what penalties or fines apply to the lack of a battery passport
The penalty is not fixed in the regulation itself
The Battery Regulation does not itself determine which fine applies to the absence of a battery passport. In Article 93 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Battery Regulation), the regulation places this choice with the Member States: each EU Member State establishes its own rules for sanctions in case of breach, and notifies these rules to the European Commission. This means that there is no fixed European fine amount to which every market operator in the entire EU is bound — the Netherlands, Germany and France can arrive at different amounts and different forms of sanctions. What the regulation does prescribe, however, is that sanctions "shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive". This is a qualitative requirement for the national legislator, not a concrete amount.
For whom this applies, and what is separate from it
Article 93 is directed at every market operator falling under the Battery Regulation: manufacturers, importers, distributors and authorised representatives. Who exactly falls under which role, and which obligations are associated with it, is described on the pages on who is responsible for the battery passport and on the distinction between importer and manufacturer. Apart from the penalty provision of Article 93, there is the procedure set out in Articles 79 to 84: that concerns batteries that pose a risk or do not comply with the requirements, and the corrective measures associated with them — such as having a product modified, withdrawing it from the market, or a recall. That procedure is separate from the question of what amount a national supervisory authority can impose; it concerns what happens to the product itself, not the fine imposed on the market operator. Both tracks can run in parallel: a battery without a passport can fall under both the corrective measures of Articles 79-84 and under a national sanction under Article 93.
When this becomes relevant
The obligation to have a digital battery passport applies from 18 February 2027. Until that date, there is no passport obligation to breach, and therefore no basis for enforcement on that specific point. What is not yet established is what concrete fine amount or what form of sanction each Member State will use — that national implementation of Article 93 is not currently publicly documented in the sources used here, and is expected to differ by country. Those seeking certainty on this matter are best advised to monitor the official implementation legislation of their own country as it becomes available.
What this concretely means for the approach
The practical sequence does not start with the question "what fine", but with the question "what role do I have". Whoever places batteries on the market, imports, resells or offers them under their own brand, is well advised to first establish which market operator role applies — that determines which obligations apply and therefore also what can be enforced. For those selling under their own brand, this is set out on the page on selling under own brand; for those selling via a platform on the page on selling via an online marketplace. After that, it is useful to look at what practically happens if the passport is not there when the obligation comes into force — this is set out separately on the page what happens if you do nothing. Subsequently, it is advisable to check whether your own registration as a producer is in order, which is connected to extended producer responsibility, and whether the declaration of conformity and CE marking are correct — both topics have their own page in this knowledge base. Those who have that in order before 18 February 2027 significantly reduce the risk of entering into a sanction procedure, simply because the underlying obligation will then have been complied with.
Where this is derived from: Article 93 and Articles 79 to 84
The legal basis for penalties in general is set out in Article 93 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 (Battery Regulation): this article requires Member States to establish effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties and to notify the Commission thereof, but does not itself specify the amount or form thereof. Articles 79 to 84 of the same regulation govern a different aspect: action against batteries that pose a risk or do not comply with the requirements, resulting in corrective measures. Both legal bases together provide the complete picture: Article 93 for the penalty for the breach itself, Articles 79-84 for the fate of the product that does not comply.
What to do
Those who wish to prepare now for the obligation should begin by establishing their own market participant role and check that registration, declaration of conformity and CE marking are in order; the exact amount of a national penalty has not yet been publicly established per Member State, so there is currently no concrete amount that can be attributed to it — the official implementation text of the country concerned is the appropriate source once it becomes available.
What this is based on
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, article 93 (sanctions)
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, articles 79 to 84 (batteries that pose a risk, non-compliance and corrective measures)
The Regulation itself is on EUR-Lex. We refer for each statement; you need not believe us.
What you need to do concretely
What is expected of you
The Battery Regulation addresses penalties in Article 93: Member States establish their own rules for penalties for breach, and those penalties must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. This means that there is no fixed European penalty amount in the regulation — each Member State works this out at national level. For a company placing batteries on the market, trading or importing them, this gives rise to a number of practical obligations that must be in order before 18 February 2027.
