(EU) 2023/1542
Who is in scope for the battery passport, and who is not
Before touching any field, answer two questions: is your battery covered at all, and in which role do you act. Getting the first wrong means work you do not need. Getting the second wrong means liability you did not know was yours.
Which batteries need a passport
Article 77(1) names three: every LMT battery, every industrial battery with a capacity greater than 2 kWh, and every electric vehicle battery. Portable batteries and SLI batteries are not on that list — other duties of the regulation apply to them, but not the passport. The 2 kWh threshold is decisive for industrial batteries and is worth checking for each product variant separately.
When an importer becomes the manufacturer
The regulation provides that an importer or distributor assumes the manufacturer's obligations where the battery is placed on the market under their own name or trademark, where a battery already on the market is modified in a way that could affect compliance, or where its purpose is changed. In practice that captures most importers selling under their own brand — and with it the EU declaration of conformity and ten-year documentation retention.
The threshold that removes an entire chapter
For due diligence, Article 47 provides that the chapter does not apply to operators with a net turnover below EUR 40 million in the financial year preceding the last one, that are not part of a group exceeding that limit on a consolidated basis. It is the only threshold of its kind in the regulation and it removes one of the most expensive obligations — but only that one, not the passport.
Remanufactured batteries are a distinct case
Batteries subject to preparation for re-use, repurposing or remanufacturing have their own rules: Article 13(9) requires new markings showing the change of status, while Article 47 excludes them from the due diligence chapter. Anyone building a second-life business should read those two provisions separately.
What this means in practice
If you are an importer selling an industrial battery above 2 kWh under your own brand, you are in scope for the passport and act as the manufacturer — while due diligence concerns you only if you exceed the EUR 40 million threshold.
What this is not
This guide does not replace a legal assessment of your specific role. The boundaries between manufacturer, importer, distributor and authorised representative are defined precisely in the regulation, but real cases are not always clear-cut. Where the role is disputed, that is a question for a lawyer, not for a tool.
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