this per product group
What happens to stock that has already been produced or imported is not specified in the ESPR itself. The ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) is a framework regulation: it establishes for which products ecodesign requirements can be introduced and how that process unfolds, but the specific requirements — and the way in which a transition is handled — are developed separately per product group in a delegated regulation. For a manufacturer or importer, this means that the question "what do I do with my stock" can only be answered once the specific regulation for their product group has been published. Until then, at the level of the ESPR, nothing has been established regarding what happens to previously produced or imported items.
ESPR framework regulation versus regulation per product group
Article 1 of the ESPR describes the subject matter and scope of the regulation: it establishes a framework for improving the environmental performance of products, with almost all physical goods as a potential scope. This is therefore a framework, not a direct obligation for a specific product. Only when the European Commission establishes its own delegated regulation for a product group — think of textiles, furniture, tyres or electronics — do concrete requirements and associated transition provisions arise. This also means that this page cannot say what happens to stock for a specific product: that differs per product group, and per product group regulation it may be arranged differently. For product groups for which no delegated regulation yet exists, there are no concrete product requirements under the ESPR to assess stock against.
No fixed date yet, but a fixed sequence via work programmes
There is no fixed date applicable to all products when "the rules come into force" — and that is inherent to how the ESPR is structured. Article 18 of the ESPR regulates prioritisation and planning: the Commission draws up work programmes that establish which product groups are tackled first and in what order the delegated regulations are adopted. This means that one product group is dealt with earlier than another, and the actual date of entry into force of requirements — and of any transition provisions for stock — is established separately per product group in that regulation. What is certain, however, is that this happens in phases: there is not one moment when one set of requirements for all products comes into force at the same time.
How a manufacturer or importer approaches this
The first step is to check whether a delegated regulation under the ESPR has already been adopted for your own product group or is in preparation, and if so, at what stage it is. Next, it is important to look in that specific regulation to see if there is a transition provision for products that have already been manufactured or imported before the date on which the requirements apply — regulations of this type often contain a moment when the requirements apply to the "placing on the market" of a product, but whether and how that is arranged for existing stock is not established until the text is available. As long as that regulation does not yet exist, there is no concrete obligation under the ESPR for that product group to assess. For a business with stock in multiple product groups, it is useful to monitor per product group separately when a regulation is published, rather than waiting for one general ESPR date that does not exist.
The basis: Article 1 and Article 18 of the ESPR
That the ESPR itself does not provide an answer to the inventory question follows directly from the structure of the regulation. Article 1 describes the subject matter and scope as a framework within which ecodesign requirements can be established, without this already applying concrete requirements to a product. Article 18 makes clear that this is implemented through prioritisation and planning: product groups are addressed in a specific order via separate work programmes and delegated regulations. Together, both articles show that the question "what happens to my inventory" can only be answered at the level of that product-specific regulation, and not at the level of the ESPR as a whole.
If you now have inventory on hand, it is wise to find out which product group it falls under and to monitor whether and when a delegated regulation under the ESPR is published for that group — the text of that regulation itself is where it becomes clear how existing inventory is handled.
Where this is based on
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), article 18 (prioritisation and planning)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), article 1 (subject matter and scope)
The regulation itself is on EUR-Lex. We provide references for each claim; you do not have to take our word for it.
What you must do concretely
What is expected of you
Determining the moment of placing on the market
The ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) works with delegated regulations per product group: only when such a product-specific regulation exists and enters into force does the requirement for a digital product passport apply to those products. Article 18 of the ESPR (prioritisation and planning) describes how the Commission determines which product groups are addressed when. For a company with inventory, this means in practice that there is a concrete reference point: the moment at which a product "is placed on the market" or "put into service", depending on how the product-specific regulation establishes this for the product group in question. Products already placed on the market before that moment normally fall outside the new requirement for that item. What exactly applies to the own product group and when can be determined via whether the digital product passport applies to the own products.
Making a distinction between old and new inventory
For a company with 10 to 100 employees with multiple product lines, this means that an administrative distinction must be made between batches produced or placed on the market before and after the entry date. This is not merely a bookkeeping exercise: it affects inventory systems, batch registration and sometimes labelling. A warehouse that cannot demonstrate which pallets come from which production period has no coherent account in an inspection.
Looking ahead to what must be done when inventory is replenished
As soon as new batches are produced or imported after the entry date of the product-specific regulation, the passport requirement applies to them. For companies that operate on an inventory-driven basis — with fixed reordering points and longer production cycles — this means that the transition is not abrupt, but gradual: old inventory may generally be sold out, new replenishment must meet the requirements. This requires timely planning, not improvisation afterwards. How this approach can be built up step by step is described under the steps to address the product passport for products.
Keeping an eye on the scope of the regulation
Article 1 of the ESPR describes the subject matter and scope of the regulation: it concerns products placed on the market in the Union or put into service. For companies that also sell outside the EU, or that hold inventory for multiple markets, this means that not every pallet in the warehouse automatically falls under European rules. Inventory intended for export outside the EU follows a different regime from inventory intended for the internal market — a distinction that must be visible in the inventory administration, not just in the mind of the export manager.
Where things go wrong in practice
No coherent batch registration. A manufacturer has production data, but not linked to sales inventory. In an inspection, it cannot be demonstrated which part of the inventory was produced before the entry date, with the result that the entire batch is called into question.
Passing on inventory without substantiation. It is assumed that all inventory already in the system automatically falls outside the new requirements, even if additional production has occurred in the meantime. The criterion is the moment of placing on the market, not the moment of physically being in the warehouse.
Import and own production lumped together. An importer assumes that the date on which the supplier in a third country produced is decisive. For the ESPR, it is more relevant when the product is placed on the market in the Union — this may be a different moment than the production date.
No attention to intermediate inventory at distributors. A manufacturer sorts out its own inventory properly, but loses sight of what is still held at wholesalers or dealers. In an inspection at product level, further down the chain, confusion then arises about which date should be applied.
Destroying as an "easy" solution. To avoid discussion, it is considered to simply dispose of remaining stock without a passport. That raises a completely different question, namely whether that is actually permitted for unsold inventory; that is addressed separately under the question of whether unsold inventory may be destroyed.
What you can document
- Production and import data per batch, linked to the inventory number, so that at any time it can be traced which part of the inventory was created before and which part after the effective date.
- An overview of your own product groups with the status per group: no regulation yet, regulation announced, or regulation already in force. That overview is also useful when considering whether it makes sense to start before your own product group is formally due; see the assessment of starting before your own product group is due.
- Agreements with distributors and wholesalers about which inventory was delivered on which date, so that responsibilities in the supply chain remain clear.
- An internal procedure for the moment of "placing on the market", with it clearly stated who within the company registers that moment and how that is substantiated to a competent authority.
- A test setup for the passport, even if your own product group is not yet due, so that when the obligation takes effect, you do not have to start from scratch; more on this under testing a product passport in advance.
- An overview of what a check in practice requires, so that the inventory administration already aligns with that before a competent authority asks for it; see what a competent authority asks for during a product check.
This is not legal advice. This page provides general information about the regulations that this platform concerns. We do not know your situation. If you are in doubt about your own case, consult a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.
Written with AI on the basis of the sources above, checked by a human on 2026-08-22. Is something incorrect? Let us know — corrections are given priority.