Trader or operator? The four EUDR roles, the SME thresholds and the two deadlines

There is one question that decides everything else, and many companies answer it wrongly. Not: am I affected by the EUDR? But: which role do I have, and for which product?

The answer determines whether you have to obtain geolocation data for plots of land, carry out a risk assessment and submit a due diligence statement, or whether you merely store the addresses of your suppliers and customers. And it determines whether your deadline expires on 30 December 2026 or six months later. Between those two answers lies a difference in effort of weeks versus months.

Assigning roles has become more complicated since the amending Regulation of December 2025, not simpler. Where there used to be two roles, operator and trader, there are now four. In return, the obligations of the lower roles have shrunk considerably. This article works through the system in full: the three basic concepts, the four roles, the size test, the two deadlines, the obligations for each role and six worked examples from practice.

Part 1: Three concepts that carry everything

Before turning to roles, three actions have to be kept apart. The Regulation ties each role to one of them.

Placing on the market is, under Article 2(16), the first making available on the Union market. The decisive word is first: anyone who passes on goods that have already been placed on the market in the EU is not placing them on the market again. And in its guidelines the Commission makes clear that the concept refers to each individual item, not to a type of product. Ten pallets of cocoa butter are goods ten times over, not one product once.

Making available on the market is, under Article 2(18), any supply for distribution, consumption or use in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge. That expressly includes donations and pro bono activities.

Export is, under Article 2(37), the export procedure laid down in Article 269 of the Union Customs Code. Re-export under Article 270, that is, of goods that do not have the status of Union goods, does not fall under the Regulation.

These definitions give rise to a distinction that saves a great deal of money in day-to-day practice and is often overlooked. An imported relevant product is only regarded as placed on the market once it has been released for free circulation by customs. Other customs procedures, namely customs warehousing, inward processing, temporary admission and transit, fall outside the scope. Anyone holding goods in a customs warehouse has not yet placed them on the market; anyone who later moves them out of the warehouse into free circulation becomes an operator at that moment. This is precisely the case that the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food has described using the example of a Swiss cocoa supplier with a German warehouse.

Also outside the scope: products intended directly for private use. Anyone bringing coffee back from holiday is not an operator.

Part 2: The four roles

Two sentences from the Commission guidelines are worth committing to memory, because they clear up the most common misconception. First: the classification must be assessed separately for each relevant product. Second: anyone who places on the market, exports or makes available multiple relevant products may hold multiple roles simultaneously, depending on their position in the supply chain of each product.

So there is no such thing as your company's role. There is one role per product and per supply relationship. A furniture manufacturer can be an operator for imported raw timber, a downstream operator for particleboard bought within the EU, and a trader for finished furniture bought in and resold.

Operator

Under Article 2(15), an operator is anyone who, in the course of a commercial activity, places relevant products on the market or exports them and is not a downstream operator. The guidelines distinguish according to the origin of the goods, and the details are decisive for the classification.

For products from the EU, the operator is usually the person that distributes them once they have been produced. Where a domestic product is placed on the market, this is typically the person that owns the commodity or product at the point of selling, although this may depend on the individual circumstances of the contractual agreement.

For imported products, the operator is generally the person acting as the importer when the goods are declared for release for free circulation. The guidelines name the specific field: data element 13 04 000 000 under Annex B to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, previously DE 3/15, and box 8 "Consignee" in the Single Administrative Document. If you want to know whether you are an operator, look at the customs declaration, not at the contract of sale. Expressly clarified: the definition applies independently of the change of ownership and of other contractual arrangements.

Two special cases round this off. Where the importer is not established in the Union, the first person established in the Union to make the product available on the market is additionally deemed to be an operator and is subject to the obligations of Article 7. This is intended to ensure that there is always one responsible actor established in the EU. And in distance selling to final consumers, the consumer is never an operator, even if declared as the importer on the customs declaration; the operator is the person supplying in the course of a commercial activity, that is the manufacturer, seller, online retailer or fulfilment service provider.

Not covered are service providers that offer only logistical or technical support, that is freight forwarders, shipping agents or customs representatives, provided they do not possess ownership rights over the goods and neither place them on the market nor make them available nor export them.

Micro or small primary operator

This role was newly added by the amending Regulation and is governed by Article 2(15a). It refers to a natural person or a micro-undertaking or small undertaking within the meaning of the Accounting Directive that is established in a low-risk country and directly places on the market or exports relevant products that it has itself grown, harvested, obtained from or raised on its own plots of land or, as regards cattle, on its own establishments.

