EU Battery Regulation: Battery Passport Importer Responsibility and the Full Economic Operator Chain

When a battery manufacturer sits outside the EU, the question of who holds legal responsibility for the battery passport does not resolve itself automatically. Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 answers it in Article 77, read with the definitions in Article 3, while Articles 38 to 44 set out each economic operator’s other obligations. This article explains who carries each obligation, how the importer fits in, and what happens when the chain has gaps.

Why the Manufacturer’s Location Changes Everything

Article 38 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 sets out the manufacturer’s obligations: designing and manufacturing the battery in accordance with Articles 6 to 10, 12 and 14, marking and labelling it under Article 13, drawing up the technical documentation, carrying out the conformity assessment, drawing up the EU declaration of conformity and affixing the CE marking. Article 38 does not mention the battery passport. The passport duty is in Article 77: from 18 February 2027 each LMT battery, each industrial battery above 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery must have a passport (Article 77(1)), and the economic operator placing the battery on the market attributes its unique identifier (Article 77(3)) and keeps its information accurate, complete and up to date (Article 77(4)).

The complication arises when the manufacturer is not established in the EU. For an imported battery, the economic operator placing it on the market is the importer: Article 3(1), point (64), defines an importer as a person established in the Union who places on the market a battery from a third country. So the passport duty sits with the importer.

The Authorised Representative (Article 40)

Article 40 allows a manufacturer to designate an authorised representative by a written mandate, which is valid only when the authorised representative accepts it in writing (Article 40(1)). An authorised representative is a person established in the Union who acts for the manufacturer on specified tasks with regard to the manufacturer’s obligations under Chapters IV and VI of the regulation (Article 3(1), point (63)).

The authorised representative does not take over the manufacturer’s obligations wholesale. It performs the tasks in its mandate, which must at least include keeping the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation at the disposal of national authorities for 10 years, providing information and documentation on a reasoned request, and cooperating on action to eliminate risks (Article 40(3)). The Article 38(1) obligations, the due diligence obligations in Articles 48 to 52 and drawing up the technical documentation cannot form part of the mandate (Article 40(2)). The battery passport sits in Chapter IX, outside the chapters an authorised representative’s mandate covers.

The practical implication for manufacturers outside the EU: appointing an authorised representative does not move the passport duty away from the importer. If you want a say in how your passport data is managed in the EU, agree it with your importer, which may give written authorisation to another operator to act on its behalf under Article 77(4).

Battery Passport Importer Responsibility: Article 77 and Article 41

For an imported battery, the passport duty sits with the importer whether or not the manufacturer has an authorised representative. As the operator placing the battery on the market, the importer must ensure it has a passport from 18 February 2027 (Article 77(1)), attribute the unique identifier that the passport’s QR code links to (Article 77(3)), and keep the passport information accurate, complete and up to date (Article 77(4)).

Article 41 does not give importers a passive role. They must verify, before placing the battery on the market, that the manufacturer has fulfilled its obligations. Where the manufacturer has not done so, the importer cannot simply proceed and hope for the best. The importer must either ensure compliance is achieved or refrain from placing the battery on the market.

Article 41(2) lists what the importer must verify before placing the battery on the market: that the EU declaration of conformity and the technical documentation have been drawn up and the conformity assessment carried out; that the battery bears the CE marking and is marked and labelled in accordance with Article 13, which from 18 February 2027 includes the QR code in Article 13(6); that the required documents, instructions and safety information accompany it; and that the manufacturer has met Article 38(6) and (7). The passport content is not on that list; it is the importer’s own duty under Article 77(4). If the manufacturer supplies a passport that is incomplete or inaccessible, the importer carries the legal exposure.

Importers must also keep a copy of the EU declaration of conformity at the disposal of national authorities for 10 years after the battery has been placed on the market, and ensure the technical documentation can be made available to them on request (Article 41(7)). This record-keeping obligation runs alongside the passport obligation, not instead of it.

What Distributors Must Do (Article 42)

Distributors sit further down the chain, but they are not exempt from obligations. Before making a battery available, Article 42(2) requires a distributor to verify that the producer is registered in the register of producers under Article 55; that the battery bears the CE marking and is marked and labelled in accordance with Article 13, including the Article 13(6) QR code; that the required documents, instructions and safety information accompany it; and that the manufacturer and the importer have met Article 38(6) and (7) and Article 41(3).

A distributor who considers or has reason to believe that a battery does not conform with Articles 6 to 10 or Article 12, 13 or 14, which includes a missing QR code, must not make it available until it has been brought into conformity. Where the battery presents a risk, the distributor must also inform the manufacturer or the importer and the market surveillance authorities (Article 42(3)).

Distributors are not required to create or maintain the passport themselves. Their obligation is verification and, where problems are found, escalation. This is a meaningful distinction: a distributor who checks and finds nothing wrong has met its obligation. A distributor who skips the check and later sells a non-compliant battery has not.

