Rechtsstand: 21 September 2026 — the date every statement on this page was checked against the sources below.
They are two different roles and you can hold one, both or neither. The Erzeuger (manufacturer) is responsible for the packaging's conformity — its design and composition. The Hersteller (producer) carries extended producer responsibility, meaning the cost of disposal, in the member state where that packaging becomes waste. ZSVR determines them in that order. For an online seller shipping into Germany the second role is the one that triggers registration, system participation and, with no German establishment, a representative. Sources (2)
ZSVRZSVR — Erzeuger oder Hersteller?
VerpackDG § 13VerpackDG § 13
The two-step test
ZSVR sets out the assessment in two steps, in this order:
- Step 1 — Erzeuger (manufacturer): who is responsible for the design and composition of the complete packaging, and therefore for its conformity?
- Step 2 — Hersteller (producer): who is responsible, in the member state where the packaging becomes waste, for financing its disposal?
ZSVR's own framing of why this matters: „Erzeuger- und Herstellereigenschaft stimmen in vielen Fällen überein. Bei grenzüberschreitenden Lieferketten können sie jedoch auseinanderfallen.“ The decisive question for step 2 is which economic operator opens the supply chain in the member state where the packaging becomes waste.
For a foreign online seller shipping to German consumers, the answer to step 2 is almost always you — and that is the step that pulls in § 6 registration, § 7 system participation and § 5(2) representation.
Where fulfilment sits
A fulfilment provider, in ZSVR's definition, is a service provider that performs at least two of storing, packing, addressing and dispatching, without owning the goods. Postal and parcel carriers are expressly not fulfilment providers.
ZSVR's stated position on who pays for the box that provider puts your goods in:
„Verpackt ein Fulfillment-Dienstleister für seine Auftraggeber die jeweiligen Waren in systembeteiligungspflichtige Versandverpackungen, muss der Auftraggeber (Vertreiber der Waren) die verpackungsrechtlichen Pflichten für diese erfüllen.“
The provider has its own duty running the other way. § 13(4) VerpackDG prohibits it from performing any of those activities for a producer who is not properly registered, and requires it to observe Article 30(1)(d) of the Digital Services Act and Article 45(4) PPWR. ZSVR supplies an automated data match so the provider can check you against the register. In practice that means your compliance status is queried by machine, not asserted by you.
An open point, stated as open
Whether adding a shipping label or combining ready-made materials makes an online seller the Erzeuger of the resulting shipping packaging is not settled. ZSVR published guidance on this in August 2026; the European Commission's FAQ approaches the same question differently, taking the view that the manufacturer is determined at the empty-packaging stage and that combining finished packaging is not manufacturing.
We are not going to pretend that is resolved. What is not in doubt is step 2: whoever opens the supply chain in Germany carries the EPR cost for that packaging, and that is the duty that requires registration, a system contract and — with no German establishment — a representative. If the Erzeuger question is settled in a way that changes anything for sellers, this page changes and the changelog records it.
What this means in practice
| Packaging | Who normally carries the EPR cost in Germany |
|---|---|
| Your product's own sales packaging | You, as the operator opening the German supply chain |
| Shipping carton you choose and buy | You |
| Shipping carton added by your fulfilment provider | You — ZSVR attributes it to the Auftraggeber |
| Packaging around goods you sell to a German retailer that resells | The German retailer |
| B2B transport packaging to a German business end user | You — but via take-back under § 39 or a § 22 organisation, not a duales System |
B2B is a different track with a different counterparty. See the approved recovery bodies dataset for who is authorised on each route.
Sources
Every claim above comes from one of these. Primary law and the competent authority first; no provider marketing pages.
- ZSVR — Erzeuger oder Hersteller? — read 2026-09-21
- ZSVR — Fulfillment — read 2026-09-21
- ZSVR — Versand- und Onlinehandel — read 2026-09-21
- VerpackDG § 13 — read 2026-09-21
- VerpackDG § 5 — read 2026-09-21
- VerpackDG § 7 — read 2026-09-21
- VerpackDG § 39 — read 2026-09-21
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (PPWR) — read 2026-09-21
Razvan Toma is the founder of EPR Germany Rep and of EPR France Rep, the French sister service. He reads the statutes and the regulator's own guidance directly, and publishes what they say — including when it means telling a visitor they do not need to buy anything.
Razvan on LinkedIn ↗