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ENFORCEMENT GUIDE

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

by Lior Gabriel Graetz LG Fashion LabsPublished 25.09.2026Updated 20.10.2026Short version ~2 minFull guide ~4 min

The short version≈ 2 min read   Skip to the full guide ↓

The ESPR sets no EU-wide fine. Each member state sets its own penalties, which must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” and include at least fines and time-limited exclusion from public procurement (Art. 74). Germany has already legislated fines up to EUR 100,000 for destroying unsold consumer products, applying from 1 November 2026. Separately, you can be directly liable to consumers (Art. 76).

The escalation ladder (Art. 69)

  1. EvaluationArt. 69
  2. Corrective actionDeadline set
  3. Ban, withdraw, recallIf not fixed
  4. Logged EU-wideArt. 67

A fine usually isn’t the first thing that happens

Source: ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), Articles 67 and 69. Simplified; the full guide below is authoritative.

What you need to know

  1. 1

    Each country sets its own penalties.

    Article 74 leaves the rules to member states. Penalties must weigh eight factors, as applicable, such as the gravity and duration of the breach, intent or negligence, and whether the company tried to fix it. The EU sets a floor, not a ceiling. §1

  2. 2

    Germany shows what this looks like.

    Its Ökodesign-Gesetz allows fines up to EUR 100,000 for destroying unsold consumer products (ESPR Art. 25) and up to EUR 10,000 for disclosure failures (ESPR Art. 24). A final fine of at least EUR 7,500 can lead to exclusion from public procurement for up to three years. These provisions apply from 1 November 2026, in Germany only. §2

  3. 3

    A fine usually comes last.

    If an authority has sufficient reason to believe a product covered by a delegated act presents a risk, it evaluates it and, if non-compliant, requires “corrective action” by a deadline. Only if that fails does it prohibit or restrict sales, withdraw or recall the product (Art. 69). §3

  4. 4

    The fix covers the whole EU.

    You must correct every unit made available anywhere in the EU, not just in the country that caught it (Art. 69(3)). Authorities can also recover their inspection and testing costs from a non-compliant operator (Art. 66(3)). §3

  5. 5

    Every penalty is logged.

    Authorities record each penalty in an EU-wide system (Art. 67). The Commission publishes a report every four years; the first is due by 19 July 2028. §3

  6. 6

    Consumers can claim directly.

    Under Article 76 (“consumer redress”), the manufacturer is liable for damage a consumer suffers because a product did not meet its ecodesign requirements. If it is not established in the EU, the importer or authorised representative is liable too, and in some cases the fulfilment service provider. §4

What to do now

Status of the guide: 20 October 2026. Based on ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), Articles 24, 25, 66, 67, 69, 74 and 76; the Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020; Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1481; and Germany’s Ökodesign-Gesetz. A simplified summary: the full guide below and the EU texts are authoritative. General information only, not legal advice. Read the full notice.

Full guide · in full detail · ~4 min

Everything below is the complete, sourced guide. ↑ Back to the short version

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.

€100,000

The maximum fine Germany has already legislated for violating ESPR's ban on destroying unsold consumer products.

No EU-wide fine

The ESPR leaves the actual penalty amount to each member state, unlike GDPR's own EU-wide figure.

2 tracks

State-level fines and separate, direct liability to the consumer who bought the product — most brands miss the second one.

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 without delay, 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, as applicable, 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:

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

01FLAGGEDproduct evaluated · Art. 6902CORRECTIVE ORDERdeadline set, EU-wide fix03DEADLINE MISSEDrestrict, withdraw or recall04LOGGED EU-WIDEArt. 67 · report due 2028
The escalation ladder under ESPR Article 69: a fine is the last step, not the first — and every penalty gets logged EU-wide under Article 67.

A fine usually isn't the first thing that happens. Article 69 of the ESPR ("Procedure for dealing with products presenting a risk at national level") sets this out: if a market surveillance authority has sufficient reason to believe that a product covered by a delegated act presents a risk, it evaluates it; if that evaluation finds the product does not meet the requirements, 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 made available 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.

For textiles, market surveillance authorities now also have a Union testing facility. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1481 designated the Directorate-General for the General Chemical State Laboratory of Greece's Independent Authority for Public Revenue, in Athens, as a Union testing facility for textiles; the Decision has been in force since 23 July 2026. Under Article 21(5) of the Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020, Union testing facilities provide their services "solely to market surveillance authorities, the Network, the Commission and other government or intergovernmental entities" (the Network is the Union Product Compliance Network, Article 29), so the facility is not a testing service for brands. Our guide to the Textile Labelling Regulation explains what it may and may not do.

Every penalty issued also gets logged: ESPR's own Article 67 requires market surveillance authorities to enter the nature and severity of each penalty into the EU-wide information and communication system set up under Article 34 of the general Market Surveillance Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. Every four years, Article 67(2) requires the Commission to compile a public report from that data — covering penalty levels and non-compliance trends across the whole EU — and Article 67(3) sets the first publication deadline at 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, the importer or the manufacturer's authorised representative is liable as well, without prejudice to the manufacturer's own liability; and if the importer isn't established in the EU or there is no authorised representative, the fulfilment service provider is liable.

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 market? +
Yes. Under Article 69 of the ESPR, if a market surveillance authority finds a product non-compliant and the economic operator doesn't take corrective action within the deadline set, the authority can prohibit or restrict making the product available on its national market, withdraw it from that market, or recall it. If the national measure is found or deemed justified, all member states must take the measures needed to have the product withdrawn from their markets (Articles 69(7)–(8) and 70(2)). The corrective action itself has to cover every unit made available 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 directly liable for damage a consumer suffers from a non-compliant product. If the manufacturer isn't established in the EU, liability also falls on the importer or the manufacturer's authorised representative, without prejudice to the manufacturer's own liability — and if the importer isn't established in the EU or there is no authorised representative, it falls on the fulfilment service provider. This liability is independent of, and in addition to, any regulatory penalty.

Sources

All sources were accessed and verified directly on EUR-Lex and the German Bundesgesetzblatt on 29.09.2026; Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1481 and Articles 21 and 29 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 were checked on EUR-Lex on 16.10.2026. This is general information, not legal, financial or investment advice; brands should confirm applicable penalty amounts with qualified counsel in each member state where they sell.

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