EPR in the Czech Republic 2026: Packaging, WEEE & Batteries

What changed in 2026

On 19 October 2026 the Czech Ministry of the Environment (Ministerstvo životního prostředí, MŽP) published a methodological communication on selected areas of the EU Packaging Regulation (EU) 2025/40. It answers the questions most foreign sellers have about the Czech market after 12 August 2026.

At EU level, the PPWR entered into force on 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026. The European Commission has asked member states to enforce the representative duty "in a constructive and pragmatic" way while an exemption is negotiated.

Packaging obligations in the Czech Republic

A packaging producer is the business that first makes packaging available on the Czech market. A seller established elsewhere who ships packaged goods directly to Czech end users is a distance seller under the PPWR and the producer of that packaging, including shipping cartons and filling material.

The end of the § 15a exemption matters most for small cross-border sellers: a low volume of packaging is no longer, by itself, a reason to stay out of the system.

1. Map your Czech packaging. Record every type of packaging that reaches Czech customers, by material and weight.
2. Check your status. If you were relying on § 15a (up to 300 kg and up to CZK 25 million turnover), re-assess: MŽP says the exemption no longer applies from 12 August 2026.
3. Appoint an authorized representative if you are a distance seller. Art. 45 PPWR requires one in each member state where you first make packaging available, other than your own.
4. Set up reporting with EKO-KOM. According to MŽP, authorized representatives report to EKO-KOM.
5. Review your labels. Plan the switch of the Green Dot to QR code or digital marking before 12 February 2027.

Contract details, reporting intervals and fees depend on your packaging and should be confirmed with EKO-KOM. We check the current route for you.

Green Dot: digital only after 12 February 2027

According to MŽP, after 12 February 2027 the Green Dot may only be used via a QR code or digital marking. If your packaging still carries a printed Green Dot for the Czech market, include this in your next artwork update.

EU-harmonised packaging labelling under the PPWR is expected from 12 August 2028, or 24 months after the implementing acts – these acts had not been adopted as of September 2026.

WEEE obligations (electrical and electronic equipment)

Electrical and electronic equipment is covered by a separate producer-responsibility regime from packaging. Our verified sources do not yet confirm whether foreign distance sellers need a Czech authorized representative for WEEE, or which penalties apply. We do not guess: as part of the free obligation check, we confirm the current registration and representative route for your products.

Battery obligations

Batteries are governed EU-wide by the Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, whose EPR regime applies since 18 August 2025. Czech representative rules for batteries are not confirmed in our sources; we check them for you.

• From 18 February 2027 (reported): QR code on all batteries, removability and replaceability rules, and a battery passport for EV, LMT and industrial batteries above 2 kWh.
• 18 August 2027 (reported): due-diligence obligations, postponed by Regulation (EU) 2025/1561.
• Proposal – not yet law The EU Omnibus would also suspend the batteries representative duty; Parliament voted on 20 October 2026, the Council position is pending.

Authorized representative in the Czech Republic

An authorized representative is a business that fulfils a producer's EPR obligations in a member state on behalf of a producer established elsewhere. Under Art. 45 PPWR, producers who sell packaged products directly to end users in another member state – whether EU or non-EU established – must appoint one in each member state where they first make packaging available, other than their own. For the Czech Republic, MŽP confirms that authorized representatives report to EKO-KOM.

How Certify helps

1. Free obligation check. Tell us what you sell, how much packaging reaches Czech customers and through which channels.
2. Route mapping. We map your packaging, WEEE and battery duties and check the current route with EKO-KOM and the authorities.
3. Representation. Certify can act as your authorized representative and coordinate reporting – also in the other EU countries you ship to.

More on the role: authorized representative explained (register-epr.com).

Deadlines relevant for the Czech Republic

All countries in one view: EPR deadline calendar 2026–2027.

Penalties in the Czech Republic

We have not been able to verify current Czech penalty amounts for packaging, WEEE or battery breaches from official sources, so we do not quote figures. EU-wide, member states must lay down PPWR penalty rules by 12 February 2027.

The more immediate commercial risk is on marketplaces: Amazon may need to stop selling non-compliant products, and eBay may hide listings where the required EPR number is missing.