If you purchase furniture to resell or place at projects, you need at least three types of documents in the purchase contract: the technical substantiation of the data in the passport, a written agreement on who creates and maintains the passport, and a confirmation of who acts as the supplier in the chain. This last point is the item that creates the most confusion in purchasing, precisely because it is not automatically the party that actually manufactures the furniture.
The reason this specifically applies to purchase contracts lies in how the regulation views the chain. It is not the factory that produces the furniture that is automatically responsible for the passport, but the party that places the furniture on the EU market under its own name or brand. If you purchase furniture from a supplier outside the EU and sell it under your own brand name, you yourself can become that responsible party, even if you have never touched a screw.
Which documents you need to get started
To draw up the purchase contract properly, you first gather the documents that demonstrate where the furniture comes from and who plays which role. Think of the commercial invoice showing the manufacturer and, if applicable, the importer within the EU. In addition, the bill of materials per article or product line, with the origin of wood, metal, upholstery and any coatings, because this data forms the core of what will eventually appear in the passport. Furthermore, you need documentation on repair and spare parts, such as a list of replaceable parts and the warranty period, and a declaration from the supplier on compliance with applicable product safety rules. If you do not yet have a clear grasp of this last point, you will find a more detailed explanation in the overview on the knowledge base with explanations by topic.
This is not a one-time submission. Supplier contracts often run for several years, while product information may change in the interim, for example due to a different upholsterer or an adjusted wood species. In the contract, you also establish how and when the supplier communicates changes, so that the passport does not silently fall behind the actual composition of the product.
The detail that most applies to purchase contracts: who is the supplier
With manufacturers who produce and sell themselves, it is usually clear who is responsible for the passport. With purchasing, it is more nuanced. The regulation distinguishes between the manufacturer, the importer and the party that places products under its own brand on the market, and assigns different obligations to each of these roles. A project manager who has furniture made by an external party and delivers it under the company's own name can, according to that classification, themselves be classified as the supplier, regardless of what has been agreed in the cooperation with the factory.
This is precisely why the purchase contract must regulate more than just price and delivery time. Without an explicit agreement on who creates and hosts the passport, a situation can arise in which neither party feels responsible, or in which both parties assume that the other will handle it. During an inspection, supervisory authorities look at the party that actually acts as the supplier, not at the internal division between purchaser and supplier. A clear contractual clause prevents that question from only arising at the moment something is already going wrong.
What you establish in the contract itself
In addition to designating the supplier, you determine who provides the source files, in which language and format, and who is liable if the data proves to be incorrect. It is also common practice to agree on a retention period that aligns with the period during which the passport must remain active, and to specify what happens if cooperation with the supplier ends before that period has elapsed. Anyone in doubt whether their own situation falls under the obligation can first check this with a quick scan that shows where you stand, before the contract terms are finalized.
Where these documents come together
In practice, it is more efficient to structure these documents immediately as a passport requires them, rather than reorganizing them afterwards. Furnipas.eu compiles the passport on the basis of the data you and your supplier provide, and explains where that information comes from exactly. If you have doubts about a specific clause in your purchase contract, legal advice or consultation with the competent supervisory authority remains the appropriate course; we describe the frameworks, but do not assess your individual agreement.
Would you like a broader overview before you adjust the contract? On the page with frequently asked questions you will find answers to the topics that come up most frequently in procurement, and the free quick-scan gives you a first indication of your situation in a few questions.