what does the term 'economic operator' mean in battery legislation
Market participant is the umbrella term for everyone in the supply chain
A market participant is the overarching term in the Battery Regulation for any party that places a battery on the market, trades in it, or offers it: the manufacturer, the importer, the distributor and the authorised representative all fall within it. It is therefore not a separate type of business alongside those other roles, but the umbrella that encompasses them. The Regulation uses the term to indicate in the articles on obligations which rules apply to the entire chain, and which rules are specific to one role within that chain. Anyone wondering whether they are "a market participant" can actually reverse the question: every company that places batteries on or trades in the European market is by definition a market participant in one of the four roles that the Regulation distinguishes.
Who the term applies to, and why that distinction is not merely cosmetic
The term market participant applies to manufacturers, importers, distributors and authorised representatives as defined in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. What the term explicitly does not do is equate those four roles in terms of obligations. A manufacturer has different duties than a distributor, and an importer different duties again than an authorised representative. Articles 38 to 44 set this out per role: whoever actually makes the battery or has it made and places it on the market under their name bears different responsibilities than someone who only resells a battery or only imports it from a country outside the EU. Who exactly fulfils which role, and therefore which obligations are attached to it, is set out on the pages on whether someone is an importer or manufacturer under the Battery Regulation and on the obligations of a distributor of batteries. Market participant is thus the family name; the role within it determines what is concretely required.
A nuance that is often overlooked: a company can in practice fulfil more than one role at the same time. An importer who sells batteries under its own brand can legally be treated as a manufacturer, with the associated heavier obligations. That scenario is further explained on the page on what it means to sell batteries under your own brand.
There is no separate starting point for the term itself
The definition of market participant has no separate implementation date: it is a concept that the Regulation uses to assign other obligations to, and those obligations each have their own timeline. For the digital battery passport, the date of 18 February 2027 applies, but that is the date on which that specific obligation takes effect, not the moment at which the term market participant "comes into force". The question of when someone counts as a market participant is thus factually already answered from the moment the Regulation itself applies: anyone who already places or trades batteries on the European market now already falls under one of the four roles and the associated articles. Until 18 February 2027, nothing changes for the term itself; what changes is which concrete obligations (such as the passport) come to rest on those roles.
How to work this out in practice
The first step is to establish which of the four roles applies to your own situation, because the term market participant does not in itself indicate what must concretely be done. Whoever produces the battery themselves or has it produced under their own name is a manufacturer. Whoever imports a battery from outside the EU and places it on the European market is an importer. Whoever resells batteries without changing anything about them is a distributor. And whoever acts as the point of contact in the Union on behalf of a manufacturer outside the EU is an authorised representative — a role that becomes relevant as soon as the manufacturer itself is not established in the EU, as described on the page on when an authorised representative must be appointed for batteries.
The second step is to check whether more than one role applies to the same company, because as mentioned above that can happen and determines which obligations carry more weight. The third step is to look up the obligations for that role in Articles 38 to 44, because that is where what is required is set out per role regarding inter alia conformity, documentation and the transmission of information in the supply chain. For those selling via a webshop or platform, there are in addition practical questions about own stock and marketplace sales, set out on the pages on what needs to be arranged when a webshop sells batteries from own stock and on what the regulation means when selling via an online marketplace.
Where this is provided: Article 3 and Articles 38 to 44
The definition of economic operator, together with the definitions of manufacturer, importer, distributor and authorised representative, is set out in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. The scope of the regulation as a whole — which batteries and which economic operators fall within it — is set out in Article 1. The concrete obligations per role, which give substance to the meaning of the term in practice, are set out in Articles 38 to 44 of the same regulation.
Those wishing to know what concrete obligations apply to their own role can best first establish whether that role is manufacturer, importer, distributor or authorised representative, and from there click through to the page that specifically addresses that role — including the question who is responsible for the battery passport within that allocation of roles.
