EUDR Annex I and CN codes: how to check whether your product is in scope, and what the 2026 recast changed

The first question about the Deforestation Regulation is never what you have to do, but whether you have to do anything at all. It is not answered by the product name, the industry or the supplier, but by the customs code. Annex I to the Regulation lists Combined Nomenclature headings, and what is not on that list is out of scope, however much wood, cocoa or palm oil it contains.

Since 18 September 2026 that annex applies in a new version. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102 amended the relevant products column in 64 places: 41 entries replaced, mostly to narrow them, 18 new entries inserted and 5 deleted. On top of that come five new table notes that narrow the commodity definitions, and four exemption clauses that the Commission did not put into a single provision but wrote into the individual entries.

This article explains how the check works, what a leading "ex" means, which traps the new version contains and how to document the result so that it survives an inspection. At the end there is an Excel checker you can paste your article list into.

The check in six steps

1. Establish the CN code per article. Eight digits, as in the customs declaration or the item master. Not the product description, not the invoice wording. If you do not have a CN code, that is the first task, not a by-product of the EUDR check.

2. Match against Annex I. Watch the number of digits: a four-digit entry covers the whole heading, a six or eight-digit entry only that subheading.

3. Check whether an "ex" precedes it. That changes everything, see below.

4. Check the commodity notes. Since the recast, four notes exclude entire groups of species. A heading can be listed and still not bite, because the material is not part of the covered commodity.

5. Read the exemption clauses inside the entry. Waste, used goods, packing material, medicinal use: these exclusions sit in the entry itself, not in a general provision.

6. Check the date. Exactly eighteen entries carry a note that the provision applies only from 30 December 2027. A hit therefore does not necessarily mean you have to deliver in December 2026.

Only when all six steps return a yes does the next question arise: which role do you hold for this product, and which deadline applies to you? That is answered in Operator or trader? The four EUDR roles, the SME thresholds and the two deadlines.

What "ex" means, and why it is the most common source of error

A leading "ex" means that only part of that heading is covered, namely the part the description in the annex names. The heading is only the address; the description is the rule.

Take an example from the recast. The old entry read `ex 4012 Retreaded or used pneumatic tyres of rubber; solid or cushion tyres, tyre treads and tyre flaps, of rubber`. It has been replaced by `ex 4012 90 30 Tyre treads`. Anyone looking only at the four-digit heading sees "4012" in both versions and concludes that exposure is unchanged. In fact the scope has shrunk from an entire heading to a single eight-digit subheading.

The same pattern applies to seats, only more sharply. The blanket entry `ex 9401 Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof, of wood` has been deleted and replaced by a positive list of six subheadings: `ex 9401 31 00` swivel seats with variable height adjustment, `ex 9401 41 00` seats convertible into beds, `ex 9401 61 00` and `ex 9401 69 00` other seats with wooden frames, `ex 9401 80 00` other seats of wood and `ex 9401 91 90` other parts of seats, of wood. Aircraft and motor vehicle seats sat under subheadings that are absent from the new list. They are therefore out of scope, without the word "deleted" appearing anywhere.

The practical consequence: always check at the level at which the annex names the heading, and read the description with it. A comparison that only matches the first four digits produces false positives and false negatives at the same time.

The five new table notes

Before the recast it was arguable whether buffalo leather counts as cattle, whether babassu oil is palm oil and whether bamboo flooring is wood. Five new notes to the table settle that.

Note 1, cattle. The Regulation applies only to cattle of the genus Bos and its sub-genera Bos, Bibos, Novibos and Poephagus falling under HS subheadings 0102 21 and 0102 29. It does not apply to buffalo of the genus Syncerus, bison of the genus Bison or any other live bovine animals.

Note 2, oil palm. Covered is Elaeis spp., including Elaeis guineensis. Not covered is babassu oil of Attalea spp., including Attalea speciosa, and other vegetable oils from palms of other species.

Note 3, rubber. Covered is rubber of the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis. Not covered are balata, gutta-percha, guayule, chicle and similar natural rubbers produced from other species, nor synthetic rubber products.

Note 4, wood. The Regulation does not apply to bamboo, rattan and other materials of a woody nature, and therefore does not apply to relevant products listed under the commodity wood to the extent that those products are made of bamboo, rattan and other materials of a woody nature. The text names reed, rushes, osier and willow, raffia, cleaned, bleached or dyed cereal straw and lime bark as belonging to that category.

Note 5, samples and testing. Excluded are samples of products of negligible value and quantity that can only be used to seek orders, and products subjected to tests, analyses or trials, provided they are entirely consumed or destroyed during the process or retained or returned solely to meet legal or contractual obligations relating to those tests.

In practice this means the note sits above the heading. Bamboo flooring under a listed wood heading is out of scope although the code matches. Conversely the note does not help where only part of the product is made of bamboo.

The four exemption clauses and where they sit

The Commission did not regulate the exemptions in a separate article but wrote them as parenthetical additions into the affected entries. Anyone reading only the Commission's announcement takes them to be general. They are not.

Waste. The phrase "not including waste as defined in Article 3, point (1), of Directive 2008/98/EC" sits with cocoa shells and cocoa waste under 1802, with several palm oil headings, with glycerol and across the wood and paper chapters. It applies immediately, with no date reservation.

