What does the battery regulation mean if I sell via an online marketplace?

Selling via a marketplace usually makes you a distributor

Whoever sells batteries via an online marketplace — loose, built into an e-bike or scooter, or as an industrial battery above 2 kWh — falls in most cases under the obligations that apply to distributors, not those of a manufacturer. That makes a considerable difference: a distributor does not need to compile a digital product passport itself, but does check whether that passport and the associated QR code are already present before the product is offered. If you sell under your own brand, or if something substantially changes to the product before it reaches the customer, that picture can shift: then the heavier obligations of a manufacturer apply, including responsibility for the passport itself.

For resellers and fulfilment service providers, not for the manufacturer itself

These rules affect two groups that operate via a marketplace. First, resellers: companies that purchase batteries, e-bikes or scooters from a manufacturer or importer and resell them via a platform such as bol.com, Amazon or their own webshop that runs on such a platform. Second, fulfilment service providers: parties that handle storage, packaging, shipment or delivery for another without owning the product themselves. Both groups are assigned their own role in the regulation, separate from that of the manufacturer.

What does not fall under this: a manufacturer or importer who happens to sell via a marketplace instead of via its own channel. The sales channel changes nothing about who is the manufacturer — those obligations remain where they are. A one-off private sale of a second-hand product is also a different situation from the structural, commercial sale that these obligations concern.

Applicable from 18 February 2027

The obligation for a distributor, reseller or fulfilment service provider to check whether a product has a valid digital product passport is linked to the date on which that passport itself becomes mandatory: 18 February 2027. Until that date, there is no legal obligation to check a passport, simply because the passport is not yet mandatory. What is certain, however, is that the regulation as a whole has already entered into force and that other obligations under the Battery Regulation — such as those regarding marking and documentation — may have their own timeline separate from the passport obligation. For the question 'what does this mean for my sales via a marketplace', 18 February 2027 is the reference point against which the clock is now counting down.

What this means for those selling via a marketplace

The first step is to determine who acts as a manufacturer or importer in the chain — often the party that originally brought the product onto the EU market. That party is responsible for having the digital product passport and QR data carrier prepared. The second step is to check with that party whether the passport and QR code are actually available, so that a seller via the marketplace can pass that on or display it on their own product page.

If the product is sold under your own brand, it is worthwhile to check whether this means you are assuming the role of manufacturer — with all the documentation and passport obligations that entails. If something is changed to the product before it reaches the customer, such as repackaging, modification or installing a different battery, the same point of attention applies.

For those providing fulfilment services to another company — storage, shipment, return handling — it is important to know that this role is separately named in the regulation, with its own obligations that differ from those of a regular distributor. Anyone offering such a service would do well to establish which of the two roles (distributor or fulfilment service provider) exactly applies, since the obligations are not identical.

Finally, it is practical to map out your own sales channels — marketplaces, own webshop, wholesale customers — and determine per channel who fulfils which role. This creates an overview of where your own responsibility lies and where it remains with a supplier or manufacturer.

Where this is based on: Articles 38 to 44

The obligations of market participants in general are set out in Articles 38 to 44 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Specifically for distributors and fulfilment service providers, and for the question of when the obligations of a manufacturer transfer to another party in the supply chain, Articles 42 to 44 of the same regulation apply.

What to do now

Whoever sells via a marketplace is well advised to map out now which products fall under the Battery Regulation, from which supplier or manufacturer the digital product passport must then come, and whether your own role is that of a distributor, fulfilment service provider or manufacturer. For the exact text of Articles 38 to 44, the official publication on EUR-Lex provides the starting point; batpas.eu assists in compiling and hosting the passport itself once your own role in this is clear.

What this is based on

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

Selling through an online marketplace does not change the question of what role a company plays under the battery regulation. That role is determined by what actually happens to the battery or the product in which a battery is installed, not by the sales channel. Whoever offers items through a marketplace that have been made by another is usually a distributor. Whoever has batteries manufactured and offers them under their own brand is a manufacturer. And whoever holds inventory and dispatches on behalf of a manufacturer established outside the EU can even assume the role of a fulfilment service provider. Articles 38 to 44 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 elaborate on these roles, and especially in marketplace sales they often overlap in practice.

