How does a distance seller manage their Extended Producer Responsibility?
Distance sellers must fulfil their Extended Producer Responsibility obligations under the laws of the country where they sell their products.
Foreign distance sellers /Distance sales from abroad to Finland
Do you sell or plan to sell products covered by Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) directly to Finnish users? As a foreign distance seller, you must fulfil your EPR obligations in Finland in accordance with the Waste Act and its supplementary legislation.
As a distance seller established in another country, you can manage EPR by joining a Producer Organisation or by appointing an Authorised Representative established in Finland to fulfil the obligations on your behalf in accordance with the Finnish law.
There are exceptions concerning distance sales of electrical and electronic equipment, single-use plastic products (SUP products) and fishing gear made from plastic within the EU. An operator selling these products by distance selling to another EU country can only fulfil their Extended Producer Responsibility by appointing an Authorised Representative established in that Member State. For batteries, an Authorised Representative is mandatory from 17.8.2025 for all distance sellers.
You can find the Producer Organisations operating in Finland by clicking on this link:
Obligations of the authorised representative in Finland
The Authorised Representative manages EPR on behalf of a foreign business (distance seller) and assumes all the relevant EPR obligations on its behalf, including:
- Waste management (collection, transport, handling, costs) by joining a producer organisation and by declaring on whose behalf it is acting
- The reporting of monitoring data, and
- All payments related to producer responsibility.
The authorised representative is legally responsible for EPR and can be subject to coercive measures and penalties in accordance with Finnish legislation.
Extended Producer Responsibility may be assumed voluntarily by an operator equivalent to a producer and an operator of an online trading platform
A foreign operator equivalent to a producer who supplies products subject to Extended Producer Responsibility on the Finnish market, other than by distance selling, may fulfil the Extended Producer Responsibility obligations on behalf of a Finnish importer on a voluntary basis, either by appointing an Authorised Representative established in Finland or by concluding an agreement with a Producer Organisation.
The operator equivalent to a producer must inform producers and producer organisations who would otherwise assume Extended Producer Responsibility of the fulfilment of the obligations and any changes thereto.
The operator of an online trading platform may also voluntarily assume Extended Producer Responsibility on behalf of the distance seller operating on its platform by appointing an Authorised Representative established in Finland or by concluding an agreement with a recognised Producer Organisation. The operator of an online trading platform must have written authorisation from the distance seller operating on its platform to do so.
Distance selling from Finland to abroad
Thinking about selling your products abroad? As a distance seller established in Finland, you must fulfil your Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations in each country in accordance with the laws of that country. For example, if you sell products covered by EPR directly to a user in Germany, you must fulfil your EPR obligations in accordance with German law.
If you sell electrical and electronic equipment, certain single-use plastic products (SUP products) or fishing gear containing plastic to other EU countries, you must always appoint an Authorised Representative established in that country. For batteries, an Authorised Representative is mandatory from 17.8.2025 for all distance sellers.
The representative will carry out the EPR obligations on your behalf in accordance with the legislation of that country.
To manage EPR in another country , you must join that country's producer register and report the quantities of products placed on the market. If you sell to more than one country, you will need to manage EPR in each country separately. EPR must also be managed separately for each product group (e.g. packaging, WEEE, batteries). An Authorised Representative can often help to manage EPR obligations in several countries or for several EPR product groups through the same service. Advice can also be sought from a compliance consultant.
You can find a list of producer registers and authorities in other EU countries (incomplete and being updated) by clicking on this link:
In addition to EU countries, the list includes the Nordic countries Norway and Iceland, as well as the UK.