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The European Commission has adopted a delegated regulation amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products – the EUDR. The amendments include both the addition of new products to the scope of the Regulation and the removal of certain categories for which the application of the EUDR obligations was considered disproportionate.
From the perspective of the food sector, the most important development is the planned inclusion of soluble coffee and a number of substances and intermediates made using oil palm. The act also introduces important clarifications concerning the status of packaging, labels, marketing materials, samples and used products.
The delegated regulation was adopted by the Commission on 13 July 2026. However, it is not yet applicable law. It is currently subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council.
The EUDR covers seven relevant commodities: cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood. However, the obligations laid down in the Regulation do not automatically apply to all products containing or made using those commodities. The EUDR applies only to “relevant products” listed in Annex I to the Regulation and identified by Combined Nomenclature codes. The content of Annex I therefore determines whether, in relation to a specific product, it will be necessary, among other things, to:
The impact assessment accompanying the original EUDR proposal already indicated that no detailed assessment of all derived products had been carried out at the level of individual customs codes. The Commission subsequently received numerous requests from businesses, industry associations, non-governmental organisations and third-country authorities to add specific products to Annex I or remove them from it. The Commission concluded that, in certain cases, the current scope of Annex I leads to inconsistencies. Products at an earlier stage of the supply chain may be subject to the EUDR, while more highly processed products made using the same commodity may be placed on the market without having to comply with the obligations laid down in the Regulation.
This could encourage processing to be relocated outside the European Union and result in the relocation, rather than the elimination, of deforestation risk to another stage of the supply chain. At the same time, the Commission identified products for which the costs of complying with the EUDR would be disproportionate to their actual contribution to deforestation.
Together with the delegated regulation, the Commission published a Staff Working Document. This is not a legal act, but a document explaining the methodology and rationale underlying the proposed amendments. The assessment considered, in particular:
The Commission compared the expected environmental benefits with the compliance costs incurred by economic operators. It also considered the risk that leaving a product outside the scope of the EUDR could encourage production or processing to be relocated to third countries. The quantitative assessment was supplemented by a qualitative assessment. This considered, among other things, the specific features of individual supply chains, the ability to obtain the required information from suppliers, the risk of regulatory gaps and consistency with other EU policy objectives.
One of the most important amendments is the addition to Annex I of extracts, essences and concentrates of coffee covered by code 2101 11 00. In practice, this will primarily bring soluble coffee within the scope of the EUDR. The Regulation currently covers, among other things, green and roasted coffee, but it does not cover soluble coffee made from brewed coffee that has subsequently been dried into a powder or granules. The Commission considered this situation inconsistent. Coffee may be produced and processed outside the European Union and then imported into the EU in the form of an extract or concentrate without being subject to the EUDR obligations. By contrast, a soluble coffee manufacturer operating in the EU must use coffee beans covered by the due diligence system. According to the Commission, this difference may affect competitive conditions and encourage processing to be relocated outside the Union. The inclusion of soluble coffee in the EUDR is intended to ensure continuity of obligations regardless of where the coffee was processed. For importers and manufacturers of soluble coffee, this will mean preparing to obtain information on the origin of the commodity, including geolocation data for the plots of land on which the coffee was produced.
The scope of products derived from oil palm is also to be significantly extended. The Commission points out that the current Annex I does not cover all relevant derivatives used in the oleochemical industry. These products may be used, among other things, in the manufacture of food and food additives, cosmetics, detergents, paints and coatings.
The products to be added to Annex I include certain:
A number of entries are preceded by the designation “ex”. This means that the EUDR will not automatically cover all products classified under a given customs code, but only those that correspond to the specific description included in Annex I – in particular, products that have been made using oil palm.
For businesses, it will therefore be essential not only to determine the product’s correct CN code, but also to confirm the origin of the raw material used to manufacture the substance. The same chemical compound may be produced from oil palm, another vegetable oil, a material of animal origin or a synthetic feedstock. Its status under the EUDR may consequently differ.
For certain palm oil derivatives, the Commission has introduced a specific clarification concerning their use in the manufacture of medicinal products for human or veterinary use. The EUDR obligations are not to apply to the extent that the relevant substances are used in the manufacture of medicinal products covered by EU pharmaceutical legislation. However, this exemption should not be interpreted broadly. It does not automatically cover food supplements, food for special medical purposes or other foodstuffs merely because they are used for health-related purposes.
