PPWR for Non-EU Exporters: The Complete Guide from Morocco

Why does the PPWR apply to a company based in Morocco?

Because it targets the packaging, not the company. Regulation (EU) 2025/40 applies to all packaging placed on the EU market, empty or filled, whatever its material, whether made in the EU or imported. Your plant in Fès or Agadir has no PPWR obligation in Morocco; your bottles, cans and cartons do, on the day they enter the European market. The same logic holds for any exporter outside the EU.

That day has a precise definition. The Regulation defines “placing on the market” as the first making available of packaging, whether empty or with a product, on the Union market. According to the Commission’s guidance document, sales and grouped packaging are generally placed on the market once filled, transport packaging is placed on the market empty, and for an imported product the relevant moment is release for free circulation, at the end of the customs procedure.

Three consequences for exports:

• the date that counts is EU customs clearance, not filling in Morocco: a batch packed in July 2026 and released for free circulation in September 2026 falls under the PPWR;
• one single set of rules: it is a regulation, directly applicable in every Member State. Under its Article 4, a Member State may not prohibit, restrict or impede the placing on the market of packaging that complies with the sustainability, labelling and information requirements laid down in or pursuant to Articles 5 to 12;
• compliance is demonstrated packaging item by packaging item, with documents your EU customer will ask you for, because it cannot produce them without you.

The PPWR was published in the Official Journal on 22 January 2025, entered into force on 11 February 2025 and has applied since 12 August 2026. It replaces Directive 94/62/EC. On 5 June 2026, the Commission published a guidance document, C(2026) 3702, interpreting some thirty provisions. It stresses that the guidance does not replace the Regulation, and that binding interpretation remains the exclusive competence of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The dates and articles cited in this guide have been checked against the text of the Regulation published in the Official Journal; the interpretations come from that document.

Our page on the PPWR for non-EU exporters and packaging manufacturers gives the full table of obligations and their dates. This guide starts from the other end: your situation as a Moroccan exporter or packaging manufacturer, and what you need to do about it.

Who is the manufacturer, supplier, importer or producer?

Four roles, two of which carry most of the obligations: the manufacturer answers for the packaging’s compliance, the producer finances its end of life. They are not always the same companies, and confusing them is the first source of error in customer questionnaires.

The manufacturer: only one per packaging item

The manufacturer is not necessarily the company that physically produces the packaging. The Commission considers two elements: the role in design or manufacturing, and the trademark. If the packaging carries a name or trademark, its owner can be assumed to be the manufacturer, because it has the decisive power over its suppliers and can set the packaging’s characteristics. There is always only one manufacturer in a supply chain.

• Sales and grouped packaging: normally the filler that fills the packaging and places it on the market, often also the brand owner.
• Transport, service or primary production packaging: normally the company that makes it, unless it is clearly branded with the user’s name or trademark.
• Unbranded packaging: the decisive criterion is who places the order and decides on the design specifications.

The Regulation provides one exception: where the brand owner is a micro-enterprise, its packaging supplier becomes the manufacturer, provided it is located in the same Member State. In our reading, this exception therefore cannot make a supplier established in Morocco the manufacturer of an EU customer’s packaging.

An importer or distributor becomes the manufacturer itself if it places the packaging on the market under its own name or trademark, or modifies it in a way that could affect compliance (Article 21).

The producer: the one that pays for end of life

The producer carries extended producer responsibility (EPR). According to the Commission, it registers and reports to the national authorities (Article 44) and pays the fees in the Member State where the packaging is expected to become waste (Article 45). In practice, it is the first operator that makes the packaging available on that Member State’s territory, usually where the packaging is filled.

For a Moroccan company, two cases arise:

• you sell to an importer or distributor established in the EU: it is generally the producer in its Member State;
• you sell directly to end users in a Member State, through an online shop for example: the Regulation also covers a manufacturer established in a third country that makes packaged products available for the first time in this way (Article 3(1), point (15)(d)).

The Commission also states that a logistics company that receives imported goods and repacks them in the EU becomes the producer of the transport packaging, even though it does not own the products.

The importer and the authorised representative

The importer is a person established in the EU that places packaging from a third country on the market. For the Commission, “established” means having a registered address in a Member State: it guarantees that a responsible party within the Union answers for compliance, traceability and corrective actions. A branch without legal personality is not enough. A non-EU manufacturer with only a branch must incorporate a subsidiary or appoint an authorised representative, where the Member State concerned requires it; the authorised representative is appointed by written mandate (Article 17).

Which obligations already apply, depending on your profile?

Since 12 August 2026, three blocks matter for exports: the PFAS limits for food-contact packaging (Article 5), the general recyclability obligation (Article 6(1)) and the criteria for reusable packaging (Article 11). The rest comes later, and several deadlines depend on acts the Commission has not yet adopted.