Used and second-hand products. The phrase "not including used products and second-hand products" runs through almost the entire wood area: through every heading from 4401 to 4421, through Chapters 47 and 48, and through the seating and furniture headings 9401, 9403 and 9406. It also appears with soft rubber sheets under 4008 and clothing of vulcanised rubber under 4015. For circular business models this is the most useful clarification in the recast.

Medicinal use. The new palm oil and soap entries exclude products used in the manufacture of human or veterinary medicinal products falling under Directive 2001/83/EC, Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 or Regulation (EU) 2019/6.

Packing material. The most important clause, and the one most often reported in shortened form. It is written out in the wood and paper headings: excluded are packing materials and containers, including those clearly suitable for repeated use, where they are used solely to support, protect or carry another product placed on the market or exported and are presented together with that product, and this applies from the moment they are used for that purpose and thereafter.

Read the last clause twice. What matters is not suitability for reuse but the moment of use. The same wooden pallet is in scope while it is traded empty, and drops out as soon as it sits under goods and is presented with them. If you trade pallets, reusable crates and load carriers rather than merely shipping goods in them, you are an operator for that product. If you send them under your products, you are not.

Alongside this, the same entries carry a separate exemption for letters and for advertising and information materials that accompany another product or are supplied free of charge for advertising or information purposes.

All amendments at a glance

The table below groups the 64 amendments to the relevant products column by commodity. Entries marked 2027 apply only from 30 December 2027; every other change has been in effect since 18 September 2026.

The table summarises 64 individual amendments; the regulation text prevails. You will find the consolidated version of Annex I on EUR-Lex under Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, and the amending act under 2026/2102.

Four mistakes we see regularly

Searching by product instead of by code. "We process wood, so we are covered" is not a check. A wooden toy under Chapter 95 is out of scope; a veneer sheet under 4408 is in.

Comparing only the first four digits. For tyres and seats the eight-digit subheading decides. A match at heading level produces systematically wrong results for these two commodities.

Skipping the notes. Anyone trading buffalo leather, babassu oil, guayule rubber or bamboo products may now fall out entirely even though the codes match.

Classifying mixed products too coarsely. A product made partly of bamboo and partly of beech does not fall under the bamboo note. The exemption applies to the extent that the product is made of the named materials.

How to document the result

The scope check is not a one-off exercise but a piece of evidence. Record per article: the CN code, the result, the Annex I heading you checked against, whether a note or exemption clause applied, the date of the check and the version of the annex you checked against. The last point is underrated: a result from July 2026 rests on a different annex than one from today.

At an inspection the first question is why an article is not being carried under due diligence. A documented negative check is a better answer to that than a recollection.

How Polygon One helps

In the EUDR module you store your articles with their CN codes, and the platform matches them against Annex I. Hits are carried per article together with the result, the heading checked and the date, so the negative check is documented as thoroughly as the positive one. From the hits come the supply relationships for which you collect geolocation data and evidence, and from those the due diligence statement with its reference and verification number.

What the platform does not do: classify your articles. The CN code comes from your item master or your customs agent; it is a customs classification with consequences of its own, not a compliance decision. Nor does the platform make the interpretative call on whether a note or exemption clause applies in your case. It flags that such a clause sits in the entry, and it records your decision.

If you would like to see what your article list looks like in this structure, book a demo or read on at the EUDR module product page.

Download the checker

Paste your article list with CN codes into the workbook. Per row it returns whether the heading appears in Annex I, whether an ex reservation or a note has to be checked, and whether the provision applies from 18 September 2026 or only from 30 December 2027. A second sheet holds the reference list of headings with commodity and remarks, a third an audit log with the fields you need at an inspection.

• Download: EUDR Scope Checker, matching against Annex I (XLSX)

Frequently asked questions

Which products fall under the EUDR?

The products listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, derived from the seven commodities cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya and wood. What matters is the CN code, not the product description.

How do I check whether my product is in scope?

Via the eight-digit CN code against Annex I, taking account of a leading "ex", the five commodity notes and the exemption clauses inside the relevant entry.

What does "ex" before a CN code mean?

Only the part of the heading named by the description in the annex is covered. The heading is the address; the description is the rule.

Is wooden packaging in scope?

Only as a product in its own right. Where it is used solely to support, protect or carry another product and is presented together with it, it drops out from that moment on, even if it is suitable for repeated use.

Is leather still in scope?

No. The entries for raw, tanned and finished hides and leather of cattle were deleted with effect from 18 September 2026.

Does bamboo fall under the EUDR?

No. Bamboo, rattan, reed, rushes, osier, raffia, cereal straw and lime bark are excluded from the commodity wood to the extent the product is made of those materials.

What applies to waste and used goods?

Waste within the meaning of the Waste Framework Directive is excluded in the affected entries, as are used and second-hand products across the rubber, wood, paper and furniture headings. Both exemptions have applied since 18 September 2026.

From when do the newly added products apply?

From 30 December 2027. The reservation sits as a parenthetical note after each of the eighteen affected entries, not as a general rule.

Sources and status: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, Annex I. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/2102 of 13 July 2026, OJ L of 17 September 2026, in force since 18 September 2026; all codes, product descriptions, notes and exemption clauses are taken from the official English text. Directive 2008/98/EC on waste. Directive 2001/83/EC, Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 and Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on medicinal products. This article describes the legal position as at September 2026 and is not legal advice.