ENFORCEMENT GUIDE

What Happens If You Don't Comply? ESPR/DPP Penalties & Market Surveillance

Published 25.09.2026 · Reading time ~4 min · by Lior Gabriel Graetz · LG Fashion Labs

There's no single number to point to. The ESPR doesn't set an EU-wide fine for a missing or broken Digital Product Passport the way GDPR sets one for a data breach — it leaves the actual amount to each member state. That's not the same as low stakes. One country has already legislated fines up to €100,000, and that's before you count the separate track most brands miss entirely: direct liability to the consumer who bought the product.

This guide walks through what actually happens, in order, sourced directly from the ESPR's own enforcement chapters and a live national example.

1. No EU-wide fine — but a strict floor

Article 74 of the ESPR hands the actual penalty-setting to member states, not Brussels: each country "shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of this Regulation," and those penalties must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive." Member states have to notify the Commission of their rules, and of any later changes.

The ESPR does constrain what those national rules can look like. Article 74(2) requires penalties to weigh eight factors, including the gravity and duration of the breach, whether it was intentional or negligent, the economic benefit gained, the environmental damage caused, and whether the company tried to fix it. Article 74(3) sets a floor, not a ceiling: member states must be able to impose at least fines and time-limited exclusion from public procurement — but nothing stops a country from going further.

2. A real example: what Germany has already set

One country's numbers are already law. Germany's Ökodesign-Gesetz, promulgated 22 June 2026 (Bundesgesetzblatt 2026 I, No. 191), sets out specific fines tied directly to ESPR articles:

Up to €100,000 for destroying unsold consumer products in violation of Article 25 of the ESPR — the destruction ban.
Up to €10,000 for disclosure failures under Article 24 — not providing required information properly, completely, or on time.
Public procurement exclusion for up to three years for any company fined at least €7,500 under these provisions — Germany's specific implementation of the EU's Article 74(3)(b) floor.

These provisions apply from 1 November 2026. They're specific to Germany — every other member state is free to set its own, different amounts under the same EU floor. Treat this as a live illustration of what "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" turns into in practice, not the EU standard.

3. The escalation ladder before a fine even lands

A fine usually isn't the first thing that happens. Article 69 of the ESPR sets out a "safeguard procedure": if a market surveillance authority has sufficient reason to believe a product is non-compliant, it evaluates it, then requires the responsible economic operator to take "appropriate and proportionate corrective action" within a deadline the authority sets. Only if that deadline passes without a fix, or the non-compliance continues, does the authority move to prohibit or restrict the product's sale, withdraw it from the market, or recall it.

Two details brands underestimate: first, the fix isn't limited to one country — Article 69(3) requires the economic operator to correct the issue for every unit of that product placed anywhere in the EU, not just the market that caught it. Second, it can cost you before any penalty is even decided: Article 66(3) lets market surveillance authorities recover the cost of document inspection and physical product testing directly from the non-compliant operator.

Every penalty issued also gets logged into an EU-wide information system under Article 34 of the general Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, which the ESPR operates under. The Commission compiles a public benchmarking report from that data every four years, covering the nature and severity of penalties across the whole EU — the first is due by 19 July 2028.

4. The separate track: direct liability to consumers

Government penalties aren't the only exposure. Article 76 of the ESPR — "Consumer redress" — makes economic operators directly liable for damage a consumer suffers because a product didn't meet its ecodesign requirements. Liability sits first with the manufacturer; if the manufacturer isn't established in the EU, it shifts to the importer or the manufacturer's authorised representative, and failing that, to the fulfilment service provider.

This liability exists independently of any fine a market surveillance authority imposes, and the ESPR is explicit that it's "without prejudice to the application of other remedies available to consumers under Union or national law" — meaning it stacks on top of whatever consumer-protection claims already exist, rather than replacing them.

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Frequently asked questions

Is there a single EU-wide fine for ESPR or Digital Product Passport non-compliance? +

No. Article 74 of the ESPR requires each EU member state to set its own penalty rules, which must be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" and must, at minimum, include fines and the possibility of time-limited exclusion from public procurement. The exact amounts are set nationally, not by the EU.

What is a real example of national ESPR penalties? +

Germany's Ökodesign-Gesetz, promulgated 22 June 2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 191), sets fines of up to €100,000 for violating the ESPR's ban on destroying unsold consumer products (Article 25), and up to €10,000 for disclosure failures under Article 24. These provisions apply from 1 November 2026. Other member states will set their own, different amounts.

Can non-compliance get my products pulled from the EU market entirely? +

Yes. Under Article 69 of the ESPR, if a market surveillance authority finds a product non-compliant and the economic operator doesn't fix it within the deadline set, the authority can prohibit or restrict its sale, withdraw it from the market, or recall it — and the fix has to cover every unit placed anywhere in the EU, not just the member state that caught it.

Am I liable to individual consumers too, separately from any government fine? +

Yes. Article 76 of the ESPR makes the manufacturer (or, if they're not established in the EU, the importer, authorised representative, or fulfilment service provider in that order) directly liable for damage a consumer suffers from a non-compliant product — independent of, and in addition to, any regulatory penalty.