The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) has criticised the requirements for mail-order and online retail associated with the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). According to the interest group's assessment, numerous regulations would be virtually impossible to implement, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. The WKO also foresees significant burdens for cross-border trade within the EU.
Since 12 August 2026, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has been in force in the European Union. It aims to prevent and recycle packaging waste, as well as set new requirements for packaging and its components, among other things. At the same time, according to the WKO, the regulation entails extensive obligations for economic operators who use packaging in commercial transactions.
Shipping and online retailers would have to provide documents, technical documentation and conformity assessments for packaging, among other things. According to the WKO, a major problem in this regard is that in many cases commercial enterprises do not have access to the necessary documents. In addition, definitions of various terms and the interpretation of important regulations remain unclear.
WKO sees problems in particular for SMEs
„While the objective may be fundamentally welcome, the implementation of the project within the framework of the PPWR is a complete failure,“ says Alexander Smuk, spokesperson for the mail order and internet retail trade professional group at the Austrian Economic Chamber.
According to the WKO, the new requirements are causing considerable uncertainty in the affected sectors. The interest group sees smaller companies in particular burdened by additional administrative and financial requirements.
„We have long been warning that the limit for bureaucratic and costly additional obligations for domestic mail-order and online retailers has been reached. The requirements of the Packaging Regulation go completely over the top and, in this form, can simply no longer be implemented, particularly by SMEs,“ said Smuk.
Criticism of regulations for cross-border trade
The WKÖ is particularly critical of the requirements for cross-border shipments of goods within the European Union. For Austrian mail-order and online retailers, this involves additional administrative effort and further costs.
According to the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, obligations and costs for collection and recycling systems as well as authorised representatives in other member states arise from the very first parcel sent abroad to another EU country, or even from the first gram of packaging weight. In the WKO's assessment, practical exemptions for small and medium-sized enterprises and single-person businesses are lacking.
The Economic Chamber therefore warns of negative consequences for the European single market. Especially for smaller retailers, selling to individual EU countries may no longer be economically viable if the costs of complying with the respective packaging regulations exceed the turnover generated there.
„It cannot be the case that a small Austrian retailer has to stop trading in other European markets because the costs of complying with packaging regulations are higher than the revenue generated. The single market is undermining itself if cross-border trade is impaired to such a massive extent by the European Commission, says Smuk.
Source: Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
