Amendment to the EU Regulation on Deforestation

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement to amend the EU Regulation on deforestation. The aim is to simplify the implementation of the rules and delay their application so that companies and authorities have more time to prepare.

Simplification of the system

The amendment responds to concerns regarding business readiness and technical issues related to the information system. The agreed measures include:

- Only operators placing a product on the EU market for the first time will be required to submit the due diligence declaration.

- Companies in later stages of the supply chain will only need to keep the reference number of the initial declaration.

- Micro-operators and small primary operators may use a simplified procedure through a single declaration with a unique identifier.

Companies affected and relevance for the customs sector

The Regulation directly affects all companies that import or export products covered by its scope, as they will need to comply with new due diligence and traceability obligations. The affected sectors include:

- Importers of raw materials such as cocoa, coffee, soy, rubber, timber, palm oil or bovine livestock.

- Traders and distributors placing products derived from these raw materials on the EU market for the first time, such as chocolate, furniture, paper, leather, animal feed or vegetable oils.

- Manufacturers and processors using these raw materials in their production chain.

- Logistics operators and intermediaries in the supply chain, who must keep the reference number of the initial declaration.

For customs agencies, this amendment is particularly relevant, as they must inform importers whether their goods fall under the Regulation, what documentation will be required, and at which stage. The postponement until 30 December 2026 provides additional time to adapt systems and procedures, although geographical traceability will remain mandatory.

Postponement of application

The application of the Regulation is postponed to 30 December 2026 for all operators. Micro and small enterprises will have an additional six months. This eliminates the initial grace period proposed by the Commission.

Changes to the scope

Certain printed products, such as books, newspapers and printed images, are excluded from the Regulation due to their low risk of contributing to deforestation.

Future assessment

The European Commission must present, by 30 April 2026, a report assessing the impact of these simplifications, particularly on small operators, and may accompany it with new legislative proposals if necessary.

Next steps

The agreement must be formally endorsed and adopted by both the Council and the Parliament before it can replace the current Regulation.

Context

The Regulation on Deforestation entered into force in June 2023 to ensure that products such as beef, cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, rubber and timber placed on the EU market do not originate from recently deforested areas. Its obligations had already been postponed once due to implementation challenges, and the new amendment delays them further to ensure proper functioning of the system and sufficient time for businesses to adapt.