Desk research · EU e-commerce rules

Which EU rules change how online stores sell in 2025–2027? A dated checklist

Between December 2024 and mid-2027, EU law adds product-safety details to every online listing, bans generic green claims, puts a duty on cheap imported parcels, starts the packaging regulation and the battery passport, and phases in national e-invoicing. We started from two AI deep-research reports, kept only the dates we could confirm at the source, and list the ones the reports got wrong.

Published 2026-10-11

Key points

Since 13 December 2024, every EU online offer of a consumer product must show the manufacturer, the EU responsible person for non-EU manufacturers, product identification with a picture, and safety warnings in the consumer's language.
From 1 July 2026 the EU charges a temporary €3 customs duty on low-value imported goods up to €150, per item by tariff classification rather than per parcel; the €150 exemption has not yet been formally abolished.
From 27 September 2026, generic environmental claims such as "eco-friendly" without proof, uncertified sustainability labels and offset-based neutrality claims are banned outright in the EU.
The packaging regulation applies from 12 August 2026, but its harmonised sorting label starts in 2028 and its empty-space and recyclability rules in 2030.
The proposed Green Claims Directive was not adopted; the Commission announced on 20 June 2025 that it intended to withdraw it.

The short answer

For an online store selling into the EU, the dates that matter are: 13 December 2024 (product safety information on every online offer), 28 June 2025 (accessibility of e-commerce services), 1 July 2026 (a per-item customs duty on low-value imported parcels), 2 August 2026 (AI disclosure duties), 12 August 2026 (the packaging regulation starts to apply), 27 September 2026 (ban on generic environmental claims), 30 December 2026 and 30 June 2027 (deforestation due diligence), and 18 February 2027 (battery passport). National e-invoicing mandates run alongside, from 2025 to 2027.

This checklist is desk research: we read AI-generated research reports, checked each date at the official text or the authority's own page on 11 October 2026, and dropped what we could not confirm. It is not legal advice, and each rule has scope conditions that decide whether it reaches a particular store.

Already in force: what every product page should show

General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). Regulation (EU) 2023/988 applies from 13 December 2024. Its Article 19 says an online or other distance offer must clearly and visibly show at least four things: the manufacturer's name, registered trade name or trademark and contact address; for a manufacturer outside the EU, the name and contact details of the responsible person in the EU; information that identifies the product, including a picture, its type and any other identifier; and any warning or safety information in a language consumers can easily understand. For a store, the GPSR is a data problem: those fields have to exist per product before they can be displayed.

European Accessibility Act (EAA). Directive (EU) 2019/882 applies to e-commerce services from 28 June 2025. Microenterprises providing services are outside its scope. The detail of what it requires is the subject of a separate article on accessibility and price rules, so we only record the date here.

Price-reduction rule (Omnibus). When a store announces a price reduction, Article 6a of the Price Indication Directive requires the prior price shown to be the lowest price the trader applied during at least the last 30 days before the reduction. In 2024 the EU Court of Justice held, in case C-330/23, that a percentage reduction must be calculated from that prior price. The same separate article covers the practical side.

2026: imports, AI, packaging and green claims

Low-value parcels, 1 July 2026. The Commission states that from 1 July 2026 a temporary €3 customs duty applies to low-value parcels imported from outside the EU, for goods worth up to €150. The duty is charged per item by tariff classification, not by quantity: the Commission's own example is that five T-shirts pay one duty, while three T-shirts and a watch pay two. A store that ships from outside the EU into the EU has to price this in at the line level, not the parcel level.

AI transparency, 2 August 2026. Article 50 of the AI Act applies from 2 August 2026, according to the Commission's FAQ. A chatbot on a store must make clear to the visitor that they are dealing with an AI system, unless that is already obvious, at the start of the first interaction. The duty to mark AI-generated content in a machine-readable way has a short grace period only for systems already on the market before 2 August 2026: their providers must comply by 2 December 2026. Separately, the AI Omnibus entered into force on 27 July 2026 and moved the high-risk rules to 2 December 2027 (Annex III) and 2 August 2028 (Annex I). Most store use of AI is not high-risk; the disclosure duty is the part that reaches storefronts.

Packaging, 12 August 2026. The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, entered into force on 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026. The Commission's own note on that date is clear that most of the visible obligations come later: a harmonised sorting label from 2028, and limits on empty space, restrictions on some single-use plastic packaging, reuse targets, recycled content and recyclability from 2030. What changed on 12 August 2026 includes the restriction on PFAS in food-contact packaging. Producer registration and fees for packaging remain national schemes.

Green claims, 27 September 2026. Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition had to be transposed by 27 March 2026 and applies from 27 September 2026. It adds practices that are banned in all circumstances, including: a generic environmental claim such as "eco-friendly" without proof of recognised excellent environmental performance; a sustainability label not based on a certification scheme or set up by public authorities; a claim about a whole product when it covers only one aspect; a claim that a product is neutral or reduced in impact because of emissions offsetting; and presenting a legal requirement as a distinctive feature of the offer. For a store, this means an audit of product copy and badges, not a new feature.

Late 2026 to 2027: deforestation and the battery passport

Deforestation regulation (EUDR). After the amendment adopted in December 2025, the Commission states that the obligations apply from 30 December 2026 for large and medium operators and for micro and small operators already covered by the EU Timber Regulation, and from 30 June 2027 for other micro and small operators. The rule concerns specific commodities and products made from them; a store selling such goods needs supplier due-diligence evidence, which a storefront cannot produce on its own.

