Read on to find out if your timber or paper products are covered by the EUTR.  

How to decide if your products are covered

To help you determine whether or not your product is covered by the EUTR, we have compiled lists below. They help you gain a quick overview of products that are covered and exempt.

  • Products covered by the regulation
  • Products that are exempt

Note: Products which are currently exempt from the regulation may become covered in the future.

You may want to double-check with the official sources of information. The easiest way of doing this is to follow these steps:

1 Determine where your product belongs in the EU Combined Nomenclature.  
2

Check directly with the annex of the EUTR. If the relevant product class is included, then your product is covered by the Regulation.

 

Beware of important distinctions

Some product types/materials are only partially covered by the EUTR or they are only covered in certain circumstances. Below is a summary of areas where it is important to be clear on the exact distinctions and definitions used in the EUTR and the EU Combined Nomenclature.

 

PACKAGING 

Cardboard-boxes.jpg The EUTR covers "packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packing, of wood; cable-drums of wood; pallets, box pallets and other load boards, of wood; pallet collars of wood". Essentially, this includes almost any wood-based packing material or transportation aids used to convey other products.

However, the EUTR only applies to packing material when a) it is sold as a product in its own right, or b) when the packaging gives the product its essential character, such as decorative gift boxes.

The EUTR does not apply to packaging which is "used exclusively as packing material to support, protect or carry another product placed on the market". For example, if you purchase products delivered within cardboard boxes or on pallets, then the packaging material normally isn't covered.

The Regulation also exempts packaging which is "specially shaped or fitted to contain a specific article or set of articles, suitable for long-term use and presented with the articles for which they are intended". Examples include camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, and necklace cases.

Note: The customs clearance is important in determining which product is "placed on the EU market". If a material is customs cleared as packaging, then it is covered by the EUTR. But if you import a product X which is customs cleared as "X", then the packaging holding X is exempt. 

 

RECOVERED/ WASTE PRODUCTS

Excavators-145.jpg Timber products are exempt from the Regulation if it can be documented that they are produced "from timber or timber products that have completed their lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste, as defined in Article 3(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste. One example is timber material deriving from the demolition of buildings located outside of the EU.

 

 

 

 

PRINTED MATTER

Books.jpg Books, brochures, and photos are exempt from the Regulation. This applies to any printed matter where the print itself constitutes the essential product.  

However, other types of paper or tissue are covered although they may carry print . Examples include facial tissue, toilet paper, packaging or stationery paper.

 
 
 
 
 
 
BAMBOO PRODUCTS

Bamboo-baskets.jpg Products made from solid bamboo, such as bamboo flooring, bamboo table tops and furniture parts are covered by the EUTR.  

However, the following product types are exempt:

  1. Products made from plaited or woven bamboo.
  2. Pulp and paper made from bamboo.
  3. Seats (chairs, sofas, etc.) made from bamboo.

 

 

FURNITURE

Sofa.jpg Most furniture is covered by the EUTR. However, the following product groups are exempt:

1. Seats including sofas, chairs, etc. 
2. Furniture made from plaited/weaved bamboo.
3. Medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture.  

 

 

 

Products covered by the EUTR

This list has been created to help you gain an overview of the products that are covered by the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). It draws on information in the Annex of the EU Timber Regulation.

The four letter codes refer to the Combined Nomenclature for timber and timber products set out in Annex I of the Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87.
 