One opening is notable and gets lost in the reporting: operators that do in fact exceed the size thresholds also count, provided they can demonstrate that the parts of their balance sheet total, turnover and number of employees related to the relevant commodities and relevant products do not exceed the thresholds. A large agricultural holding with a small timber share can therefore qualify as a micro or small primary operator for that share.

This group submits a simplified declaration instead of a full due diligence statement and receives an identification number in return. For German forest owners and farmers this is the most relevant relief in the entire reform, because Germany is classified as a low-risk country.

Downstream operator

Also new, governed by Article 2(15b). A downstream operator is anyone who places on the market or exports relevant products made using relevant products that are covered by a due diligence statement or a simplified declaration.

The guidelines explain this with an example that makes the underlying logic clearly visible: a chocolate manufacturer buys cocoa beans under HS code 1801 00 on the Union market, manufactures chocolate bars under HS code 1806 from them, and places them on the market or exports them. The typical feature is therefore that a product with a new HS code comes into being, made using relevant products for which a declaration already exists.

For exports the role is determined correspondingly: anyone who exports a relevant product for which a declaration was previously submitted, or a product made using it, is a downstream operator.

The decisive point: the upstream stage must actually have been covered by a declaration. Anyone who produces from components that were not yet subject to due diligence is not a downstream operator but an ordinary operator with full due diligence obligations. The Commission says so expressly in the FAQ: for components that were not yet subject to due diligence, due diligence must be exercised in full and a due diligence statement must be submitted.

Trader

Under Article 2(17), a trader is any person in the supply chain other than the operator or downstream operator who, in the course of a commercial activity, makes relevant products available on the market. The guidelines phrase it as a definition by exclusion: a trader is anyone to whom the other two roles do not apply and who does not place the product on the market but merely makes it available.

Whether a retail organisation is an operator or a trader depends on the circumstances, according to the FAQ. A supermarket that sells chocolate already placed on the market in the EU by another company is a trader. If the same supermarket imports cocoa directly, it is an operator for that cocoa.

Part 3: The size question

For downstream operators and traders, the size of the undertaking determines the scope of their obligations; for operators, it determines the deadline. Precision pays off here, because several sets of figures are in circulation.

The governing provision is Article 2(30) of the EUDR, which refers to Article 3 of Directive 2013/34/EU, in the version as amended by Delegated Directive (EU) 2023/2775. An undertaking is assigned to a class if, on its balance sheet date, it does not exceed the limits of at least two of the three criteria.

One peculiarity first: Article 2(30) refers specifically to Article 3(1), Article 3(2), first subparagraph, and Article 3(3) of the Accounting Directive, not to Article 3 as a whole. The option in Article 3(2), second subparagraph, under which Member States may raise the thresholds for small undertakings to up to EUR 7.5 million balance sheet total and EUR 15 million turnover, is therefore not decisive for the EUDR. Germany has made full use of it in Section 267 of the German Commercial Code (HGB): an undertaking that still counts as small under German accounting law may already be a medium-sized undertaking under the EUDR definition.

Three further points regularly cause disputes.

No group consolidation. The FAQ states explicitly that the thresholds for small, medium-sized and large groups under Article 3(5) to (7) of the Accounting Directive are not relevant to the SME definition of the EUDR. What is assessed is therefore the individual company, not the group. A sales subsidiary with 12 employees within the group structure of a billion-euro company is a small undertaking under the EUDR. That is a considerable difference from other sets of rules and should be checked before any group-level decision.

National transposition is a precondition. For undertakings established in the EU, the size criteria of the Delegated Directive only apply once they have been transposed into national law, namely in the Member State in which the undertaking is established. In cross-border groups, the same company may be classified differently in different countries if transposition has progressed to different degrees.

SME means micro, small and medium-sized. Where obligations are concerned, the Regulation recognises only the distinction between SME and non-SME. For the deadline, by contrast, only micro and small count. Whenever you read "SME", you always have to check which of the two questions is meant.

Part 4: The two deadlines, and why timber runs differently

Under Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, most of the obligations, specifically Articles 3 to 13, Articles 16 to 24 and Articles 26, 31 and 32, apply from 30 December 2026.

For operators who were established by 31 December 2024 as natural persons, micro-undertakings or small undertakings, the same Articles only apply from 30 June 2027, irrespective of their legal form.

Two details about this are reported incorrectly almost everywhere.

The cut-off date is 31 December 2024, not 2020. Older sources, including official infographics, still cite 31 December 2020 and 30 June 2026, because they reproduce an earlier version of Article 38(3); the date of 30 June 2026 comes from the first postponement by Regulation (EU) 2024/3234. The amending Regulation of December 2025 moved both dates. With every source, check which version it is based on.