What this is based on
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Articles 38 to 44 (obligations of economic operators)
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 1 (subject matter and scope) and Article 3 (definitions)
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 term "economic operator" is a collective term. The Battery Regulation uses it in Article 3 to describe all companies that have anything to do with a battery at some point in the supply chain: the manufacturer, the importer, the distributor and the authorised representative. Which role a company falls under depends on what it actually does with the battery — not on what it calls itself. A company that sources batteries from a country outside the EU and places them on the European market is an importer, even if it calls itself a "supplier" or "wholesale trader". Articles 38 to 44 set out per role which obligations apply.
Establishing which role applies
For a company with 10 to 100 employees, this means in practice first an internal check: who places the battery on the European market first, who trades it further, and is there perhaps a company's own brand on a battery that was manufactured elsewhere? The latter is a common pitfall, because an own brand can legally make a distributor into a manufacturer. The page Am I an importer or manufacturer according to the battery regulation? goes deeper into that distinction.
Keeping documentation per role
Each role carries its own obligation to keep records. An importer keeps data on the manufacturer and on the conformity of the battery; a distributor checks that the necessary documents and markings are present before a battery is resold. For a company of this size, this usually means that there is one fixed place — digital or on paper — where these documents are kept per product line, rather than scattered across emails and loose invoices.
Cooperation in the supply chain
Economic operators do not work in isolation from each other. The regulation expects information to flow through: a manufacturer supplies data to an importer, an importer to a distributor. For a mid-sized company, this means that contractual arrangements are needed on who supplies which information, and at what point. For batteries that are sold as part of a larger device — such as in What obligations does a distributor of batteries have? is described — this is often less straightforward than it seems, because the battery itself is not always visible in the supply chain.
Recognising role changes
A company may hold multiple roles simultaneously, or switch roles without this being immediately noticed. A distributor who begins importing batteries itself thereby also acquires the obligations of an importer. For companies that grow or change their procurement channels, this is a recurring point of attention: the role follows the action, not the company name on the sign.
Where things go wrong in practice
In practice, most problems do not arise from unwillingness, but from unclear understanding of which party fulfils which role.
A first situation: a company purchases batteries from a wholesaler within the EU and therefore assumes it is not an importer — while that wholesaler itself sourced the batteries from outside the EU without clearly communicating this. The role of importer then lies with a different party than assumed, and no one has the complete associated documentation.
A second situation: an online shop sells e-bike batteries that are in stock, and assumes that the supplier has already met all obligations. Whoever maintains and sells their own inventory has their own role in the chain that is not automatically assumed by another party. what do I need to arrange as an online shop if I stock batteries for sale myself provides further details on this.
A third situation: a company has batteries manufactured under its own brand name, in the assumption that the foreign factory bears the manufacturer obligations. Once the company's own brand appears on the battery, that responsibility typically shifts to the company that owns the brand — this is detailed on I sell batteries under my own brand — what obligations do I get?.
A fourth situation: a manufacturer outside the EU supplies European customers directly via a marketplace, without an identifiable party within the EU acting as a point of contact. This too raises the question of which role which party fulfils, and is discussed on My manufacturer is located outside the European Union — who arranges the battery digital product passport then?.
A fifth, often underestimated situation: a company thinks it only provides "logistics" and is therefore not a market participant, while in fact it puts batteries on the market as soon as it is the first to sell or deliver them in the EU. The actual action determines the role, not the internal job description.
What you can record
- An overview per product line of which role the company itself fulfals: manufacturer, importer, distributor, or a combination thereof.
- Contact details and agreements with the party that first placed the battery on the market in the EU, including how that party remains accessible.
- A file per battery type with the documents belonging to the company's own role, such as conformity data — see also What conformity declaration and CE marking go with a battery?.
- Internal arrangements for who within the company is responsible for keeping this role determination up to date, especially when procurement channels change.
- A documented procedure for when an authorised representative is needed, as explained on When must I appoint an authorised representative for batteries?.
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.