Three clarifications from the Commission prevent unpleasant surprises:

• PFAS: no transitional period for the exhaustion of stocks and no exception for recycled materials. Packaging placed on the market before 12 August 2026 may remain there; any packaging placed on the market after that date must meet the limits.
• Recyclability: until the harmonised design-for-recycling criteria apply, the manufacturer meets the requirements of the former Directive and its harmonised standards, such as EN 13430:2004. The conformity assessment procedure under Article 38 and Annex VII is not required for recyclability until the delegated acts under Article 6(4) enter into force.
• Minimisation: the existing requirements and EN 13428:2004 remain in effect until the end of 2029 (Article 70); Article 10 applies from 1 January 2030.

The table translates these rules by profile. It is our reading grid, to be confirmed with each customer.

The detailed timeline, from 2027 to 2040, is set out in our article PPWR since 12 August 2026: what applies and what comes next.

What evidence must be produced, and who signs?

The manufacturer signs; its suppliers feed it. Under Article 15, the manufacturer may only place on the market packaging that complies with Articles 5 to 12. The conformity assessment (Article 38) may be carried out by the manufacturer or on its behalf, for example by a laboratory or a certification scheme. The EU declaration of conformity (Article 39) is drawn up by the manufacturer, based on the information and documentation its suppliers provide (Article 16(1)), or by its authorised representative. Whoever actually drafts it, the manufacturer remains the only operator bearing legal responsibility.

For a Moroccan exporter, the chain of evidence looks like this:

1. Your suppliers (paper, films, varnishes, inks, closures) describe the composition of their materials and their test results.
2. You consolidate this data by packaging reference, with your own tests.
3. The manufacturer, you or your customer, draws up the technical documentation under Annex VII and the EU declaration of conformity.

Three evidence points need particular attention.

PFAS. If total fluorine exceeds 50 mg/kg, the manufacturer, importer or downstream user of the substance under the REACH Regulation must, on request, provide proof of the quantity of fluorine measured as PFAS or non-PFAS, so that the packaging manufacturer or importer can draw up its technical documentation. As there is no harmonised method, the Commission recommends a stepwise approach for enforcement: total fluorine, then whether the fluorine is organic or inorganic, then total oxidisable precursor (TOP) analysis. It adds that, on the evidence currently available to it, all samples compliant with the first step are also compliant with the next two. Official controls under Regulation (EU) 2017/625 also apply.

Recycled content in plastics. Two exemptions apply directly, with no authorisation needed: food-contact plastic packaging where the quantity of recycled content poses a threat to human health and results in non-compliance with Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, and any plastic part representing less than 5% of the total weight of the packaging unit. The manufacturer must substantiate them in the technical documentation. For the first, the Commission asks for the polymer of each plastic part representing 5% or more of the weight to be stated, with confirmation that Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2022/1616 lists no suitable recycling technology and that none is available at industrial scale.

Minimisation. For sales packaging, the obligated party is the manufacturer, which carries out the conformity assessment and drafts the technical documentation and the EU declaration of conformity.

The text is precise about what these two documents contain. The Annex VII technical documentation includes, where applicable, a general description of the packaging and its intended use, the design and manufacturing drawings and the materials of components, the list of harmonised standards, common specifications or other technical specifications applied, a qualitative description of the assessments of recyclability (Article 6), minimisation (Article 10) and reusability (Article 11), the test reports and an analysis of the risks of non-conformity. The EU declaration of conformity follows the model in Annex VIII: unique identification of the packaging, name and address of the manufacturer, object of the declaration allowing traceability, other Union acts complied with, standards or specifications used, additional information and signature. It is drawn up for each packaging type, drawn up in or translated into a language required by the Member State concerned, and kept with the technical documentation for five years for single-use packaging, ten years for reusable packaging. The Regulation sets no separate date for it: it states that the requirements of Articles 5 to 12 are met and must be kept up to date (Article 39). In our reading, it therefore covers each requirement from that requirement’s own date of application, starting with PFAS; for recyclability, the Commission states that the Annex VII procedure is not required before the delegated acts under Article 6(4).

What should you prepare for 2028, 2030 and beyond?

The long projects: labelling, design for recycling, recycled content, minimisation. They affect your artwork, your materials and sometimes your suppliers, and each one takes several months of development and validation.

