PPWR since 12 August 2026
What changes when you ship parcels abroad
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40) has applied in all EU countries since 12 August 2026. Anyone who delivers packaged products directly to customers in another EU country is the "producer" of the packaging there. That means: registering, reporting kilos, paying a contribution and, in most cases, appointing an authorised representative. Each country works differently. Below are the rules as they apply on 7 November 2026.
Last checked on 7 November 2026 against the sources per country.
Germany: LUCID, dual system and authorised representative
On 12 August 2026 Germany replaced the Verpackungsgesetz with the Verpackungsrecht-Durchführungsgesetz (VerpackDG). Shipping packaging that ends up with a German consumer is always covered: boxes, envelopes, tape, labels and filling material. There is no threshold and no exception for small volumes.
WhoEvery online shop that delivers from abroad directly to end users in Germany is the "Hersteller" (producer) for the shipping packaging.
RegisterBefore the first shipment, in the LUCID register of the Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister. Free, online, you receive a registration number (DE + 13 digits). You must do this yourself; nobody may do it for you.
Report and payYou sign a contract with a dual system (for example Interzero/Lizenzero, Der Grüne Punkt, Landbell or Reclay), report your kilos per material there and pay the licence fee. You report the same kilos in LUCID, in kilograms with three decimals.
RepresentativeWithout an establishment in Germany you must, since 12 August 2026, appoint a Bevollmächtigter (PPWR art. 45, § 5 VerpackDG). Contract in German, confirmation in LUCID. He then files the reports for you; the registration stays with you.
DeadlinesAnnual report for the previous year by 1 June (dual systems often ask for 15 May). Planned-quantity report for the next year before 31 December. Above 80,000 kg glass, 50,000 kg paper/cardboard or 30,000 kg other materials: an audited Vollständigkeitserklärung before 15 May.
PortalLUCID has no API, but it does have an XML upload that you confirm yourself. Packquota generates that XML file for you.
Source: Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister ·
Source: VerpackDG
Belgium: Fost Plus, Valipac and the authorised representative
In Belgium household packaging goes to Fost Plus and industrial packaging to Valipac. Shipping boxes to consumers are household; shipping boxes to businesses are industrial. Supervision lies with EPRiBEL, the former Interregional Packaging Commission.
WhoEvery online shop that sells to Belgian consumers, including from abroad. According to Fost Plus the old threshold of 300 kg per year was abolished on 12 August 2026; below 10 tonnes a simplified report applies.
DeclarationEvery year before 28 February for the previous year, via the MyFost portal. Being late costs 1% of your contribution per month. You can correct it yourself until 30 June.
ContributionPer material category, from €0.0399 per kg for thick aluminium to €4.419 per kg for non-recyclable packaging (2027 rates). Minimum contribution €100 per year.
RepresentativeWithout a Belgian establishment you appoint an authorised representative in Belgium who takes over the declaration and payment. Do you sell exclusively through a platform that pays the contribution on your behalf? Then not. EPRiBEL is not imposing sanctions on micro-enterprises for now, as long as the EU rules for small businesses remain unclear.
PortalMyFost has an Excel import with one row per material line. Packquota delivers the file in that format.
Source: Fost Plus ·
Source: EPRiBEL
Netherlands: Verpact and the 50,000 kg threshold
In the Netherlands you pay the waste management contribution to Verpact (formerly Afvalfonds Verpakkingen) if you place more than 50,000 kg of packaging per year on the Dutch market. Single-use plastic packaging and deposit packaging always count, from the first item.
WhoAbove 50,000 kg per year, all materials combined, you register with Verpact. In August 2026 Verpact confirmed that EU online shops below that limit do not need to register and do not need an authorised representative in the Netherlands either.
DeclarationEvery year before 1 April for the previous year, per packaging type and material type, in the PackTool portal (becoming VerpactPortal). You pay a quarterly advance based on your estimate.
ContributionPer kg, from €0.015 for wood to €1.32 for flexible plastic (2026). The first 50,000 kg are exempt, allocated by weight share.
Below the thresholdThen you pay nothing, but you must be able to prove with packaging records that you are below it. Retention period seven years.
PortalNo import and no API. Packquota delivers the declaration matrix as Excel, so you copy the figures one to one.
Source: Verpact ·
Source: Besluit beheer verpakkingen 2014
What Packquota does here
Packquota calculates from your orders and shipments the kilos per country, per material and per declaration category, monitors the thresholds and deadlines and delivers a file plus checklist per body: the Verpact matrix, the MyFost import and the LUCID XML. You or your representative submit. That is how it is arranged in all three countries, and we stick to it.
This page is a first impression and not legal advice. The rules are changing: the EU is expected to decide at the end of 2026 on relaxing the representative requirement for small EU companies. We will update this page as soon as that is settled.
Do packaging obligations apply to me?
5 questions, your result per country right away.