(EU) 2023/1542 · Annex XIII(1)(d)
Battery due diligence: who is exempt, and who is already late
This field carries the sharpest threshold in the entire regulation. For a large part of the market it simply does not apply — and for those it does, it is the most expensive field, because it requires external verification by a notified body and an annual public report. So the first question is always the same: are you in scope at all?
Chapter VII does not apply to operators with net turnover below EUR 40 million that are not part of a group exceeding that limit on a consolidated basis.
Article 47Article 47: the EUR 40 million threshold
Chapter VII does not apply to economic operators with a net turnover of less than EUR 40 million in the financial year preceding the last financial year, that are not part of a group of parent and subsidiary undertakings which exceeds that limit on a consolidated basis. It also does not apply to batteries that have been subject to preparation for re-use, repurposing or remanufacturing. If you are below the threshold, you do not evidence this field and you do not pay for it.
For those in scope, the duty has run since 18 August 2025
Article 48(1) is unambiguous: from 18 August 2025, economic operators placing batteries on the market must fulfil the due diligence obligations and set up and implement battery due diligence policies. This is not a future deadline — it is a past one. Anyone above the threshold without a policy is already a year late.
It requires external verification, not an internal document
Article 48(2) requires the policies to be verified by a notified body and periodically audited by it, with an audit report provided to the operator. That means selecting a notified body, an assessment and cost — not a document you write yourself. Under Article 48(3) the documentation must be kept for 10 years after the last battery under that policy was placed on the market.
The report must be public and annual
Article 52(3) requires an annual review and public availability of the report, including on the internet. In a manner easily comprehensible for end-users, it must set out the steps taken under Articles 49 and 50, findings of significant adverse impacts in the risk categories in point 2 of Annex X and how they were addressed, and a summary of the third-party verifications including the name of the notified body.
Which raw materials are covered
Point 1 of Annex X lists four: cobalt, natural graphite, lithium and nickel — plus chemical compounds based on them that are necessary for manufacturing battery active materials. The risk categories in point 2 run from air, water and soil pollution through biodiversity to child labour, forced labour and community life, including that of indigenous peoples.
Where it goes wrong
- Paying to build a policy without first checking the Article 47 threshold — below EUR 40 million this is not your obligation at all.
- Overlooking consolidation: a company below the threshold inside a larger group above it is not exempt.
- An internal document with no notified body verification — Article 48(2) requires a third party.
- A report that is not published on the internet, or not reviewed annually.
- Assuming the clock starts on 18 February 2027. It started on 18 August 2025.
Frequently asked
Does due diligence apply to us at all?
If your net turnover in the financial year preceding the last one was below EUR 40 million and you are not part of a group exceeding that limit on a consolidated basis, Chapter VII does not apply to you. That is set out in Article 47.
Since when does it apply to those in scope?
Since 18 August 2025, under Article 48(1). The date has already passed.
Can we write the policy ourselves?
You write it, but under Article 48(2) it must be verified and periodically audited by a notified body. Without that the obligation is not met.
Which raw materials are covered?
Cobalt, natural graphite, lithium and nickel, plus chemical compounds based on them needed for active materials — point 1 of Annex X.
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