The extended deadline does not apply to timber covered by the EUTR Annex. For products covered by the Annex to the old EU Timber Regulation (EU) No 995/2010, there is no deferral until June 2027. A small sawmill or a small timber trader is therefore under obligation on 30 December 2026, while a coffee roaster of the same size has six months more.

The question of retroactivity also matters: if a product is placed on the market during the transitional period applying to the respective operator, the obligations of the Regulation do not apply to it. And regardless of all of that, the Regulation does not apply to products whose relevant commodity was produced before 29 June 2023. What counts is the time of harvest, and for cattle products the date on which the animal was born.

For procurement, this means something uncomfortable: with lead times of two to four months, orders placed today already fall under the Regulation, because the goods arrive after the cut-off date. If you want to follow the current state of the legal acts, you will find it in EUDR current status: deadlines, delegated act and what applies from when.

Part 5: What each role actually has to do

Now for the actual answer to the question in the title. The obligations differ considerably, and the December 2025 reform has substantially eased the burden on the lower tiers.

Operators

Full due diligence under Articles 8 to 12: collecting information under Article 9, including the geolocation of all plots of land, risk assessment under Article 10, risk mitigation under Article 11, and submission of the due diligence statement in the information system before placing on the market or export. Article 12 is added to this: a documented due diligence system, reviewed at least annually. Keep documentation for five years. Communicate the reference number and the verification number to the first downstream actor, as described in EUDR reference number: structure, verification number and passing it on. Where new information indicates possible non-compliance, inform the competent authority immediately.

For low-risk countries, which include Germany, the simplified due diligence under Article 13 applies: the due diligence system then consists essentially of information collection in line with Article 9; risk assessment and risk mitigation fall away.

Micro or small primary operators

A simplified declaration instead of a due diligence statement, with an identification number. In addition, an operator that is a natural person or a micro-undertaking may, under Article 6(3), mandate the next downstream operator or trader further down the supply chain that is not a natural person or a micro-undertaking to act as an authorised representative. In practice this means that the forest owner can have the declaration submitted by their buyer.

Downstream operators and traders that are SMEs

This is the big relief. The Commission guidelines sum it up in a single sentence that expressly applies to all downstream actors regardless of size: downstream operators and traders are not required to exercise due diligence themselves, do not need to submit due diligence statements, nor do they need to ascertain that due diligence was exercised upstream.

What remains are four things under Article 5(3) to (5). First: the name, registered trade name or registered trade mark, the postal address, the email address and, if available, a web address of the operators, downstream operators or traders who have supplied them, as well as the reference numbers of the associated due diligence statements or, in the case of micro or small primary operators, their identification numbers. Second: the same particulars for the downstream operators and traders they have supplied. Third: keeping that information for at least five years from the date of making available on the market and providing it to the competent authority upon request. Fourth: in the case of new information or substantiated concerns, immediately informing the competent authorities and the customers supplied.

They only receive the reference numbers if their supplier is an operator. Where the supplier is itself a downstream actor, there is no number, and none has to be kept either.

Downstream operators and traders that are not SMEs

Here things become more demanding, but still remain well short of full due diligence. First, this group must register in the information system under Article 5(2) before it places products on the market, makes them available or exports them.

Second, in the case of substantiated concerns it must verify under Article 5(6) that due diligence was exercised and that no or only a negligible risk was found. Unless that verification is unequivocal, it may neither place the product on the market nor make it available nor export it.

That is all. In particular, it does not have to ascertain that due diligence was exercised upstream, nor does it have to submit a due diligence statement of its own: the amending Regulation deleted Article 4(8) to (10) outright, which was where both requirements for non-SMEs were set out. Responsibility for the product's compliance with Article 3 has since lain with whoever submitted the statement, that is with the upstream operator (Article 4(3)). Downstream non-SMEs are liable for infringements of their own obligations under Article 5.

What it expressly does not have to do is collect the information under Article 9 itself. The FAQ records that the due diligence statement already contains the assertion that due diligence was exercised and that the information under Article 9 was collected by the upstream operator.

One particularity concerning cattle affects not the downstream actors but the operator: for products that contain cattle, the geolocation under Article 9(1)(d) refers to all the establishments where the cattle were kept, not just to the last one.

One limit that affects everyone: under Article 5(7), downstream operators and traders, regardless of their size, shall offer all necessary assistance to the competent authorities to facilitate the carrying out of the checks under Article 19, including access to premises and the making available of documentation and records.

