My supplier does not provide the data — what can I do?

What you concretely have to do

What is expected of you

The ESPR places the obligation to compile the product passport on the manufacturer — or, in the case of imports from outside the EU, on the importer who assumes the manufacturer's role (Article 27 of the ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781). Anyone who purchases furniture or parts thereof and places them on the market under their own name cannot therefore simply wait for a supplier who does not deliver. However, Article 38 of the ESPR provides that actors in the supply chain — suppliers, subcontractors, importers — are obliged to provide the information necessary to compile the passport. This obligation thus rests with two parties simultaneously: the manufacturer who must draw up the passport, and the supplier who must provide the underlying data.

The manufacturer remains responsible for the passport

In practical terms, this means that a company with 10 to 100 employees that assembles furniture from purchased parts — a frame, upholstery fabric, a hinge — cannot shrug off responsibility and refer to the supplier if the passport is missing or incomplete. The obligation under Article 27 (ESPR) rests with the party that places the product on the market. What information must be requested and from whom is described on the page about which data you request from your furniture supplier.

Suppliers must provide data that is reasonably available to them

Article 38 (ESPR) requires actors in the supply chain to provide information necessary for the passport, insofar as that information is reasonably available to them. For a company that purchases from multiple parties, this means that the scope of what can be requested varies at each link in the chain: a producer of a semi-finished product has different data available than a trader who only resells. Whether a subcontractor supplying a semi-finished product falls under this obligation, and what exactly can be requested, is explained on the page about subcontractors supplying semi-finished products.

Imports from outside the EU shift the burden

When parts or complete furniture are purchased from outside the EU, the obligation to provide information under Article 38 (ESPR) falls on a party that does not always operate under European supervision and does not always feel the same incentive to deliver promptly. For companies that purchase partly or wholly from outside the EU, this is a real point of attention; what practically plays a role in this is set out on the page about requesting passport data from a supplier outside the EU and on the page about what the product passport means for imports from outside the European Union.

Where things go wrong in practice

The supplier does not respond, or only after repeated reminders. Especially with smaller suppliers who themselves have no experience with the passport, a request for data can languish for weeks without any lack of willingness — rather due to unfamiliarity with what is being asked and why.

The data does arrive, but is incomplete or outdated. A supplier sends a technical datasheet that was not prepared with the passport in mind, and is missing precisely the data that is needed — for example on material origin or composition.

There is no contractual agreement on the provision of passport data. With many ongoing purchasing relationships, it has never been established that the supplier must provide this information, let alone within what timeframe. Without such an agreement, a company is in a weak position if a supplier does not respond. How this can be laid down in a purchasing contract is set out on the page about agreements on the provision of passport data in the purchasing contract.

The same part comes from different suppliers, with different answers. A company that, for example, purchases hinges or fabric from two or three suppliers, finds that one delivers and another does not, or that the data provided do not match each other. What plays a role in this is set out on the page about purchasing the same component from different suppliers.

The origin of the wood is not provided, although it is requested. Wood origin is a subject on which suppliers are sometimes reluctant, or for which they themselves do not have underlying documentation. How this can be recorded is described on the page about recording the origin of the wood.

What you can put in order now

• A written request to the supplier, with a description of which data are needed and what they are for. This forms the starting point of a file demonstrating that the data have been actively requested.
• A purchase contract or addendum in which the supply of product passport data is included as a condition, including a deadline by which this must happen at the latest. The approach for this is described on the page about agreements in the purchase contract.
• An overview of correspondence with the supplier: requests, reminders, and any responses or their absence. This is relevant when it needs to be demonstrated that proper care has been taken, even if the result ultimately did not materialise.
• An internal registration per component or supplier, in which it is recorded which data have already been received, which are still missing, and from whom follow-up has been requested. This is particularly useful when purchasing from multiple sources, as described on the page about multiple suppliers for the same component.
• A note of the data received and verification thereof, so that it is not only recorded that something has been delivered, but also whether it has been checked for plausibility. How that verification can be carried out is described on the page about verifying the supplier's data for accuracy.

These records do not cause a supplier that does not deliver to start delivering, but they build a file showing that the own obligation under article 27 (ESPR) has been taken seriously, even when a link in the chain falls short.