Determining who bears the obligation
Before anything can be said about penalties, it must be clear who has which role in the chain. The regulation distinguishes between manufacturer, importer, distributor and authorised representative, and each role entails different obligations. A company importing e-bikes or scooters from a country outside the EU would be well advised first to determine whether it is acting as an importer or manufacturer under the Battery Regulation, because the obligations — and thus the risk in the event of an inspection — differ significantly thereafter.
Corrective measures may be imposed
Articles 79 to 84 describe what happens when a battery is not in conformity or poses a risk. A competent authority may require a market participant to take corrective measures: bring the product into compliance, remove it from the market, or recall it. This is separate from Article 93, but in practice these two tracks often run in parallel — a product without a passport that is marked as non-compliant can lead to both a corrective measure and a penalty. For a company with 10 to 100 employees, this means that someone within the organisation must be able to respond if an authority makes contact, and who knows what file is available for each product line.
Making it demonstrable who is responsible for what
What protects a market participant in practice above all is demonstrability: being able to show that the obligations have been complied with, and by whom. This applies strongly to parties selling products under their own name. Those selling batteries under their own brandassume the obligations of a manufacturer in doing so, even if production takes place elsewhere. Distributors too — wholesalers, retail chains — have their own role; it is incumbent on them to know what checks they must carry out before a battery is resold, as described under the obligations of a distributor of batteries.
Ensuring there is a point of contact in the EU
For manufacturers outside the EU, an authorised representative is often necessary. This directly affects the question of who is liable when an inspection takes place: if no point of contact within the EU has been designated, confusion arises about who the authority can contact. See on this when an authorised representative must be appointed for batteries.
Where things go wrong in practice
The passport is dealt with only afterwards. An importer brings in a batch of e-bike batteries and thinks to complete the digital product passport later, "once the webshop goes live". Between import and sale, there is a period in which the product is already legally subject to the obligation, but the passport is still missing.
No one has specified who is responsible. In a collaboration between a brand owner, an importer and a wholesaler, an inspection reveals that none of the parties regards itself as the final responsible party for the passport. This is precisely the situation explained at who is responsible for the battery passport — the responsibility does not lie with whoever "happens to" do it, but with whoever qualifies as a market participant according to the regulation.
Sale via a marketplace without passport data. A company sells industrial batteries via an online marketplace and assumes that the platform covers the legal obligations. This is not automatically the case; what specifically changes when selling via a platform is described at what the batteries regulation means when selling via an online marketplace.
Registration as a producer is forgotten. A machinery manufacturer that incorporates industrial batteries above 2 kWh in their own equipment does not realize that this requires a separate registration obligation in addition to the passport. See whether and where registration as a battery producer must take place.
CE marking and passport are treated as one document. A trader thinks that the CE marking and the digital product passport cover the same scope, and that one of the two is sufficient. These are two separate obligations with their own basis in the regulation, explained at which conformity declaration and CE marking apply to a battery.
What you can record
- An overview of roles per product line: who is the manufacturer, importer, distributor or authorised representative, per brand and product category. This prevents an inspection from revealing that no one felt responsible.
- A file per battery type with the source of the data incorporated in the passport: who supplied the data, and when.
- Agreements with the manufacturer or supplier about who supplies and updates the data for the passport, recorded in the contract or in a separate annex.
- An internal process for corrective measures: who takes action if a supervisory authority establishes non-compliance, and within which chain of responsibility.
- Evidence of registration as a producer, where applicable, including the date on which this was done.
- An overview of which market participant role applies to the organisation — the term market participant is used broadly in the regulation and is decisive for who bears which obligation; explained at what the term market participant means in battery legislation.
Anyone who does not yet have a passport and wonders what that concretely means before the date of 18 February 2027 arrives, will find a broader explanation at what happens if nothing is done. The penalty itself is only established once the national legislator has specified this on the basis of Article 93; until then, it is primarily the demonstrability of the organisation's own files that makes the difference between a correction without consequences and a longer-term process with a supervisory authority.
This is not legal advice. This page provides general information about the legislation that this platform covers. We do not know your situation. If in doubt about your own case, consult a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.
Written with AI based on the sources above, checked by a human on 2026-09-05. Is something incorrect? Let us know — corrections take priority.