A structural point from the FAQ that larger companies should be aware of: SME traders and SME downstream operators are not required to collect due diligence information and therefore have no legal obligation to pass on to their customers anything more than the reference number and the verification number. A non-SME that sources through SMEs therefore receives structurally less information. The Commission expects the authorities to take this into account in their risk analyses.

Part 6: Six scenarios

The coffee importer, 80 employees, EUR 30 million turnover. It is named as the importer on the customs declaration. That makes it an operator subject to full due diligence: geolocation data for the plots of land, risk assessment, risk mitigation, and a due diligence statement before every placing on the market. As a medium-sized undertaking it has no deferral; its deadline is 30 December 2026.

The roaster buying EU green coffee, 25 employees. It buys green coffee for which a due diligence statement already exists and roasts it. Roasted coffee has a different HS code, so it is a downstream operator. As a small undertaking it does not have to submit a statement or to register. It keeps the details of its supplier together with the reference numbers, and the details of its commercial customers, for five years. Despite its size, its deadline is 30 December 2026: the deferral under Article 38(3) applies only to operators, and under the new definition downstream operators are expressly not among them.

The supermarket chain, 8,000 employees. It sells chocolate that another undertaking has placed on the market in the EU. It is a non-SME trader. Its obligations are set out in Article 5: registration in the information system before making the product available for the first time, collecting and keeping the details of suppliers and of the customers supplied together with the reference numbers, five years of retention, notification where new information emerges, and verification in the case of substantiated concerns, before the conclusion of which it may not make the product available. It does not have to submit a due diligence statement of its own. Deadline: 30 December 2026.

The sawmill, 18 employees, EUR 4 million turnover. It processes roundwood from German forests and sells sawn timber. If it buys the standing timber and harvests it itself, it places the roundwood on the market for the first time and is an operator. If, on the other hand, it buys roundwood for which the forest owner has already submitted a statement, it is a downstream operator for the sawn timber and, as a small undertaking, subject only to the information obligations of Article 5. As a small undertaking it would in principle have until June 2027, but sawn timber falls under the Annex to the old EU Timber Regulation. The extended deadline does not apply to it, so 30 December 2026. Relief elsewhere: Germany is a low-risk country, so the simplified due diligence under Article 13 applies.

The furniture manufacturer with three sourcing routes, 300 employees. For imported raw timber it is an operator with full due diligence. For particleboard bought in the EU that was already covered by a statement, it is a downstream operator and, because it is not an SME, one with registration in the information system and with the verification obligation in the case of substantiated concerns; it does not have to submit a due diligence statement of its own for that. For bought-in finished furniture that it resells unchanged, it is a non-SME trader. Three roles, one undertaking, three processes. The deadline in every case: 30 December 2026.

The forest owner with 40 hectares. A natural person; Germany is a low-risk country; they sell timber they have felled themselves. They are a micro or small primary operator and submit a simplified declaration. Under Article 6(3) they may mandate the next downstream operator or trader in their supply chain, provided that party is neither a natural person nor a micro-undertaking, to act as an authorised representative and submit the declaration on their behalf. Under Article 6(1), responsibility for the product complying with Article 3 remains with them.

Part 7: The most common misconceptions

1. Looking for one role for the whole undertaking. Classification is carried out per product and per supply relationship. Several roles at the same time are the norm, not the exception.
2. Deriving the role from the contract of sale. For imports, what counts is who is named as the importer on the customs declaration, irrespective of the transfer of ownership.
3. Treating goods in a customs warehouse as placed on the market. Only release for free circulation triggers the obligation.
4. Using 31 December 2020 as the cut-off date. Since the amending Regulation, 31 December 2024 and 30 June 2027 apply.
5. Assuming that medium-sized undertakings are deferred. The deferral applies only to natural persons, micro-undertakings and small undertakings, and only to operators.
6. Counting on the deferral for timber. For products in the EUTR Annex it does not exist.
7. Consolidating at group level. The group thresholds of the Accounting Directive are expressly not relevant for classification under the EUDR.
8. Classifying yourself as a downstream operator although the upstream stage was not covered by a statement. In that case full due diligence applies.
9. As an SME trader, demanding reference numbers from every supplier. There is one only where the supplier is an operator.
10. Assuming that freight forwarders and customs representatives are covered. Pure service providers without ownership rights are neither operators nor traders.

Part 8: Determining roles in four steps

Step 1: Build a product list. Check every item, with its customs tariff code, against Annex I. Without this list, any allocation of roles is speculation. How to do this is set out in Which products and customs tariff codes fall under the EUDR.

