Yes, on the same terms as a company from outside the EU. Article L. 541-10-9-1, in force since 10 July 2026, applies when „une personne non établie en France" is subject to extended producer responsibility. The test is establishment in France. Nationality, EU membership and freedom of movement do not enter into it, so a German GmbH, a Dutch BV, an Italian Srl or a Spanish SL selling directly to French end users is caught exactly as a Chinese or American company would be. There is no volume, turnover or company-size threshold, and a representative appointed in your own member state does not cover France.Sources (3)
LégifranceLégifrance — article L. 541-10-9-1 of the Environmental Code (full text)
EUR-LexEUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR)
ADEMEADEME — which producers the EPR schemes cover
What the article says
The provision is short, and the operative words are about establishment rather than origin:
« Lorsqu'une personne non établie en France est soumise au principe de responsabilité élargie du producteur en application des articles L. 541-10 ou L. 541-10-9, elle désigne, par mandat écrit, une personne physique ou morale établie en France en tant que mandataire chargé d'assurer le respect de ses obligations … »
It does not say "non-EU". It does not carve out companies established elsewhere in the single market. It asks one question — are you established in France — and attaches the duty to the answer.
Why the single market does not help here
The instinct is reasonable: goods move freely inside the EU, so why should France require a local appointment? Because EPR is not a barrier to the goods. It is a charge for what happens to the product and its packaging at end of life, in the country where that waste arises, and it is administered nationally. Each member state runs its own register, its own schemes and its own identifiers.
This is also the direction of EU law rather than an exception to it. The EU packaging regulation, applicable since 12 August 2026, requires producers to be registered in each member state where they first make packaging available, and its Article 45(3) requires certain cross-border producers selling directly to end users to appoint an authorised representative in the destination member state. France legislated its own version earlier and more broadly, covering all its EPR streams rather than packaging alone.
Three things that do not exempt you
- A French VAT number. French tax law runs a standing category of companies liable for French VAT with no permanent establishment in France. Registration is not establishment — see does a French VAT number mean I am established.
- Stock in France. A 3PL or fulfilment centre is someone else's premises. It does not give you an establishment, and it does confirm you are placing goods on the French market — see does stock in a French warehouse count.
- Compliance at home. German LUCID registration, a Dutch Verpact membership or a Spanish registration cover those countries. They do nothing in France, and a French IDU does nothing for them.
When you are genuinely not caught
The duty follows producer status, and producer status follows who first places the product on the French market. So you are outside it where a French company opens the market instead of you:
- You sell to a French importer, wholesaler or distributor that buys for its own account and resells. That company is the producer.
- You have a French subsidiary that imports and sells. The subsidiary is established in France and registers in its own name.
- A marketplace established in France ensures the obligations for the products it sells for you. The article treats the duty as satisfied for those products — though not for your other channels.
Selling B2B is not on that list. A French factory, hotel or office that buys your goods to use them is an end user, not a reseller, so direct B2B sales leave you as the producer. What changes is the stream: professional packaging has its own scheme from 1 January 2027, covered in what to do before then.
What it costs to be wrong
Article L. 541-9-5 provides for administrative fines — up to €30,000 for specified registration, IDU and reporting breaches, and for other REP breaches up to €7,500 per unit or tonne for a company, with an enforcement payment of up to €20,000 per day until compliance. The more common first consequence is commercial: marketplaces check the IDU and deactivate listings without one.
If you are unsure which side of the line you are on, the two-minute check asks the questions that decide it, and tells you when the answer is that you need nobody.
Frequently asked questions
Our EPR representative in Germany says they cover the EU. Do they cover France?
Only through a French-established entity. Article L. 541-10-9-1 requires the mandataire itself to be established in France. A platform or representative in another member state can arrange French representation by appointing or partnering with a France-established company, and many do — but ask which French entity signs the mandate and what its SIREN is.
Is the EU trying to remove this requirement?
There is a proposal at EU level to suspend the packaging regulation's representative rule for EU-established producers, and as at the last check it had not been adopted. It would not touch the French duty in any case: article L. 541-10-9-1 is national law, it covers all French EPR streams, and it does not depend on the EU provision.
We sell very little into France. Is there a de minimis?
No. The article sets no minimum volume, turnover or company size. Eco-organismes publish simplified small-producer regimes that reduce what you contribute, which is a different thing from whether you are caught.
We only sell through Amazon.fr. Doesn't Amazon handle it?
Amazon asks you for your own IDU and deactivates listings without one. A marketplace established in France carries a backstop duty for sellers who have not complied, but that protects the marketplace rather than registering you. Pay on Behalf paid eco-contributions; it never issued you an identifier.
Sources
- Légifrance — article L. 541-10-9-1 of the Environmental Code (full text)
- Légifrance — Code de l'environnement
- EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR)
- ADEME — which producers the EPR schemes cover
Founder of EPR France Rep, the France-based EPR authorised representative for companies selling into France.
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