How do I document the delivery of passport data in my purchasing contract?

Establish supply obligations and dataset contractually

The purchase contract specifies which product passport data the supplier delivers, in what form, at what point in the process, and what happens if data is missing or incorrect. This is the core of the agreement: not merely 'you provide the required data', but a concrete list of data categories (material composition, repair information, conformity data, and whatever else applies to the relevant product group), a delivery moment that fits the production process (before shipment, before placing on the market), and an agreement on updates whenever something changes. Without that concrete specification, the general obligation to exchange data between parties in the supply chain remains an abstract commitment that is difficult to enforce in a dispute. The contract is the instrument that makes that obligation practical and enforceable between the parties themselves.

For manufacturers, importers and their suppliers — not for the end user

These agreements are relevant between parties who both play a role in the supply chain of electronic or ICT equipment: a manufacturer purchasing components, an importer bringing equipment from outside the EU, or a distributor between manufacturer and market. In particular, the importer with a supplier outside the EU has an interest in a solid contractual agreement, because the importer itself bears responsibilities towards the market and supervisory authorities, even if the data must actually come from the manufacturer. This is not about the sales agreement with the consumer — the consumer receives the passport via the QR carrier on the product, not via a separate contract. Nor is it about whether a product is subject to the passport requirement; that follows from the delegated act per product category, not from the purchase contract. The purchase contract regulates only the relationship between the purchasing and supplying party regarding the delivery of data.

Date not yet fixed; the obligation to exchange data is already in place

There is no fixed date yet for when this will apply to electronic and ICT equipment — the delegated acts per sub-category are expected at a later time and have not yet been published. What is already established is the general line from the ESPR itself: actors in the supply chain are required to provide, upon request, the information needed to draw up or complete the product passport, and importers have their own obligations to verify that these requirements are met before a product is placed on the market. These basic obligations are therefore already in place, regardless of the exact specification per product category. A purchase contract can therefore be drawn up or adapted now on the basis of this general line, with the intention to refine it later once the delegated act for the specific product group is published and it becomes clear what data is precisely required.

What this means for the reader: step by step

If you are now drawing up or revising a supply contract, you typically approach this in the following order. First: inventory which data are expected to be needed for the product group in question, based on what is already known about it, without waiting until every detail is finalised. Next: establish a delivery moment that aligns with your own procurement process — for example before shipment or before invoicing — so that no gap emerges between placing the product on the market and the availability of the data. Then: include an updating obligation for the situation where data change after delivery, with an agreement on how and within what timeframe the supplier communicates this. An indemnification or liability exclusion clause also belongs here, in case the supplier provides incorrect or incomplete data as a result of which the procuring party itself runs into problems with supervisory authorities. Finally, an audit right or documentation obligation is practical: the right to request evidence showing that the supplied data are correct, rather than relying solely on the supplier's statement. An explicit reference to the relevant ESPR articles in the contract moreover makes clear that these agreements do not come out of nowhere, but are an implementation of a legal obligation that rests on both parties.

The legal basis: article 38 and 29 of the ESPR

Article 38 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR) obliges actors in the supply chain to provide, on request, the information needed to draw up or complete the product passport — both to other economic actors in the chain and to competent authorities. That article is the basis for why a procuring party has an interest in making this obligation concrete in the contract with its own supplier: the law regulates that information must be supplied, the contract regulates how. Article 29 of the same regulation describes the obligations of importers, including checking whether the applicable requirements have been met before a product is placed on the market and keeping documentation on this. For an importer obtaining equipment from a manufacturer outside the EU, this article is the reason why contractual agreements on data supply are not optional: the importer bears its own responsibility, regardless of what has been agreed contractually with the manufacturer.

Those who wish to go further can now place the existing supply contract alongside these two articles and check whether delivery moment, data set, updating obligation and liability are already described concretely enough — and supplement the text as soon as the delegated act for their own product category is published.