Step 2: Determine the activity for each product. Are you placing it on the market, making it available, or exporting it? For imports: are you named as the importer on the customs declaration? Is it being released for free circulation or placed under another customs procedure?

Step 3: Check the upstream stage for each product. Was a due diligence statement or a simplified declaration already in place for the components used? Only then are you a downstream operator.

Step 4: Determine size and deadline. Two of the three criteria at the balance sheet date, without group consolidation. For micro-undertakings and small undertakings, in addition: were you already established as such by 31 December 2024? And is it timber from the EUTR Annex?

Record the result in writing for each product, with the date and the reasoning. In a check, this allocation is the first thing that is examined, and comprehensible documentation is the best argument that you have understood the system.

How Polygon One helps

Polygon One attaches the role not to the company but to the supply relationship for each product, because that is what the Regulation requires. You record your items together with their customs tariff codes, assign the role for each supplier and product, and the platform derives from that what has to be done: full due diligence with geolocation data and a statement, simplified due diligence for low-risk countries, or merely collecting the information under Article 5(3).

Where you are an operator, you obtain geolocation data and documents through the supplier portal, have the plots of land screened for deforestation and submit the due diligence statement to the EU information system; the reference number and the verification number come back automatically. Where you are a downstream actor, you record incoming numbers and the identity details of your suppliers and customers in the same place, so that they are all contained in a single data export when a competent authority asks.

What the platform does not do: determine your role in law. The classification is a legal question with consequences, and it turns on circumstances that only you know, for example on who is named in your customs declaration. Polygon One reflects your decision, documents it with a date and derives the set of obligations from it.

If you would like to see what your supply relationships look like in this structure, book a demo or read on at the product page for the EUDR module.

Download the working aid

Three pages for procurement, compliance and management: a self-test for determining the role for each product, the size test with the three criteria and the balance sheet date, a matrix of obligations for all four roles with references to the relevant provisions, and the six constellations from this article as comparison cases.

• Download: determining EUDR roles and deadlines (PDF)

Frequently asked questions

Who is subject to the EUDR?

Any company that, in the course of a commercial activity, places relevant products listed in Annex I on the market in the EU, makes them available on the market or exports them. The extent of the obligations depends on the role for each product and on the size of the company.

What is the difference between a trader and an operator?

The operator places the product on the market for the first time or exports it and bears the full due diligence obligation. The trader merely makes it available and only collects information, provided that it is an SME.

What is a downstream operator?

Anyone who places on the market or exports a product made using relevant products that were already covered by a due diligence statement or a simplified declaration. The classic example is the chocolate manufacturer who buys cocoa beans on the EU market.

Which criteria have to be met to count as an SME?

At least two of three criteria at the balance sheet date: balance sheet total, net turnover and the average number of employees. For medium-sized undertakings the values are EUR 25 million, EUR 50 million and 250 employees.

Is the group consolidated for the SME test?

No. The group thresholds in the Accounting Directive are expressly not relevant to the EUDR definition. It is the individual company that is assessed.

From what company size onwards does the EUDR apply?

From the first relevant product. Size only determines the extent of the obligations for downstream actors and the deadline for operators.

Who has until 30 June 2027?

Operators that were established as natural persons, micro-undertakings or small undertakings by 31 December 2024, except as regards products covered by the Annex to the old EU Timber Regulation. Everyone else is subject to the obligations from 30 December 2026, including medium-sized undertakings as well as downstream operators and traders of any size.

As an SME trader, do I have to submit a due diligence statement?

No. You collect the information on your suppliers and customers together with the reference numbers and keep it for five years.

Am I an operator if I hold goods in a customs warehouse?

No. Only the release for free circulation counts as placing on the market. Whoever subsequently places the goods under that procedure becomes the operator at that moment.

Can several roles apply at the same time?

Yes, and that is the normal case. The classification is made for each product, and one company can hold different roles for different products.

Sources and status: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, Articles 1, 2, 3 to 13, 33, 37 and 38. Commission guidelines, OJ C/2026/3896 of 20 July 2026, sections 1 to 4. Commission FAQ on the EUDR, sections 1, 3 and 5. Directive 2013/34/EU as amended by Delegated Directive (EU) 2023/2775. Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (EU Timber Regulation). Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446, Annex B. Infographics of the German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung) on due diligence and on SME traders. This article describes the legal position as at September 2026 and is not a substitute for legal advice.

Photos: Bernd Dittrich, Nathan Dumlao, Andrik Langfield, Zoshua Colah, all via Unsplash.