This year, supervision is mainly changing in terms of preparation, not in practice. The regulation (ESPR) stipulates that each EU Member State designates a market surveillance authority that may check whether a digital product passport is correct and present. Which authority this will be in the Netherlands and with what powers is not yet determined at this moment. For electronics and ICT, this will only become concrete once the delegated act for your product category has been published — expected from 2027 onwards.
For those this affects: every importer, manufacturer or brand owner of electronics who will have to provide a passport will at some point deal with a supervisory authority that can carry out spot checks, request data or have a passport checked for accuracy. This is not yet an issue, but the designation of the supervisory authority is one of the building blocks that must first be put in place before enforcement is possible.
What is already settled this year
At European level, it is established that supervision is the responsibility of the Member States, and that market surveillance authorities are given the same type of instruments that are already customary in product safety: requesting information, checking documentation, and intervening in case of shortcomings. This structure is set out in the regulation itself and will not change, even if the sector-specific rules are filled in later.
What is also established: supervision does not only affect the manufacturer. The regulation works with a chain of roles — manufacturer, importer, distributor — and supervision can occur at any point in the chain, depending on who fulfils which role for a specific product. Those who do not yet have these roles clearly defined for their own assortment will find an explanation in the knowledge base with explanation per role in the chain.
What is not yet settled this year
The name of the Dutch supervisory authority for the digital product passport is not yet established, nor is how that authority will cooperate with existing supervisory authorities on product safety. It is also not yet known how often inspections will take place, what timeframes apply, and what exactly the consequences of a shortcoming will be. Such details follow from the delegated acts per product group, and these do not yet exist for electronics and ICT.
It is therefore premature to have concrete expectations now about how strict or frequent inspections will be. Supervisory authorities determine their own priorities once their powers are established, and that process is not yet completed for this regulation.
Why this is still relevant for your planning
Even though you do not yet know who will be inspecting, the requirements for the passport itself — what data must be in it, how long it must remain accessible, how the QR code works — are already guiding how you can prepare now. Companies that have their data flows in order before enforcement begins are better positioned than companies that only start once a supervisory authority contacts them. This is not a legal obligation beforehand, but a practical consideration.
It also helps to know now where you stand in terms of role and product group. With a few questions you will get a first indication of your situationwithout this saying anything about how a supervisory authority would assess your file later.
How to stay informed of what is changing
Because the designation of the supervisory authority and the precise powers must still follow from future legislation, this is a topic we are closely following as soon as the European Commission or the Dutch authorities publishes anything. How we obtain our information and why we always refer to the official text can be read on the page on where our information comes from.
For specific questions about your own situation — for example, whether and when your products may come under supervision — a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority is the appropriate contact. We describe what the regulation says, but do not provide an assessment of individual cases.
Finally
Supervision of the digital product passport is being developed: the European framework is in place, the Dutch implementation is not yet finalized. If you want to know how this subject relates to other obligations that are already established, you will find an overview in the answers to frequently asked questions about the product passport. Those who prefer to get a concrete picture of their own situation right away can do the free quick-scan or read through the topics before decisions are made.