LIST OF PRODUCTS COVERED BY THE EUTR

  • Fuel wood, in logs, in billets, in twigs, in faggots or in similar forms; wood in chips or particles; sawdust and wood waste and scrap, whether or not agglomerated in logs, briquettes, pellets or similar forms (4401).
  • Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood, or roughly squared (4403).
  • Railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood (4406).
  • Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm (4407).
  • Sheets for veneering (including those obtained by slicing laminated wood), for plywood or for other similar laminated wood and other wood, sawn lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded, spliced or end-jointed, of a thickness not exceeding 6 mm (4408).
  • Wood (including strips and friezes for parquet flooring, not assembled) continuously shaped (tongued, grooved, rebated, chamfered, V-jointed, beaded, moulded, rounded or the like) along any of its edges, ends or faces, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed (4409).
  • Particle board, oriented strand board (OSB) and similar board (for example, waferboard) of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not agglomerated with resins or other organic binding substances (4410).
  • Fibreboard of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances (4411).
  • Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood (4412).
  • Densified wood, in blocks, plates, strips or profile shapes (4413 00 00).
  • Wooden frames for paintings, photographs, mirrors or similar objects (4414 00).
  • Packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, of wood; cable-drums of wood; pallets, box pallets and other load boards, of wood; pallet collars of wood (4415). Note that exemptions apply to packing material used exclusively as packing material to support, protect or carry another product placed on the market. 
  • Casks, barrels, vats, tubs and other coopers’ products and parts thereof, of wood, including staves (4416 00 00).
  • Builders’ joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels, assembled flooring panels, shingles and shakes (4418).
  • Pulp and paper of Chapters 47 and 48 of the Combined Nomenclature, with the exception of bamboo-based and recovered (waste and scrap) products. These include among others: paper and paper board; envelopes; plain postcards; boxes of stationery; copy paper; wall paper; cigarette paper; toilet paper; handkerchiefs; cleansing tissues; towels; serviettes; napkins for babies; tampons; bed sheets, sanitary and hospital articles, articles of apparel and clothing accessories made from paper; registers, account books, note books, order books, receipt books;  letter and memorandum books; diaries; albums; book covers; paper and paperboard labels; trays, dishes, cups and the like of paper and paperboard; egg boxes.
  • Wooden furniture (9403 30, 9403 40, 9403 50 00, 9403 60 and 9403 90 30). Note that exemptions apply to seats, bamboo furniture, and medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture.
  • Prefabricated buildings (94061000)

 

Note: We have taken utmost care to ensure the correctness of this information; however, we advise you to double-check the official sources of information. Preferred by Nature does not accept liability for any errors. 

 

 

Products exempt from the EUTR

This list represents our best overview of products exempt from the EU Timber Regulation. Figures in brackets indicate the chapters or individual classification numbers of the EU Combined Nomenclature for products.
 

LIST OF PRODUCTS EXEMPT FROM THE EUTR

  • Waste products: Timber products or components of such products manufactured from timber or timber products that have completed their lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste are not covered by the EU Timber Regulation, e.g. timber from buildings that are demolished in non EU countries
  • Wood charcoal (4402)
  • Hoopwood; split poles; piles, pickets and stakes of wood, pointed but not sawn lengthwise; wooden sticks, roughly trimmed but not turned, bent or otherwise worked, suitable for the manufacture of walking sticks, umbrellas, tools handles or the like; chipwood and the like (4404)
  • Wood wool and wood flour (4405)
  • Tools, tool bodies, tool handles, broom or brush bodies and handles, of wood; boot or shoe lasts and trees, of wood (4417)
  • Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewellery or cutlery, and similar articles, of wood; statuettes and other ornaments, of wood; wooden articles of furniture not falling in Chapter 94 (4420)
  • Clothes hangers (4421)
  • Cork and articles of cork (chapter 45)
  • Printed books, newspapers, pictures, and other products of the printing industry, manuscripts (Chapter 49)
  • Spoons (Chapter 82)
  • Clocks and watches (Chapter 91)
  • Musical instruments (Chapter 92)
  • Seats (9401)
  • Medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture (9402)
  • Lamps and lighting fittings (9405)
  • Toys, games and sports requisites, parts and accessories thereof (Chapter 95)
  • Brooms and brushes (9603)
  • Pens (9608)
  • Pencils (9609)
  • Smoking pipes (9614 00)
  • Works of art, collectors pieces and antiques (Chapter 97)
  • Furniture, plaited products and pulp and paper made from bamboo.
  • Packaging which is "used exclusively as packing material to support, protect or carry another product placed on the market" or is "specially shaped or fitted to contain a specific article or set of articles, suitable for long-term use and presented with the articles for which they are intended", such as cases for cameras, musical instruments, guns, and jewellery.

Note: We have taken utmost care to ensure the correctness of this information; however, we advise you to double-check the official sources of information. Preferred by Nature does not accept any liability for any errors.