Keeping the Passport Accurate After Placement: Article 77(4)

Placing a compliant passport on the market is not the end of the obligation. Article 77(4) places the duty to keep battery passport information accurate, complete, and up to date on the economic operator placing the battery on the market.

This matters because battery data changes over time. State of health, remaining capacity, and second-life suitability assessments may all need updating as the battery moves through its life cycle. The operator responsible under Article 77(4) must ensure those updates happen.

The regulation does allow for delegation. Article 77(4) keeps the duty on the economic operator placing the battery on the market and lets it give written authorisation to any other operator to act on its behalf, for example to update the passport. Nothing in Article 77(4) moves the duty itself. An ordinary commercial contract that says “the supplier will handle the passport” does not shift the legal responsibility from the importer to the supplier. If the supplier fails to update the passport, the importer remains exposed under Article 77(4).

This is a point that catches many importers off guard. They assume that because their supplier in China or Taiwan “owns” the product data, the supplier also owns the compliance obligation. Under EU law, that assumption is wrong.

How the Chain Works in Practice

Consider a battery cell manufactured in Japan, imported into Germany by a trading company, and then sold through a distributor to an industrial equipment manufacturer in Poland. The Japanese manufacturer has not appointed an authorised representative.

In this scenario, the passport duty falls on the German trading company, which places the battery on the EU market as its importer (Article 3(1), point (64), and Article 77(1) and (4)). That would be the same if the Japanese manufacturer had appointed an authorised representative. The trading company must ensure the passport exists and is accurate before the battery is placed on the market. The Polish distributor must carry out its Article 42(2) checks, including the CE marking and the Article 13 marking and labelling with its QR code, before making the battery available. The industrial equipment manufacturer, if it then places the battery into a product it puts on the market, may itself become an economic operator with its own obligations depending on how the regulation applies to that downstream product.

If the German trading company relies on the Japanese manufacturer to provide passport data and the manufacturer provides incomplete data, the trading company cannot use that as a defence. The obligation is on the trading company to ensure compliance, not merely to pass on whatever the manufacturer provides.

What Information Must the Passport Contain?

The battery passport must contain the information specified in Annex XIII of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542. Annex XIII organises access to passport data into four tiers. Point 1 covers information accessible to the general public, including general battery information referenced in Annex VI Part A. Point 2 covers information accessible to persons with a legitimate interest and to the Commission. Point 3 covers information accessible only to notified bodies, market surveillance authorities and the Commission. Point 4 covers individual battery data accessible to persons with a legitimate interest.

The European Commission has published guidance enumerating 71 data points in total, of which 47 are mandatory and required at the February 2027 deadline for electric vehicle batteries, 50 for light means of transport batteries, and 32 for industrial batteries above 2 kWh. These figures come from Commission guidance and apply to the data points as defined in that guidance. The passport date is the same for all three categories: Article 77(1) fixes 18 February 2027 for LMT batteries, industrial batteries above 2 kWh and electric vehicle batteries.

For a detailed breakdown of how these obligations interact with the technical requirements of the regulation, see this overview of EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542: economic operator obligations.

Common Misunderstandings About Who Is Responsible

Several misconceptions appear regularly among importers and distributors trying to understand their position.

• Misconception 1: The manufacturer always owns the passport obligation. Not for an imported battery. The passport duty sits with the economic operator placing the battery on the market, which is the importer, under Article 77(1) and (4), whether or not the manufacturer has appointed an authorised representative.
• Misconception 2: A commercial contract can transfer the legal obligation. It cannot. Article 77(4) is clear that written authorisation allows another operator to act on behalf of the responsible operator, but the obligation itself stays with the responsible operator.
• Misconception 3: Distributors have no obligations. Article 42(2) requires distributors to verify producer registration, the CE marking and Article 13 marking and labelling, including the Article 13(6) QR code, and the manufacturer’s and importer’s identification details, before making a battery available on the market.
• Misconception 4: The passport only needs to be correct at the point of sale. Article 77(4) requires the responsible operator to keep the information accurate, complete, and up to date throughout the battery’s life cycle.

Steps to Take Now

1. Identify every battery you place on the EU market and determine whether the manufacturer is established in the EU.
2. For each battery your company imports from a non-EU manufacturer, plan for the Article 77 passport duty: as importer you are the operator placing it on the market, whether or not an authorised representative has been designated under Article 40.
3. Audit the battery passport data you currently receive from suppliers against the Annex XIII requirements and the Commission’s 71 data point enumeration.
4. If you give written authorisation to a supplier or third party to maintain the passport under Article 77(4), document that authorisation formally and put monitoring in place. Remember: the obligation does not transfer.
5. Train your distribution team on the Article 42 verification requirement so they check the CE marking, Article 13 marking and labelling and the Article 13(6) QR code before each product is made available on the market.

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