The Commission proposes to remove the following from Annex I:
The Commission noted that the leather supply chain is largely separate from the meat supply chain. Hides and skins have a relatively low value compared with the total value of the animal and, in many cases, are a by-product of meat production. EU operators active in the leather sector may have limited leverage to obtain information from their suppliers concerning the farms of origin of the animals and the plots of land associated with cattle rearing. At the same time, Annex I does not cover many products made from leather, such as footwear, bags or certain furnishing products. This would create a situation in which imported leather as a raw material would be subject to the EUDR, while imported finished leather products could remain outside its scope. The Commission concluded that this could lead to further processing being relocated outside the European Union and create unintended economic distortions. The status of hides, skins, leather and derived products is to be reassessed as part of the general EUDR review scheduled for 2030.
Conveyor or transmission belts or belting covered by code 4010 and other articles of vulcanised rubber covered by code 4016 are to be removed from the scope of the EUDR.
The Commission concluded that these products contain low amounts of natural rubber and therefore make a limited contribution to deforestation.
Code 1201 currently covers all soya beans, including soya beans for sowing. The Commission proposes to replace it with code 1201 90 00, which excludes seeds intended for sowing. According to the Commission, soya beans for sowing represent relatively small trade volumes and form part of a separate supply chain with its own certification, testing and traceability systems. Subjecting this sector to the EUDR obligations was therefore considered disproportionate.
Code 9401 concerning seats and parts of seats is also to be amended. Its current broad scope could include, among other things, aircraft and motor vehicle seats containing limited amounts of wood. The code is to be replaced with a more specific list of codes covering seats and parts of seats made of wood. Aircraft and motor vehicle seats will not be subject to the EUDR merely because they contain minor wooden components.
The act contains important clarifications concerning packaging. Packing materials and packing containers placed on the Union market or exported as products in their own right may fall within the scope of the EUDR. However, where they are used to support, protect or carry another product and are presented together with that product, they are not to be treated as separate products subject to the EUDR. This clarification is also to apply to packaging clearly suitable for repetitive use. From the moment such packaging is used to support, protect or carry a product and is presented together with that product, it will not be separately subject to the EUDR obligations.
The status of the packaging will not depend on whether the product it contains is itself covered by the EUDR.
This does not, however, constitute a general exemption for all packaging. Where packaging, containers or packing materials are placed on the market or exported as products in their own right, their status must be assessed separately.
The Commission also clarifies the status of marketing and information materials, including labels.
Such materials may be subject to the EUDR where they are placed on the Union market or exported as products in their own right. However, they will not be covered by the Regulation where they:
For food manufacturers, this means that a paper label affixed to the packaging of a product should not be treated as a separate product subject to the EUDR obligations. The situation may be different for labels or printed materials purchased and placed on the market as goods in their own right.
The amendments also clarify that the EUDR should not cover:
The Commission concluded that subjecting these products to the full due diligence system would be disproportionate and could discourage product reuse and other practices supporting a circular economy.
As of 31 July 2026, the delegated regulation is not yet applicable law. The European Commission adopted the act on 13 July 2026. This means that the Commission’s drafting stage has been completed. The act was subsequently transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council under the procedure for the scrutiny of delegated acts.
As a rule, the Parliament and the Council have two months in which to object. If neither institution objects, the act may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The scrutiny period may, however, be extended in accordance with the rules laid down in the EUDR.
For this reason, document C(2026) 4920 final should no longer be described simply as a “Commission draft”. It is an act adopted by the Commission which has not yet completed the entire procedure and has not yet entered the EU legal order. It has not yet been assigned its final delegated regulation number.
If neither the European Parliament nor the Council objects and the scrutiny period is not extended, the initial two-month period should end around mid-September 2026. Publication of the act in the Official Journal of the European Union may therefore realistically be expected in September or October 2026 at the earliest.
The Regulation is to enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. However, for the new categories of relevant products added to Annex I, application of the obligations is to be deferred until 30 December 2027 to allow economic operators and authorities to prepare for the extended scope of the EUDR.
At this stage, businesses are not yet required to apply the amendments introduced by the delegated regulation. They should, however, verify whether products they offer, import or export may be included in the amended Annex I.
This is particularly relevant to:
Determining the correct CN code and the raw-material origin of the product will be particularly important. For entries preceded by “ex”, the customs code alone will not determine whether the product falls within the scope of the EUDR. Businesses using palm oil derivatives should begin discussions with their suppliers regarding the possibility of confirming the type of raw material used and obtaining access to the information required under the EUDR. In the case of soluble coffee, traceability systems may need to be extended back to the farms and plots of land on which the coffee was produced. Only once the scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council has been completed and the act has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union will it be possible to identify its final number, confirm its date of entry into force and determine the precise timetable for the application of the individual amendments.