Battery passport, 18 February 2027. Article 77 of the Batteries Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, requires a battery passport from 18 February 2027 for each light-means-of-transport battery, each industrial battery above 2 kWh and each electric-vehicle battery placed on the market. Ordinary portable batteries in consumer gadgets are not in that list.

National e-invoicing that EU stores meet when they sell to businesses

E-invoicing is set nationally, and the dates differ. Germany: every domestic business must be able to receive an e-invoice from 1 January 2025; issuers may keep using other invoices until 31 December 2026, or until the end of 2027 if their prior-year turnover was at most 800,000 euro, according to the federal finance ministry's FAQ. Belgium: structured B2B e-invoicing between VAT-liable enterprises has applied since 1 January 2026. Poland: KSeF became mandatory on 1 February 2026 for large businesses and on 1 April 2026 for the rest, with businesses invoicing up to 10,000 PLN a month joining on 1 January 2027. France: the tax authority gives 1 September 2026 as the start of the obligations through approved platforms. Spain: VERI*FACTU invoicing software must be adapted before 1 January 2027 for corporate taxpayers and before 1 July 2027 for everyone else.

Most of these mandates cover invoices between businesses. A store that sells only to consumers is affected mainly through its ability to receive supplier invoices, not through its own sales.

What did not become law

The proposed Green Claims Directive, which would have required prior verification of environmental claims, is not a rule to plan for. The Commission announced on 20 June 2025 that it intended to withdraw the proposal. We could not find a published record of the formal withdrawal decision, so its legal status is unresolved; either way, there is no adopted text. The enacted directive from the previous section is the one that applies.

Method

We started from two AI deep-research reports produced by research engines, one on EU regulation as a source of e-commerce product demand and one on platform and compliance deadlines. We treated every claim in them as unverified. On 11 October 2026 we checked each date we kept against the regulation text on EUR-Lex, a Commission page, or the national authority's own site. Where only a secondary source confirmed a date, we either named that or left the claim out.

We dropped the reports' market estimates, app counts and review counts: they change weekly and were not the point. We could not confirm at a primary source the Romanian e-invoicing deadlines and penalties, the claim that product identifiers become mandatory in import declarations from 1 November 2026, or the French issuing date for small and medium firms, so none of them is stated here as fact.

Where the reports were wrong

The €150 exemption was not abolished on 1 July 2026. One report said the exemption "was abolished" and replaced by the duty. The Commission describes a temporary €3 duty per item, by tariff classification, on goods up to €150, pending a permanent reform. The report also missed the per-classification rule, which is what changes the price of a mixed parcel.

Poland's penalty holiday may be longer. A report said there were no sanctions for errors in 2026. On 16 September 2026 the Polish tax information service announced a plan to extend the deferral of penalties to 31 December 2027. The plan needs a change in the law and had not been enacted when we checked.

Germany did not make issuing e-invoices mandatory on 1 January 2025. One report dated the German mandate to that day. Only the duty to receive started then; the duty to issue follows the transition periods above.

The AI Act's broader rules did not all start on 2 August 2026. One report said most of the remaining rules applied from that date. The AI Omnibus moved the high-risk obligations to December 2027 and August 2028; the transparency duties for chatbots kept the August 2026 date.

Packaging is not mainly a 2026 problem. The reports treated 12 August 2026 as the moment packaging obligations bite. Most of what changes a store's packaging, the label and the empty-space limits, starts in 2028 and 2030.

Limitations

This is a list of dates, not an analysis of scope. Each rule has conditions, such as product categories, company size or whether the buyer is a business, that decide whether it applies to a given store. National transposition of the directives can add detail that we did not check country by country. Dates can still move: three of the rules above were changed or delayed after adoption. We checked every date on 11 October 2026 and will not see later amendments unless we check again.

Sources

Questions and answers

What does GPSR require on a product page?

Under Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2023/988, applicable since 13 December 2024, an online offer must clearly show the manufacturer's name and contact address, the EU responsible person if the manufacturer is outside the EU, information identifying the product including a picture and type, and any warnings or safety information in a language consumers easily understand. A store needs these fields per product before it can display them.

When does the EU €3 duty on small parcels start, and how is it charged?

The Commission states that a temporary €3 customs duty applies from 1 July 2026 to goods worth up to €150 imported from outside the EU. It is charged per item by tariff classification, not per parcel and not by quantity: five identical T-shirts pay one duty, while T-shirts plus a watch pay two. The seller or importer declares and pays it.

Is "eco-friendly" on a product page illegal in the EU?

From 27 September 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans generic environmental claims such as "eco-friendly" unless the trader can show recognised excellent environmental performance. It also bans sustainability labels not based on a certification scheme or set up by public authorities, and claims that a product is neutral or reduced in impact because of emissions offsetting.

Does the AI Act apply to a chatbot on an online store?

Yes, for disclosure. Article 50 of the AI Act applies from 2 August 2026: a chatbot must make clear at the start of the first interaction that the visitor is dealing with an AI system, unless that is obvious. The marking duty for AI-generated content has a grace period to 2 December 2026 only for systems on the market before 2 August 2026.

Does the EU packaging regulation change my packaging in 2026?

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation applies from 12 August 2026, but the Commission says the harmonised sorting label applies from 2028 and the empty-space limits, recyclability and recycled-content rules from 2030. The 2026 changes include restrictions on PFAS in food-contact packaging. Producer registration and packaging fees remain national.

How to cite this

Going Stellar (2026). Which EU rules change how online stores sell in 2025–2027? A dated checklist. GOING STELLAR S.R.L..
https://goingstellar.ro/research/eu-rules-online-stores-2025-2027-checklist/

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