• Harmonised labelling (Article 12): from 12 August 2028 or 24 months after the entry into force of the implementing act defining the label, whichever is the latest. The sorting label is based on pictograms; transport packaging, except e-commerce packaging, and packaging subject to a deposit and return system are excluded. The abbreviations of Decision 97/129/EC will no longer be allowed after 12 August 2028. Recycled-content and bio-based content labels remain voluntary, but harmonised. EPR information may only be provided in digital form.
• Design for recycling (Article 6): criteria set by delegated acts the Commission must adopt by 1 January 2028, applying from 1 January 2030 or 24 months after their entry into force, whichever is the latest. Multilayer structures and material combinations are the first to review.
• Recycled content in plastics (Article 7): by 1 January 2028, the Commission must assess the need for derogations for certain contact-sensitive plastic packaging, food packaging included. Its implementation page also announces an implementing act on assessing the equivalence of third-country rules on recycled content: one to watch closely for a Moroccan recycler or plastics converter. The rates themselves apply from 1 January 2030, or three years after the entry into force of the implementing act on the calculation method if that is later: 30% post-consumer recycled plastic for contact-sensitive packaging with PET as the major component, 10% for contact-sensitive packaging in other plastics, 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles and 35% for other plastic packaging, as an average per manufacturing plant and year. From 1 January 2040, they rise to 50%, 25%, 65% and 65%.
• Minimisation (Article 10): by 1 January 2030, weight and volume reduced to the minimum necessary for functionality. Marketing and consumer acceptance no longer justify extra packaging on their own; functionality, however, takes account of sales for gift purposes or on the occasion of seasonal events (Annex IV).
• Empty space, bans, reuse: a maximum empty space ratio of 50% for grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging from 1 January 2030 at the earliest; a ban on the formats and uses in Annex V from 1 January 2030, whose points 1 to 4 also cover, according to the Commission, paper-based composite packaging containing 5% or more plastic; 40% reusable transport packaging in the EU from 1 January 2030. For a food exporter, the Annex V entries that matter are single-use plastic grouped packaging used at the point of sale to encourage buying several bottles, cans, tins or pots (collation film, shrink wrap), except grouping needed for handling; single-use plastic packaging for less than 1.5 kg of unprocessed fresh fruit and vegetables, with exemptions Member States may set; single-use plastic packaging for food and beverages filled and consumed on the premises in the HORECA sector; single-use plastic individual portions of condiments, sauces, preserves, sugar or coffee creamer in the HORECA sector, with exceptions; and very lightweight plastic carrier bags, except for hygiene reasons or for loose food when they help prevent food waste.

How can you build on BRCGS, IFS, FSSC 22000 or ISO 14001?

By reusing the evidence, without confusing a certificate with compliance. BRCGS, IFS and FSSC 22000 are private, voluntary certifications; the PPWR is law. No certificate amounts to an EU declaration of conformity, but a well-run system already produces part of the data.

• Packaging manufacturers certified to BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 7: the statement of compliance required for each food-contact product, the HARA covering migration and recycled materials, artwork and print control, claims and traceability become the foundation of the PPWR file. The cross-reference table is on our BRCGS Packaging Materials Issue 7 page.
• Exporters certified to BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9, IFS Food Version 8 or FSSC 22000 Version 7: the packaging specifications and supplier approval these standards already require are the right place to add the PPWR data (composition, PFAS, recycled content).
• ISO 14001 certified sites: ISO 14001:2026, published in April 2026, is being rolled out with a transition until 30 April 2029. The PPWR enters the system as a compliance obligation, and waste and packaging data also feed customers’ ESG questionnaires.

Dr. Ismail Idrissi, ACG’s founder, is the only BRCGS-registered consultant in Africa; for a packaging manufacturer already committed to Packaging Materials, we build the PPWR file on that system rather than alongside it. Brand owners’ requirements by trade (printers, plastics converters, carton makers, glassworks) are detailed on our packaging and printing sector page.

Where should you start when the first questionnaire arrives?

With the roles, then the inventory. A PPWR questionnaire filled in without knowing who is the manufacturer of which packaging commits your company to obligations that may not be its own.

• The list of packaging shipped to the EU is up to date: reference, material, format, food contact, brand carried, customer, country.
  
• The role of each party (manufacturer, supplier, importer, producer) is written down for each packaging item and agreed with the customer.
  
• The references for which you are the manufacturer have a contact established in the EU: importer, subsidiary or authorised representative.
  
• Paper, ink, varnish and polymer suppliers have been asked about PFAS, with evidence.
  
• A total fluorine test exists for the most exposed food-contact packaging.
  
• An information sheet per reference is ready for the manufacturer’s EU declaration of conformity.
  
• The artwork schedule includes harmonised labelling.
  
• Someone tracks Commission acts and keeps the file up to date.
  

The step-by-step method is in our PPWR compliance checklist for exporters, the budget items in our article on PPWR compliance cost, and a complete example in the case study of a Moroccan olive oil exporter.