Determining which role actually applies

A sales account on a marketplace says nothing about legal status. A company that resells products of a brand is a distributor; a company that has its own brand placed on the product, even if manufacturing is outsourced, moves towards being a manufacturer. That distinction is precisely worked out on the page Am I an importer or manufacturer according to the battery regulation? and is the first step before anything else is established. For a company of any size, this is usually not a theoretical question: the assortment often contains a mix of resold brands and products under its own label, with a different role for each product line.

Checking whether the manufacturer obligations have been fulfilled before the product is offered

Articles 42 to 44 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 describe when a market participant who is not the manufacturer nonetheless assumes the manufacturer obligations — for example in own-brand sales or when the original manufacturer is not traceable or not accessible. For a company selling through a marketplace, this means that before listing an offer online, it is verified whether the battery passport, the CE marking and the declaration of conformity are present and correct. What exactly this entails is described on the page about What conformity declaration and CE marking go with a battery?

Checking whether registration as a producer is required

When a company selling through a marketplace actually brings batteries to the EU market as the first party — for example when importing from a country outside the EU with direct sales to the consumer — this is usually accompanied by its own producer registration, linked to extended producer responsibility for collection and recycling. This is an obligation that is often underestimated because the sales channel (the marketplace) handles so much online that the impression arises that this obligation is also covered by it. That is not the case; registration and the associated obligations are explained in more detail on the page Must I register as a battery producer, and where?

Assessing whether an authorised representative is needed

If the manufacturer of the batteries sold is established outside the EU and itself sells to EU customers through a marketplace, an obligation may arise to appoint an authorised representative within the EU. For a company operating as an intermediary on the same marketplace, it is important to know whether that representative exists and who it is, because this directly relates to the question of who is to be held accountable for the passport and the documentation. See about this When must I appoint an authorised representative for batteries?

Keeping evidence that the role as a distributor has been correctly fulfilled

For companies that purely distribute — that is, resell products of a third party without their own brand or modification — the obligation remains limited to checking and passing on: verifying that the passport, the marking and the accompanying documentation are present, and not selling themselves if that is not the case. What exactly this entails is on the page What obligations does a distributor of batteries have?

Where things go wrong in practice

A common situation is the webshop that sells on a marketplace alongside its own website and thinks that the marketplace itself is responsible for product compliance. The marketplace facilitates the sale, but the obligations under the Battery Regulation lie with the market participant offering the product, not with the platform.

A second situation arises when a company sells both products of well-known brands and operates its own private label via the marketplace, handling both under the same internal procedure. The private label is subject to heavier obligations than the resold brands, and these two routes are regularly incorrectly treated as equivalent in practice.

A third recurring problem is import via fulfilment: a manufacturer outside the EU sends inventory to a fulfilment centre that delivers on behalf of the marketplace sale. Who exactly that fulfilment centre is and what obligations apply are often not recorded — whereas articles 42 to 44 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 explicitly assign a role here.

A fourth situation is the absence of a contact point: the marketplace listing refers to a brand or manufacturer without it being clear who within the EU is reachable for questions about the passport. This directly relates to the question Who is responsible for the battery passport?

A fifth situation: companies that believe small-scale sales via a marketplace fall outside the scope, whilst the regulation does not link a minimum threshold of turnover or number of sales to the role of market participant.

What you can record

An overview per product line of the role taken on: manufacturer, distributor or fulfilment service provider, with the justification for it.
An internal checklist to be run through before posting a listing online: presence of passport, CE marking and declaration of conformity.
Contact details of the manufacturer or, when importing from outside the EU, of the designated representative.
Proof of manufacturer registration for product lines where the company itself is the first party on the EU market.
An overview of all marketplace accounts and sales channels under which products are sold, linked to the product lines offered there — so that when a question arises from supervision or from the marketplace itself, it is quickly clear which role applies to which channel. More information on this role determination can be found on the page what does the term 'economic operator' mean in battery legislation

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 2026-08-22. Is something wrong? Let us know — corrections take priority.