Who is responsible for the steel product passport?

What you must concretely do

The ESPR places the responsibility for the digital product passport primarily with the manufacturer. Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) names the manufacturer as the party that ensures the passport exists, is correct and remains available. This may seem straightforward, but in the steel chain, "who is the manufacturer" is not always a question with an obvious answer. A rolling mill that produces coils is a manufacturer. But a trading company that has sheet metal cut, bent or coated by a third party, and sells it under its own article number, may also fall under the definition of manufacturer. Anyone in doubt about that role will find a more detailed explanation at Am I an importer or manufacturer under the ESPR?

What is expected of you

Drawing up and keeping the passport current

Article 9 of the ESPR describes that the digital product passport contains the product information that follows from the applicable delegated act, and that this information is retrievable via a data carrier (such as a QR code). For a steel company with 10 to 100 employees, this practically means that the technical data that are often already found in a quality certificate or material certificate must also be made available in a structured, digital way. This is a different effort than drawing up a PDF: the data must be machine-readable and linkable to a specific batch or lot.

Ensuring the passport remains accessible for its entire lifetime

Article 27 describes that the manufacturer is responsible for the availability of the passport, not only at the moment of sale. For a company that supplies semi-finished products that remain in a structure for ten to fifty years, this is an obligation that extends far beyond the customary warranty period. Practically, this means that a hosting solution must be chosen that can handle this period, and that a plan must be in place for what happens if the company itself changes ownership, merges or ceases operations.

Providing the correct data, even if someone else compiles the passport

Even when drawing up the passport is outsourced — to a platform, a software company or a trade association — the obligation under Article 27 remains with the manufacturer to provide correct and complete data. This requires internal agreements about who within the company is responsible for verifying chemical composition, mechanical properties and origin of the steel, and about how changes in the production process are communicated to whoever manages the passport.

Distinguishing between manufacturer, importer and dealer

Whoever sources steel from outside the EU and brings it onto the European market for the first time often receives the same obligations as a manufacturer, even without processing a single kilogram of steel themselves. This is one of the most underestimated points in the chain: the answer to the question My manufacturer is outside the European Union — who arranges the product passport then? is therefore often different from what companies expect in advance. A distributor or trader has a different, more limited role; what applies to them is described at What obligations does a steel distributor or trader have?

Where things go wrong in practice

A first situation in which things go wrong: a trading company sells steel sheet under its own brand name, without realizing that this entails the obligations of a manufacturer. The underlying question — who exactly is responsible for the passport — only comes up when the customer asks for it.

A second situation: a company purchases steel from multiple suppliers inside and outside the EU, and tacitly assumes that each supplier "will arrange the passport." Without a written agreement, that is an assumption, not a certainty.

A third situation arises in mergers and acquisitions: the passport for a product delivered ten years ago must still be accessible, but the legal entity that drew it up at the time no longer exists in the same form.

A fourth situation arises in sales via a webshop or marketplace: the question of who is responsible for the product passport then gains an extra layer, because the platform itself is neither a manufacturer nor an importer. That subject is developed further on What does the product passport mean if I sell steel via an online marketplace?

A fifth situation: unclear responsibility within your own company if the product passport contains incorrect data — the technical department, the sales department, or the person who set up the platform. Without internal agreement, that question remains unanswered until a problem occurs.

What you can document

• An internal note recording whether the company acts as a manufacturer, importer or distributor for a specific product, with a reference to the explanation on Am I an importer or manufacturer under the ESPR?
• An overview of all suppliers, specifying for each supplier who is responsible for providing or drawing up the product passport.
• Written agreements with suppliers outside the EU on who takes care of the product passport, precisely because responsibility does not automatically remain with the original manufacturer.
• An internal role division for providing and checking technical data (composition, mechanical properties, batch information), including who signs off on its accuracy.
• A file on your own brand labelling, for companies selling steel under their own name — see also I sell steel under my own brand — what obligations do I get?
• A plan for the continuity of the product passport in case of business transfer, merger or cessation of activities.
• An overview of who within the company is responsible for staff or outsourcing related to the product passport, against the background of the consideration on Do I need additional staff for the product passport or can I outsource it?