A PPWR manufacturer facing missing supplier data for packaging made before 12 August 2026 must make best efforts to obtain or reconstruct it. The European Commission names three routes: asking the original supplier, asking the successor company after a takeover, merger or acquisition, or making own assessments.
Article 16(1) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40 places the supply duty on suppliers. They must provide the manufacturer with all information and documentation necessary to demonstrate conformity, including the Annex VII technical documentation required under Articles 5 to 11, in one or more languages easily understood by the manufacturer, in paper or electronic form. Where contact-sensitive packaging is involved, documentation required under other Union legal acts forms part of that package.
That obligation presupposes a supplier who exists and cooperates. The Commission FAQ addressed the gap in material added in August 2026.
The three routes, and what each yields
| Route | Practical form | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Request from the original supplier | Correspondence and any archived specifications | Depends on that supplier still trading and willing |
| Request from the successor entity | Records inherited through a takeover, merger or acquisition | Depends on records having transferred |
| Own assessment | Laboratory analysis and reconstructed material composition | Cost and time sit with the manufacturer |
The standard is best efforts, and it applies to packaging manufactured before 12 August 2026 where the necessary information is missing or insufficient. That framing matters commercially: it is an obligation of conduct backed by evidence of the attempts made, not a guarantee of a perfect file for legacy stock.
Evidence of the attempt is part of the answer
Because Article 62(1), point (d), treats technical documentation that is unavailable, incomplete or containing errors as formal non-compliance, a manufacturer relying on best efforts should be able to show what was requested, from whom, and what testing filled the gap. The same article requires a Member State to ask the operator to end the non-compliance before any further step, so a documented reconstruction effort is the material that answers such a request.
For packaging manufactured after 12 August 2026 this route closes. Article 16 applies in the ordinary way and the supplier relationship must produce the file up front.
Sources: Regulation (EU) 2025/40, PPWR Frequently Asked Questions, second edition
Reconstructing a defensible file for legacy stock, and deciding when testing is cheaper than chasing records, is handled in EU PPWR solutions. The documentation duties behind it are set out in the PPWR compliance guide.